Doug Miller wrote:

In article , E Gregory wrote:

Thanks Doug. I'll recheck the battery ground to make sure it's solid.
The starter motor didn't spin when we tried connecting the battery
directly to it, but the battery ground was not hooked to the starter
motor frame. The mower does have headlights and they do not light at
present. Will try your suggestions this weekend. Grass is knee high
now! Will soon be tick city!


If the headlights don't light up, then you almost *certainly* do *not* have a
good ground connection between the negative battery terminal and the frame.
(Assuming that the battery is in fact fully charged, as you said in your
original post.)

Another possibility (but less likely) is that corrosion at the positive
battery terminal has completely insulated the positive cable from the battery.
It can't hurt anything to take both battery cables off the battery, and
thoroughly clean the connections.

FWIW, same symptoms (*nothing* electrical works) in a car = same problem.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

Nobody ever left footprints in the sands of time by sitting on his butt.
And who wants to leave buttprints in the sands of time?

Thanks again Doug, this would be wonderful if that the problem! A new
starter motor costs ~$100. The battery terminal connections are clean,
but I haven't checked the ground end of the negative cable. Will do
this weekend.
Eileen