10 Reasons Your Greenworks Lawn Mower Won’t Start

Greenworks manufactures one of the most popular battery-powered lawn mowers on the market today. Just because you purchased a good mower doesn’t mean it will be problem free. Having a mower that won’t start is a reminder of this fact.

A Greenworks lawn mower won’t start when it doesn’t have sufficient battery power due to using the wrong size battery, incorrect battery installation, a dead battery or one that will no longer hold a charge. A Greenworks mower will also not start when it has loose or pinched wires; a bad safety switch; or debris collecting under the deck.

Keep reading for additional causes to your starting problem. Always remove the battery before making any repairs to the electrical system.

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Follow all safety instructions provided in your equipment operator’s manual prior to diagnosing, repairing, or operating.Consult a professional if you don’t have the skills, or knowledge or are not in the condition to perform the repair safely.

Reasons Your Greenworks Lawn Mower Won’t Start

Insufficient Greenworks Mower Battery Power

When your Greenworks battery isn’t giving you good power, your lawn mower won’t start. Make sure you are using the correct battery size for your model lawn mower.

Greenworks Battery is Not Correctly Installed

Check the installation of your battery to make sure it is securely in place. The battery should slide into the grooves of the battery compartment. On most Greenworks mowers, you will hear a click when the battery is securely in place.

Battery Is Dead in You Greenworks Lawn Mower

Greenworks lawn mowers are battery-powered so it’s no surprise that the mower won’t start when the battery is dead. You may be able to check the level of charge on the battery for some models using an LED lighting system.

This lighting system varies by model. You may find it on the battery, on the mower’s indicator panel or you may have to place your battery on the charger to read the charging status.

You can tell your battery is going bad when you fully charge the battery and it is no longer holding a charge as long as it once did. Losing the ability to hold a charge is a sign the battery is dying. Another sign your battery is going bad is when it becomes very hot.

You need to buy a replacement battery if you begin to notice your battery can’t hold a charge, is charging very slowly, or is getting extremely hot. Batteries begin to fail because they become old, are exposed to extreme temperatures or they fail mechanically.

Bad Connection with Greenworks Battery Charger or Wall Outlet

Greenworks mowers use a battery that will need to be charged using a battery charger. Check the connection between the charger and outlet.

You can use a standard 120V outlet. The plug style must match the style of your outlet. Do not attempt to modify the plug.

Insert your battery into the charger making sure the contacts on the battery pack engage with the charger and is securely in place. You will most likely have lights on the battery that indicate the level of the battery charge.

Your Greenworks Battery is Excessively Hot

When your Greenworks battery gets excessively hot, the mower will shut down. You will need to let the battery cool before you attempt to restart it.

Incorrect Greenworks Mower Starting Procedure

Whenever you get a new electric lawn mower or one that is just new to you, make sure you check its user manual to know all of your Greenworks mower’s safety features and safety recommendations.

Greenworks uses a safety key to prevent children from accidentally starting the mower accidentally depressing the bail switch bar or handles. Not following these procedures won’t allow the mower to start:

Greenworks Push Mower Starting Procedure:

• With the battery securely in place, insert the safety key.
• Press and hold the start button
• Pull the safety bar (bail switch) to meet the handlebar or the start handles to meet the handlebar (varies by model)
• Release the safety button.
• The mower will shut off when you release the safety bar.

Bad Safety Switch on Your Greenworks Mower

If any of your safety switches fail, including the bail switch, your mower may fail to start. You can test each switch by temporarily bypassing them with a jumper wire. Replace any bad switch.

For your safety and the safety of others, never operate your mower without all of the safety switches in working order.

Read your owner’s manual for all safety switches that may be installed on your Greenworks lawn mower. Read my article on the dangers of electric mowers so you understand why you need to take caution when working on your electric mower.

Loose or Pinched Wires on Your Greenworks Mower

There are many electrical wires running through your lawn mower. Some of these wires may develop a short because they become loose or pinched. Wiggle wires to check for a short. You can also use a multimeter to identify a short.

You can repair these loose or pinched connections using a wire nut. Before beginning the repair, remove the battery. Also, check with Greenworks if you are still covered by its manufacturer warranty. Repairing a damaged wire yourself can void the warranty.

Debris is Restricting Blade Rotation on Greenworks Electric Mower

It is not uncommon for grass clippings, dirt, and other debris to stick to the underside of your Greenworks lawn mower deck. Check underneath the deck and scrape any debris that has been collected. As a reminder, always remove your battery before working on the deck.

Large amounts of grass in the electric lawn mower deck might be inhibiting your blade’s ability to rotate which can be the root cause of the lawn mower refusing to start. Overloading the engine due to a plugged mower deck can stop your mower and prevent it from starting.

To reduce overloading the engine, avoid cutting wet grass and raise the cutting height when cutting thick or tall grass. This along with slowing down while mowing will decrease the load put on your Greenworks lawn mower.

Damaged Components on Greenworks Electric Lawn Mower

Hopefully, your Greenworks mower’s starting troubleshooting doesn’t come to this point, but if it does, you might have a pricy solution on your hands.

While it certainly is not ideal it’s inevitable that, at some point or other, components on your lawn mower are going to wear down and will need to be replaced.

Many pieces need to be replaced routinely and come at a minimal cost, but the most problematic pieces might cost you more than the lawn mower is worth after purchasing the replacement and any professional help required to fix it.

Therefore, you will want to check the components on your lawn mower and make a judgment call about whether it’s worth fixing depending on what is damaged.

Some common pieces that often need replacing on an electric lawn mower include:

• Batteries
• Blades
• Safety switches

We’ve already discussed most of these components and detailed how they can prevent your lawn mower from starting if they are damaged or out of place. However, a few components we haven’t mentioned in detail that are relevant here are its start switch and motor.

If you discover that either of these pieces is damaged and likely the cause behind your lawn mower not starting, you’re probably better off taking your Greenworks lawn mower to a professional repair shop instead of fixing it yourself.

Not only are these components usually pricy, but they are best handled by individuals with extensive mechanical and electrical knowledge who can safely remove the damaged parts and reinstall new ones.