The spring ride-on mower guide

4 common things that can go wrong with your ride-on

Ride-on mowers are easy to use, but they’re also sophisticated pieces of machinery. Here are four common issues something has (or is about to) go wrong.

1 Mower won’t start

Common causes:

■ no fuel;

■ safety feature engaged;

■ flat, faulty, or dead battery;

■ blown fuse;

■ bad spark plug;

■ blocked carburetor, fuel line, or fuel filter;

■ failing/failed alternator ;

■ failed starter solenoid or starter motor. Modern ride-on mowers have a range of safety switches that mean the engine won’t start if they’re engaged. Examples include if the deck blades are set to spin, the machine is in ‘drive,’ or there’s no-one sitting on the operator’s seat (this prevents it from being turned on while the operator is standing beside the mower).

Always check the battery connectors are tightly fixed to the terminals – if they’ve worked loose or have come off, the engine can’t get enough spark to start.

If you hear a click when you turn the key, but the engine won’t turn over, use a multimeter to check:

■ the battery for a charge – modern digital battery chargers can tell you if a battery needs replacing when you hook it up.

■ the starter solenoid, starter motor, fuses, and wiring from the battery to the starter solenoid.

If it’s none of these, other possibilities are a blocked carburetor, fuel line, or fuel filter, or worst of all, a seized engine.

2 Engine is overheating

Common causes:

■ low engine oil level;

■ radiator water level too low;

■ blocked air filter;

PRO TIP: a good digital multimeter is invaluable for diagnosing electrical faults in any vehicle or machine. It measures voltage, current, and resistance in a circuit. This can quickly help you to narrow down an issue to something simple, eg a blown fuse, a failing battery, and rule other electrical faults in or out. Price: $35-$80