AboutEric A. Jones Expertise Lawnmower Repair . Certified Master Service Technician from B&S. Have 13 years experience on B&S, Lawn Chief, Weed Eater, Echo, Peerless, Wheel Horse, Snapper, Atlas, MTD, McCulloch, Homelite and many other numerous brands. Specialize in electrical repair.
Experience Born and raised in the midwest. Started tinkering with engines when I was about 14 on my Suzuki RM-80. I began lawn mower repair at a small hardware store. I knew absolutely nothing. I read lots of repair manuals and met an older fellow who taught me many lessons. I continued working on small engines through high school and paid my way through college working on mowers at the same hardware store. Decided to get away from the midwest and mower repair so I joined the Air Force. I repaired air traffic control electronic equipment and ended up in Hawaii where I got a part time job at Small Engine Clinic. I gained a lot of experience from the Small Engine Clinic and had a blast repairing small engines. I then took the Briggs and Stratton Master Service Technician test and earned my MST. I then traveled to Wisconsin where I attended the factory update training seminar and received formal training. I received a scholarship from the Air Force and am currently pursuing another degree.
Question Eric:
My neighbor has an older rear engine snapper riding mower with a 10hp electronic ignition Briggs engine that will not start. He has replaced the coil and I replaced the ignition switch. The only way I could get it started was to disconnect the wires on the shifter safety switch and hook them together. The engine started but would not cut off , I then connected the switch back up and it started and cut off with the ignition switch. My neighbor then took the mower home and cut his grass , cut it off and tried to restart after about two hours and almost ran the battery down before it started. Next day would not start at all. Engine getting fuel but no spark. The ignition switch may not have been bad but when I checked with a test light I was getting power on red wire all the time (from battery) Power on blue wire in start position but no power on black wire which appears to supply engine power. Any help would be appreciated as I can fix most things mechanical but sometimes have problems with even simple electrical woes.
Thank You
Ernie Bryant
Answer The black wire should run to the engine block...near the throttle cable assembly. Check to make sure. If this is correct, then the black wire should be "open", infinite resistance, with respect to ground when the key is in the run position. When you turn the key off the wire should be grounded, no resistance to ground. Basically you short the primary coil voltage to ground just like taking a screwdriver and shorting the spark plug to ground to cut off the engine. There should NEVER be any voltage on this wire.
Check the wiring harness. Several Snappers use a safety interlock device generally mounted near the key switch. Unfortunately there is no way to check the device.
I would also check the safety switches with and ohm meter. The switches should show open and closed like a light switch. You may want to clean the connections.
Let me know if you find the interlock device and about the black wire.
Eric
