The wire that leads to the switch on my lawn mower seems to have a
short. I press the start switch and nothing happens. I grab that wire
that leads to it and then press the switch and it starts. I am having
difficulty in finding that short..The first thing i look for is a torn
cover section which i do not see any of....any good way of finding
this that i have overlooked? Thanks

Anthony wrote:
The wire that leads to the switch on my lawn mower seems to have a
short. I press the start switch and nothing happens. I grab that wire
that leads to it and then press the switch and it starts. I am having
difficulty in finding that short..The first thing i look for is a torn
cover section which i do not see any of....any good way of finding
this that i have overlooked? Thanks
It sounds more like a broken wire/open connection.

On Sat, 9 Apr 2011 11:42:05 -0700 (PDT), Anthony
wrote:

The wire that leads to the switch on my lawn mower seems to have a
short. I press the start switch and nothing happens. I grab that wire
that leads to it and then press the switch and it starts. I am having
difficulty in finding that short..The first thing i look for is a torn
cover section which i do not see any of....any good way of finding
this that i have overlooked? Thanks

It's probably an open, and it confuses the situation when you assume
it's a short. Lots of people don't know the difference.

On Sat, 9 Apr 2011 11:42:05 -0700 (PDT), Anthony
wrote:

The wire that leads to the switch on my lawn mower seems to have a
short. I press the start switch and nothing happens. I grab that wire
that leads to it and then press the switch and it starts. I am having
difficulty in finding that short..The first thing i look for is a torn
cover section which i do not see any of....any good way of finding
this that i have overlooked? Thanks
You do NOT have a short. 100% guaranteed, You have a bad connection,
or more likely a broken wire.

You need an ohm-meter and you need to know how to use it.

On 4/9/2011 1:52 PM mm spake thus:

On Sat, 9 Apr 2011 11:42:05 -0700 (PDT), Anthony
wrote:

The wire that leads to the switch on my lawn mower seems to have a
short. I press the start switch and nothing happens. I grab that
wire that leads to it and then press the switch and it starts. I am
having difficulty in finding that short..The first thing i look for
is a torn cover section which i do not see any of....any good way
of finding this that i have overlooked? Thanks

It's probably an open, and it confuses the situation when you assume
it's a short. Lots of people don't know the difference.

Yep. Shorts (short for "short circuit") tend to cause things like
sparks, smoke and fire. An open may crackle a little bit, but mostly
causes frustration.


--
The current state of literacy in our advanced civilization:

yo
wassup
nuttin
wan2 hang
k
where
here
k
l8tr
by

- from Usenet (what's *that*?)

A short is somthing connected, that shouldn't be.
An open is something not connected, which should be.

Nothing in what you wrote suggests you have a short.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"Anthony" wrote in message
...
The wire that leads to the switch on my lawn mower seems to
have a
short. I press the start switch and nothing happens. I grab
that wire
that leads to it and then press the switch and it starts. I
am having
difficulty in finding that short..The first thing i look for
is a torn
cover section which i do not see any of....any good way of
finding
this that i have overlooked? Thanks

Are you competent to comment?

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"David Nebenzahl" wrote in message
s.com...

Yep. Shorts (short for "short circuit") tend to cause things
like
sparks, smoke and fire. An open may crackle a little bit,
but mostly
causes frustration.


--
The current state of literacy in our advanced civilization:

yo
wassup
nuttin
wan2 hang
k
where
here
k
l8tr
by

- from Usenet (what's *that*?)

On Apr 9, 4:59*pm, "Stormin Mormon"
wrote:
Are you competent to comment?

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
*www.lds.org
.

"David Nebenzahl" wrote in message

s.com...

Yep. Shorts (short for "short circuit") tend to cause things
like
sparks, smoke and fire. An open may crackle a little bit,
but mostly
causes frustration.

--
The current state of literacy in our advanced civilization:

* *yo
* *wassup
* *nuttin
* *wan2 hang
* *k
* *where
* *here
* *k
* *l8tr
* *by

- from Usenet (what's *that*?)

Most of us thnk David is competent, even if he is a little short-fused
once in a while. But aren't we all???

