QuestionSabre riding lawn tractor, 13 hp briggs (good compression), Symptom: blows 15 amp fuse when trying to start ( as soon as engage switch). Can turn starter by jumping with leads straight from battery, indicating starter ok. As info: Bought used, been stored a couple of years out of the weather, but in very good condition. No owner's manuel. Two safety switches are all that I see - clutch/brake and blade engagement, nothing under seat. I see two wires taped together, maybe where previous owner bypassed this switch. Negative cable from battery very corroded where attaches to frame. I will clean and reattach. I have a triplet meter. Where do I start my trouble shooting and am I looking for a short, a ground or both? How do I tell if one or all of the safety switches are bad?
Thanks, jjm
AnswerIf you send me the actually PIN on the serial number tag I can be more specific.
A general answer is that you are looking for a short to ground, also known as a "dead short".
Easiest thing to do is buy a box of fuses (3.00)
Unplug everything, and I mean everything. Every switch every plug, everything. Except the battery and the ignition switch.
Install a new fuse, turn the key on. If a fuse blows you will be looking for a wire that has been rubbed through and is touching metal.
If the fuse doesn't blow hook up 1 switch at a time until the fuse blows. When the fuse blows you will have found your faulty component. I'm betting on the regulator or stator. Testing the switches is easy. Put your ohm meter on each side of the switch, push the button, if meter goes from open to closed ,or, closed to open it works.
Most switches are bypassed because it's more convenient to bypass the switch than to operate the machine saftley.
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