Ariens Riding Mower, Spark Plug Will Not Fire

Equipment: Riding Lawn Mower
Brand: Ariens A175G42 Front-Engine Riding Mower
Engine Brand: Briggs & Stratton
Starting System 12-Volt Key Start
HP/CC 19 HP/540 cc
Fuel Tank Size 1.5 Gallons
Cylinders 1 Cylinder

Problem:
When the ignition is turned the motor fan will spin for about 1 second.

I checked the battery 12.6V, fresh gas, oil is clean and level, it appears that there are no leaks, and all filters look clean.

I recently charged the battery to 12.6V, I have tried three spark plugs, 1 original and 2 new.

I ground the spark plug to the engine chassis and I see zero spark, on all three spark plugs. I checked the cable connections on the battery.

I do not have a wiring diagram so I don't know where to check. Any idea on how to troubleshoot?

Thanks,

 

Sounds like you might have more than one problem if the engine only cranks for one second. Does it crank normally when the plug is out?

 

Forgive my ignorance but define crank? Should the fan on the top of the engine keep spinning?

It spins for a second or two each time I turn the key. I'm fairly mechanically inclined but I work on Air conditioning systems not motors, so some of the terms are new to me.

 

Crank, as in turn trying to start, (rotate).
Remove the plugs and turn the key, what happens.
Not going to see a spark on the plug unless the engines able to turn over.
All It takes is one bad connection, starter, solinod.

 

Ok,

So according to the wiring schematic:

http://www.homedepot.com/catalog/pdf...125ef01653.pdf

There are 4 safeties:

The Seat, Break, Clutch, and Reverse Pedal.

I removed the spark plug, and I triggered each of the safeties and the engine wouldn't do the 1 second partial crank.

Once all the safeties were released I sat in the seat and turned the ignition and I got a partial 1 second crank.

To be clear, I define a partial crank as the fan spins forward and then stops and springs back.

So, I assume, I should check out the ignition, solenoid, and starter in that order? Anything special I should know about checking those.

Thanks,

-Phil

 

Use some jumper cables and jump start it off your car/truck. It sounds like the battery is bad.
The fan you're referring to are the cooling fins on the flywheel.

 

tried to jump it didn't make a difference. the battery has 12.4 volts

 

Cranking is the rotation of the engine under power of the starter. I'm suspecting battery connections may be loose/corroded.

 

I leaning with Cheese. I've seen the times that battery cables would be corroded several inches under the plastic covering on the cables (which you wont see unless you cut into the plastic cover).

Try this, get jumper cables & hook to your car/truck. Hook the black/ground to the frame of the lawn mower & make sure its a good ground. Then connect to the red to the positive on the battery. If it still doesn't crank, hook the red to the positive/hot side of the starter. See if it turns over then. You really wont need the key on for it to spin, it just wont crank till you turn the key on.

My intent is to bypass the black/ground first, then the hot/positive/red cable 2nd. Obviously if it starts by bypassing either cable, just replace that cable or both.