On Apr 9, 3:30*pm, "A. Baum" wrote:
On Sat, 09 Apr 2011 11:42:05 -0700, Anthony wrote:
The wire that leads to the switch on my lawn mower seems to have a
short. I press the start switch and nothing happens. I grab that wire
that leads to it and then press the switch and it starts. I *am having
difficulty in finding that short..The first thing i look for is a torn
cover section which i do not see any of....any good way of finding this
that i have overlooked? Thanks

Probably the switch. When you move the wires you may move the insides of
the switch.

OK, so do I examine the switch and what should i look for ? A wire
that is not connected to a terminal of that switch? Its an old
lawnmower but still can get the job done and not worth getting to pay
an electrician to find the cause and correct. I was planning on giving
it to family member.

On 4/9/2011 5:54 PM, Anthony wrote:
On Apr 9, 3:30 pm, "A. wrote:
On Sat, 09 Apr 2011 11:42:05 -0700, Anthony wrote:
The wire that leads to the switch on my lawn mower seems to have a
short. I press the start switch and nothing happens. I grab that wire
that leads to it and then press the switch and it starts. I am having
difficulty in finding that short..The first thing i look for is a torn
cover section which i do not see any of....any good way of finding this
that i have overlooked? Thanks

Probably the switch. When you move the wires you may move the insides of
the switch.

OK, so do I examine the switch and what should i look for ? A wire
that is not connected to a terminal of that switch? Its an old
lawnmower but still can get the job done and not worth getting to pay
an electrician to find the cause and correct. I was planning on giving
it to family member.

As everybody else says, far more likely it's an open, not a short and
unlikely it's the innards of the switch.

Start w/ each wire from the switch, remove one end and measure
continuity from there to the other. Move the wire a little to try to
reproduce the fault.

Undoubtedly, one of them either has a break or the connector is failing
and intermittent.

--

On 4/9/2011 3:54 PM Anthony spake thus:

On Apr 9, 3:30 pm, "A. Baum" wrote:

On Sat, 09 Apr 2011 11:42:05 -0700, Anthony wrote:

The wire that leads to the switch on my lawn mower seems to have
a short. I press the start switch and nothing happens. I grab
that wire that leads to it and then press the switch and it
starts. I am having difficulty in finding that short..The first
thing i look for is a torn cover section which i do not see any
of....any good way of finding this that i have overlooked? Thanks

Probably the switch. When you move the wires you may move the
insides of the switch.

OK, so do I examine the switch and what should i look for ? A wire
that is not connected to a terminal of that switch?

That, or more likely something loose within the switch itself, in which
case you'll have to replace it. (Or not: conceivably, you could bypass
the switch and let the mower run whenever it's plugged in, which of
course wouldn't be quite so safe ...)


--
The current state of literacy in our advanced civilization:

yo
wassup
nuttin
wan2 hang
k
where
here
k
l8tr
by

- from Usenet (what's *that*?)

On 4/9/2011 6:05 PM, David Nebenzahl wrote:
On 4/9/2011 3:54 PM Anthony spake thus:
....

OK, so do I examine the switch and what should i look for ? A wire
that is not connected to a terminal of that switch?

That, or more likely something loose within the switch itself,...

If the wire weren't connected at all there's no way that simply jiggling
the switch would make any difference.

As he says, it's either the connection itself is intermittent at one end
or the other or there's a break in the wire that flexing it causes it to
make contact or similar.

I'd put the internals of the switch fairly far down; not impossible, but
check the external stuff first.

And, of course, you can do continuity checks across the terminals of the
switch to ensure the switch does make contact when turned to "run" and
"start" positions (assuming electric start).

--

On Sat, 09 Apr 2011 16:05:06 -0700, David Nebenzahl
wrote:

On 4/9/2011 3:54 PM Anthony spake thus:

On Apr 9, 3:30 pm, "A. Baum" wrote:

On Sat, 09 Apr 2011 11:42:05 -0700, Anthony wrote:

The wire that leads to the switch on my lawn mower seems to have
a short. I press the start switch and nothing happens. I grab
that wire that leads to it and then press the switch and it
starts. I am having difficulty in finding that short..The first
thing i look for is a torn cover section which i do not see any
of....any good way of finding this that i have overlooked? Thanks

Probably the switch. When you move the wires you may move the
insides of the switch.

OK, so do I examine the switch and what should i look for ? A wire
that is not connected to a terminal of that switch?

