Craftsman Wiring?

IF you post the Sears 917.xxxxxx number from the mower, possibly there is a schematic available so one can tell what charging "system" the tractor requires.

IF the engines are very similar, you should be able to simply swap the electrical parts.
Download the IPL's of the 2 engines from the Briggs website and you can compare the part#'s.
The same basic engine could have many variations on the electricals. Different, but "swappable".

I'm going thru that same process, replacing a B&S 10 hp with a 14 hp. There are more wires on the 14 hp, and more colors.
The black magneto wire turns into a blue.
The red stator wire turns into a white, then into an orange.
Those electrical schematics come in handy. With a multi tester and the schematics, and a little patience, you'd be surprised at what you can do. :thThumbsU

note: initially, do your circuit checking with the tractor battery disconnected. There will be less 'real' chance of blowing something up, then. :Stop:

Sorry I haven't posted back in a while. crazy busy at work. Tractor got put on the back burner.

I'm back on the project now.

Trying to wire up this tractor with a push button start and kill switch and light switch.

Still lost. :banghead3

I get the leads cooming from the starter solenoid. One lead to the starter motor, One lead to the battery. extra wire from battery side to the starter switch. other lead coming from top of solenoid goes to the starter switch.

thing im confused about are the two wires from the engine. One black lead and one read lead. black lead to power lights or a kill switch?

how does it charge the battery? Is there something missing from tractor?

Does the white lead go the starter solenoid.

i have tried to locate a wiring diagram but i'm a real newbie.

Hoping you guys can helpraying:

i included some pictures, hope it helps.

black lead is 90% of the time the kill wire the red lead should be for lights as far as charging the battery i have no idea i had to rewire an ingersoll 1212G after a wiring meltdown and now the battery doesn't charge so somewhere in the process of rewireing the whole tractor i goofed oh well they have battery chargers for a reason lol one of these days i'll take the time to figure it out

"Model # 42A707
Type A238.01"

The TYPE will start with a number, not a letter.


I asked for the Sears # but you choose not to answer that.

You don't state the model & type of the original engine, so one can't determine if the alternator is swappable to the replacement engine. That would make things much more sanitary....

There's a good chance the RED wire is 12VDC and the black wire is either ACV or -DCV.

It's up to you to provide the PERTINENT details!

If it's like my machine, the alternator produces output from two separate windings:
The starter is connected thru a red lead to one of the contact terminals on the starter solenoid. The other contact terminal connects thru red leads to the battery and, separately, to the fuse to ignition switch terminal "B" (see above).

I did find a thread about your machine here:
See, in particular, the post by "Airman" on 07-22-09, 07:12 am. That led to a schematic on page 27 of the manual for model number 917.255560 found here:
Incidentally, you can edit your "signature" on the Forum and I think it's a good idea to list the details of relevant equipment there, including model numbers. That way, you don't have to remember to provide it each time and everyone will know what you're talking about.

Good luck!

You can't assume that the schematics are the same because the model#'s are in the "ball park to each other.
You can look up the manuals for-
917.-
255470
255520
255521
255530
255540
255541
255551
and the model#'s are "closer" than 255560. You would also see that there are at least a couple different schematics.
http://www.managemyhome.com/mmh/lis_pdf/OWNM/LR708038.pdf
http://www.managemyhome.com/mmh/lis_pdf/OWNM/L0805319.pdf
http://v-import-manual.s-9.dk/data/archive/files/255521.pdf
http://v-import-manual.s-9.dk/data/archive/files/255530.pdf
http://www.managemyhome.com/mmh/lis_pdf/OWNM/L0804436.pdf
http://v-import-manual.s-9.dk/data/archive/files/
http://v-import-manual.s-9.dk/data/archive/files/255541.pdf
http://v-import-manual.s-9.dk/data/archive/files/255551.pdf


One extreme case in point is- 917.
276010
276011
http://www.managemyhome.com/mmh/lis_pdf/OWNM/L0305391.pdf
http://www.managemyhome.com/mmh/lis_pdf/OWNM/L0309694.pdf

IF both engines were Briggs opposed twins, the most sanitary method would be to simply swap the alternator & flywheel from the old engine to the new one.

I thought the black wire coming from the stator would be a ground/ kill wire but whe I hook it ot a ground the motor continues to get spark.

I'm gonna have to keep trying.

I have a push button start hooked up right now (since the original wiring was ripped out by previous owner).

Just gotta get the kill switch to work or it is real pain choking the motor everytime I want o shut it down.

I will check those schematics you sent posted links to, realy appreciate the help guys:thanku:

I know this sort of problem is probably annoying to experinced guys.

Bill Kapaun said:

You can't assume that the schematics are the same because the model#'s are in the "ball park to each other. . .
You can look up the manuals for-
917.-
255470
255520
255521
255530
255540
255541
255551
and the model#'s are "closer" than 255560. You would also see that there are at least a couple different schematics.
http://www.managemyhome.com/mmh/lis_pdf/OWNM/LR708038.pdf
http://www.managemyhome.com/mmh/lis_pdf/OWNM/L0805319.pdf
http://v-import-manual.s-9.dk/data/archive/files/255521.pdf
http://v-import-manual.s-9.dk/data/archive/files/255530.pdf
http://www.managemyhome.com/mmh/lis_pdf/OWNM/L0804436.pdf
http://v-import-manual.s-9.dk/data/archive/files/
http://v-import-manual.s-9.dk/data/archive/files/255541.pdf
http://v-import-manual.s-9.dk/data/archive/files/255551.pdf


One extreme case in point is- 917.
276010
276011
http://www.managemyhome.com/mmh/lis_pdf/OWNM/L0305391.pdf
http://www.managemyhome.com/mmh/lis_pdf/OWNM/L0309694.pdf

IF both engines were Briggs opposed twins, the most sanitary method would be to simply swap the alternator & flywheel from the old engine to the new one.

Click to expand...

Actually, all of these are just starting points for analysis of how to fix the problem. Note that the 255470 model you cited (one of your manual links) has essentially the same circuit as I was describing. Same for your 255520.

The extreme cases you cite are also extreme in their model numbers: A 2760 series is far removed from a 2555 series. In my limited experience, the first four digits describe a series, the fifth digit describes the siblings (11 hp, 16 hp, or 18 hp, for example), and the sixth digit describes minor variants.

In keeping with that, the 255511 is a VariDrive unit and the 255520 has a six-speed transaxle.

The 2760 you described has a voltage regulator in the alternator output and everything runs from the DC produced.

If I had to guess, the new engine under discussion for this problem produces the regulated DC only, just like the engine on the 2760 mentioned above. That guess is based on its having just one wire (plus the "kill" wire). In that case, it should be possible to reconnect the circuits so that the headlamps (the only AC powered items in the original circuit) run off the regulated DC as well.

However, it would be important to check the ratings of the lamps themselves to ensure that the regulated voltage and current supplied by the "new" engine are safe and adequate for every item they power on the old tractor.

Remember, everything discussed here merely represents a group of "pointers" for future testing and analysis by the "mechanic" before proceeding!

Incidentally, the MTD support site at
may also be useful in finding out the details of the original wiring in the MTD machine.

Thanks everybody for your help:thanku:

I got the tractor wired up this morning, those links and reference material you guys posted really help.

Couldn't have done it without the help:thThumbsU

I'll post some pictures when I get a couple more mods done.

Cheers:trink39: