[rons old ford]

My Toro with B&S 283707. Again. Yesterday I mowed 2 acres, then pulled up to hook up the fertilizer spreader to get the food on before the rain. I had it idling(smoothly) and pulled out the spreader. Then I thought, 'I can save some gas if I shut it off while I'm busy with the spreader.' Got it all squared away 10 minutes later and hit the starter.........nothing. No click, no spin, nothing. New battery.

There's only 2 safety lockouts for starting, parking brake must be on, and PTO must be off. The dead man seat switch doesn't activate unless the PTO is on.

Not sure where to start.

 

[RED-85-Z51]

make sure the fuse is not blown or loose.

make sure batt cables are tight.

unplug ignition switch, and plug it back in.

 

[rons old ford]

The fuse and holder were good.
Battery cables were tight, and the dielectric was ok.
Pulled the connector from the switch and re-plugged it in a few times to wear to a good connection.
Hit the starter, no spin.
Tested the PTO switch and had proper continuity in both on and off positions.
I couldn't get to the parking brake switch to test it.
I vacuumed the whole area to get grass/dirt out so I could see everything clearly.

Hit the starter and it spun! Tried it several times and it spun each time.

I pulled the head the other day to check for a stuck valve and got a LOT of raw gas dripping out of the cylinder, so my troubles with the float and needle aren't over. But it started.

Like I said, it has a mind of it's own. Thanks RED.

One good thing came out of all of this, I scored points with the lady accountant for letting me order the new rebuild parts for the Ford so we have a backup mower.