That, or more likely something loose within the switch itself, in which
case you'll have to replace it. (Or not: conceivably, you could bypass
the switch and let the mower run whenever it's plugged in, which of
course wouldn't be quite so safe ...)
Of the litterally DOZENS I've had that problem on, only one was the
switch. About 90%+ with those symptoms were broken wires between the
plug and the switch. Another common problem (different symptoms) is
the wire broken near the bottom of the handle where it flexes when you
move the handle.

I would not rule out the switch - but I'd check the wires and
connectors in that area (between plug and switch) first.

If there's only one wire it could be, depending on how you value your
time, it may be cheaper to just oder the switch and the wire and
replace both rather than spend time diagnosing it (since the end
result will almost certainly be that you have to replace one of the
two anyway).

If you give it away just show the person how you get it to start. I
wouldn't care if you gave it to me!

Jerry


http://community.webtv.net/awoodbutc...oodWorkingPage

On Sun, 10 Apr 2011 02:14:16 -0500, wrote:

On Sat, 09 Apr 2011 17:56:04 -0400, wrote:

On Sat, 9 Apr 2011 11:42:05 -0700 (PDT), Anthony
wrote:

The wire that leads to the switch on my lawn mower seems to have a
short. I press the start switch and nothing happens. I grab that wire
that leads to it and then press the switch and it starts. I am having
difficulty in finding that short..The first thing i look for is a torn
cover section which i do not see any of....any good way of finding
this that i have overlooked? Thanks
You do NOT have a short. 100% guaranteed, You have a bad connection,
or more likely a broken wire.

You need an ohm-meter and you need to know how to use it.

Cost of Ohm Meter $19.99
Cost of college education to learn to use it $78,950
Cost of replacement wire for mower $0.69
Cost of electrical tape to connect the wire $1.59

Total cost of repairs $78,972.27

Sounds like a lot, but think of the satisfaction and the lack of
dependence on someone who might do it wrong.

Cost of Ohm Meter $4 HF
Cost of book to learn to use it $30 or find one at the library,
or ask a series of questions here.
Cost of replacement wire for mower $0.69.
Cost of electrical tape to connect the wire $1.59

Hot.
Neutral.

Well, that's only one... no, wait! That's two!

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"Larry Fishel" wrote in message
...
If there's only one wire it could be, depending on how you
value your
time, it may be cheaper to just oder the switch and the wire
and
replace both rather than spend time diagnosing it (since the
end
result will almost certainly be that you have to replace one
of the
two anyway).

Working lawn mower.... priceless!

I'm reminded of the guy who fixed the locomotive with two
taps.
Modern version he
http://problogservice.com/2010/11/24...ap-the-hammer/

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..



wrote in message
...


You need an ohm-meter and you need to know how to use it.

Cost of Ohm Meter $19.99
Cost of college education to learn to use it $78,950
Cost of replacement wire for mower $0.69
Cost of electrical tape to connect the wire $1.59

Total cost of repairs $78,972.27

On Apr 10, 8:48*am, "Stormin Mormon"
wrote:
Working lawn mower.... priceless!

I'm reminded of the guy who fixed the locomotive with two
taps.
Modern version he
* *http://problogservice.com/2010/11/24...to-tap-the-ham...

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
*www.lds.org
.

*wrote in message

...



You need an ohm-meter and you need to know how to use it.

Cost of Ohm Meter $19.99
Cost of college education to learn to use it $78,950
Cost of replacement wire for mower $0.69
Cost of electrical tape to connect the wire $1.59

Total cost of repairs $78,972.27

Where can you get a 4-year education for on;y $78, 950 ????

In article
,
"hr(bob) " wrote:

Where can you get a 4-year education for on;y $78, 950 ????

If you can't learn to use a meter in 2 years, another 2 isn't going to
help.

But seriously, I keep saying, when this topic comes up, learning how to
use a meter is putting the cart before the horse. Fledgling DIYers are
better advised to learn some electric circuit fundamentals first. Then
they won't need any instruction on how to use the meter, and they'll
actually be able to interpret test results in a useful manner, to
diagnose faults.

