Jump Starting a lawn mower

Author: Dave
Date: 10.30.11 - 7:40am

Its fall, frost is out this morning and its so cold the lawn mower battery doesnt have enough juice to kick over the riding lawn mower.

Now last year, I hooked the charger or a car battery to the mowers battery with jumpers to get it started. It did work, but I also eventually ended up ruining the starter solinoid. When i took it apart I found the movable contact had gotten so hot that it melted itself into the side wall of the plastic housing.

The Solinoid just wasnt designed to handle those kinds of amps or the prolonged cranking cycle.

This damage left it prone to jamming both in the down (off) and even once in the up (ON) position!. No fun when you have to run across the yard for a wrench with the mower continually cranking itself to death.

Anyway..there is a little bit wiser way to jump it I believe. This morning, I hooked the jumpers to the extra car battery. Negative went to the block, and I tapped the positive directly against the starter positive contact as I sat on the mower and turned the key to initiate the juice from the mower battery to teh starter as well. This way you arent sending all those extra amps through the mowers wiring which wasnt designed for it.

Little more complicated, but seems like a better option.

and of course..As with all good ole boy fixes, user beware and use your own judgement on whats safe or not.