Small Engines (Lawn Mowers, etc.): Scotts Lawn Tractor, scotts lawn tractor, safety switches


Question
I have a Scotts 1542 lawn tractor (I believe manufactured by Murray) and the mower drive belt broke on it.  It will not start for me to move it regardless of whether or not I have the mower lever engaged.  Will the belt breaking cause the safety switch to keep the mower from starting?

I want to move it to repair it and have a ways to go to get to a decent work surface.  Is there a way to bypass the safety switch to drive it?

Answer
In theory it's easy to bypass safety switches but in reality  it can be a real pain.  Manufactures, from what I have experienced, rarely provide detailed schematics for the safety switch circuits.  The main difficulty is that the switches are interconnected, thus making it difficult to bypass.

Will the engine turn over?  What brand engine do you have?  Have you checked under the frame to see if there ae any wires hanging down from the frame?

Let me know.
Eric