On 4/9/2011 3:06 PM, Sjouke Burry wrote:
Anthony wrote:
The wire that leads to the switch on my lawn mower seems to have a
short. I press the start switch and nothing happens. I grab that wire
that leads to it and then press the switch and it starts. I am having
difficulty in finding that short..The first thing i look for is a torn
cover section which i do not see any of....any good way of finding
this that i have overlooked? Thanks
It sounds more like a broken wire/open connection.

Every electrical problem in the world is a short to the novice. Just
add some wire and make it long again.

On Apr 10, 3:31*pm, Tony Miklos wrote:
On 4/9/2011 3:06 PM, Sjouke Burry wrote:

Anthony wrote:
The wire that leads to the switch on my lawn mower seems to have a
short. I press the start switch and nothing happens. I grab that wire
that leads to it and then press the switch and it starts. I am having
difficulty in finding that short..The first thing i look for is a torn
cover section which i do not see any of....any good way of finding
this that i have overlooked? Thanks
It sounds more like a broken wire/open connection.

Every electrical problem in the world is a short to the novice. *Just
add some wire and make it long again.

Could u elaborate on that statement? Its confusing to this novice. It
is not the 25' wire that is plugged into the outlet and the mower that
is at fault its the wire on the mower from the motor to the switch.
How does one add wire to that? And what does this have to do with the
length?

On Apr 9, 1:42*pm, Anthony wrote:
The wire that leads to the switch on my lawn mower seems to have a
short. I press the start switch and nothing happens. I grab that wire
that leads to it and then press the switch and it starts. I *am having
difficulty in finding that short..The first thing i look for is a torn
cover section which i do not see any of....any good way of finding
this that i have overlooked? Thanks

I am guessing that this is an electric start lwnmower. You did not
specifically say, also a make and model ID would have reduced some of
the guessing that your poor ID has caused. If it is electric start,
you seem to be saying that when you push or turn the start switch,
that the electic motor that turns the gas motor does not operate. Can
you confirm this, also is it a push or a turn switch?? Then we can go
from that pont. But you must learn to be much more specific if you
want a rational answer posted here.

I think Tony was poking fun . Perhaps what he meant was to look
into replacing the piece of wire involved, it can't be very long
on a mower.

--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
DanG
Keep the whole world singing . . .


"Anthony" wrote in message
...
On Apr 10, 3:31 pm, Tony Miklos wrote:
On 4/9/2011 3:06 PM, Sjouke Burry wrote:

Anthony wrote:
The wire that leads to the switch on my lawn mower seems to
have a
short. I press the start switch and nothing happens. I grab
that wire
that leads to it and then press the switch and it starts. I
am having
difficulty in finding that short..The first thing i look for
is a torn
cover section which i do not see any of....any good way of
finding
this that i have overlooked? Thanks
It sounds more like a broken wire/open connection.

Every electrical problem in the world is a short to the novice.
Just
add some wire and make it long again.

Could u elaborate on that statement? Its confusing to this novice.
It
is not the 25' wire that is plugged into the outlet and the mower
that
is at fault its the wire on the mower from the motor to the
switch.
How does one add wire to that? And what does this have to do with
the
length?

On Sun, 10 Apr 2011 04:00:30 -0500, wrote:

On Sun, 10 Apr 2011 04:29:42 -0400, mm
wrote:

On Sun, 10 Apr 2011 02:14:16 -0500, wrote:

On Sat, 09 Apr 2011 17:56:04 -0400, wrote:

On Sat, 9 Apr 2011 11:42:05 -0700 (PDT), Anthony
wrote:

The wire that leads to the switch on my lawn mower seems to have a
short. I press the start switch and nothing happens. I grab that wire
that leads to it and then press the switch and it starts. I am having
difficulty in finding that short..The first thing i look for is a torn
cover section which i do not see any of....any good way of finding
this that i have overlooked? Thanks
You do NOT have a short. 100% guaranteed, You have a bad connection,
or more likely a broken wire.

You need an ohm-meter and you need to know how to use it.

Cost of Ohm Meter $19.99
Cost of college education to learn to use it $78,950
Cost of replacement wire for mower $0.69
Cost of electrical tape to connect the wire $1.59

Total cost of repairs $78,972.27

Sounds like a lot, but think of the satisfaction and the lack of
dependence on someone who might do it wrong.

Cost of Ohm Meter $4 HF

Better buy about 15 of those $4 HF meters. Each one will last about
30 minutes,

I know how you feel but I've had some $4 ones for years, used them for
hundreds of measurements. One function doesn't work in one of them,
but I burned it out myself. Had it set on 20 VDC and put it on
110vac. I"ve ruined a couple other functions in more expensive
meters over the last 45 years.

so if the learning takes 6 hours, there goes 12 HF meters,
leaving only 3 to do the repair. Like any of the cheap imported junk
sold at HF, you cant expect it to last for more than one use. But 15
meters will only cost $60 (plus tax). Which is just about the same
price of a quality Fluke brand meter which will last for many years.

Cost of book to learn to use it $30 or find one at the library,
or ask a series of questions here.

Or just go to
http://www.wikihow.com/Use-an-Ohmmeter
Costs nothing.... Use the saved $30 to buy a QUALITY meter. (unless
you're anti-American or have friends in China or Taiwan you want to
support by shopping at HF).

I'm no fan of China, but online made an outrageous claim.

Cost of replacement wire for mower $0.69.
Cost of electrical tape to connect the wire $1.59

On 4/10/2011 3:57 PM, Anthony wrote:
On Apr 10, 3:31 pm, Tony wrote:
On 4/9/2011 3:06 PM, Sjouke Burry wrote:

Anthony wrote:
The wire that leads to the switch on my lawn mower seems to have a
short. I press the start switch and nothing happens. I grab that wire
that leads to it and then press the switch and it starts. I am having
difficulty in finding that short..The first thing i look for is a torn
cover section which i do not see any of....any good way of finding
this that i have overlooked? Thanks
It sounds more like a broken wire/open connection.

Every electrical problem in the world is a short to the novice. Just
add some wire and make it long again.

Could u elaborate on that statement? Its confusing to this novice. It
is not the 25' wire that is plugged into the outlet and the mower that
is at fault its the wire on the mower from the motor to the switch.
How does one add wire to that? And what does this have to do with the
length?

LOL. Sorry, I was being half truthful and half sarcastic. To the
novice an actual broken wire that isn't completing the circuit is called
a "short". But in real life it isn't a short, it's an "open". If it
had a short it would be sparking and popping circuit breakers. Actually
now knowing it's an electric lawn mower "the 25' wire that is plugged
into the outlet and the mower" is what tipped me off, an open, or break
in the wire could also spark as it touches intermittently but it's
doubtful it would trip a circuit breaker. And the length, just part of
a dumb joke were the customer tells the electrician "if it's just a
short, why don't you lengthen it"?

But the good part is that you gave some more information, I hope I'm not
the only person who thought the mower was gasoline powered engine and
the wire in question is one that often shorts out the magneto to stop
the spark plug from sparking.

wrote:

On Sat, 09 Apr 2011 16:05:06 -0700, David Nebenzahl
wrote:


On 4/9/2011 3:54 PM Anthony spake thus:


On Apr 9, 3:30 pm, "A. Baum" wrote:


On Sat, 09 Apr 2011 11:42:05 -0700, Anthony wrote:


The wire that leads to the switch on my lawn mower seems to have
a short. I press the start switch and nothing happens. I grab
that wire that leads to it and then press the switch and it
starts. I am having difficulty in finding that short..The first
thing i look for is a torn cover section which i do not see any
of....any good way of finding this that i have overlooked? Thanks

Probably the switch. When you move the wires you may move the
insides of the switch.

OK, so do I examine the switch and what should i look for ? A wire
that is not connected to a terminal of that switch?

That, or more likely something loose within the switch itself, in which
case you'll have to replace it. (Or not: conceivably, you could bypass
the switch and let the mower run whenever it's plugged in, which of
course wouldn't be quite so safe ...)

Of the litterally DOZENS I've had that problem on, only one was the
switch. About 90%+ with those symptoms were broken wires between the
plug and the switch. Another common problem (different symptoms) is
the wire broken near the bottom of the handle where it flexes when you
move the handle.

I would not rule out the switch - but I'd check the wires and
connectors in that area (between plug and switch) first.

I bet it's a loose disconnection. G

Jeff

--
Jeffry Wisnia
(W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)
The speed of light is 1.8*10e12 furlongs per fortnight.