Troy-Bilt Riding Mower Blades Won’t Start

Trying to cut the grass when the blades won’t turn over is an exercise in futility.

The blades of a Troy-Bilt riding lawn mower could not spin or engage if a number of different components are damaged or worn down. This includes the mower deck belt, the pulley, the tensioner bracket or spring, the PTO switch, the clutch, the battery, the safety switch, and the fuse.

The Troy-Bilt user manual will warn you not to reach under the mower deck, and you should always listen to those warnings. Disconnect the spark plug wire(s) and wait for the engine to cease running after removing the key from the ignition.

The Blades on My Troy-Bilt Mower Won’t Start or Engage

Troy-Bilt Deck Belt in Use on a Lawn Mower

It’s important to keep the mower belt in excellent condition. A deck-mounted belt turns the mower’s blades through pulleys. The blades of your Troy-Bilt mower may not turn if the belt on the deck has seen better days.

a faulty or old A Troy-Bilt deck belt is one that is broken, frayed, or has a glossy sheen over it. It’s possible for a worn deck belt to sink all the way into the pulley grooves.

A worn Troy-Bilt belt should be replaced. The blades may still turn, although at slower rates. The quality of the finished product will suffer as a result.

To produce suction beneath the deck and raise the grass for an equal cut, a high blade speed is necessary.

Troy-Bilt Mower Deck Had Its Belt Come Off Its Pulleys

If the belt has slipped off the pulleys and the mower blades won’t spin, check the belt’s condition as well as any potential causes of the belt’s slippage, such as a broken pulley, a worn tensioner arm, or a missing spring.

Here’s a list of some more things that might make your Troy-Bilt belt continually slipping off the mower deck.

Troy-Bilt Lawnmower Idler Arm and Spring that Have Seen Better Days

A tensioner arm and spring maintain the idler pulleys’ positions. A pulley will be attached to one side of the bracket, and a spring will be attached to the other.

If these components wear out, the belt might come away from the pulleys and cause an accident. It’s possible for a spring to shorten or lengthen. Wear on the hole in the bracket might cause the tensioner to become untight.

Toro Pulley with a Worn Bearing

The pulleys on a lawnmower’s deck need bearings. When the bearing in a pulley wears out, the pulleys may no longer rest in a perfectly parallel position to the mower’s deck.

The pulley can jiggle instead because of a faulty bearing. A swaying motion of the pulley might cause the belt to slide off of it.

A faulty pulley may be found by gently rotating it by hand and checking for resistance or a bearing noise. Check whether the pulley can be rocked back and forth by grabbing it from both ends.

A high-quality pulley will have a solid deck mount. If the bearing in a pulley assembly is worn out, you should replace the whole thing.

Faulty PTO Switch on a Troy-Bilt Mower (Electric Clutch)

The PTO switch is a knob on most mowers that connects the battery to the clutch. When the switch stops working, the fan won’t spin.

Verify that the switch has continuity. Substitute a break in continuity for a toggle switch.

Troy-Bilt Lawnmower Clutch Failure

The PTO (Power Take Off) clutch links the motor to the propeller by means of a drive belt. A new clutch must be fitted if the old one is too worn or damaged to spin the blades.

To learn more about clutches, I recommend reading A Review of Lawn Mower Clutches.

Troy-Bilt Clutch Cable Wear (Manual Clutch)

If your Troy-Bilt mower has a manual engagement clutch, you could look in the engine compartment for the clutch lever and cable.

Make that the clutch is being engaged and that everything from the lever and cable to the spring and bushings is in proper operating condition.

All the old and broken furniture has to go.

Troy-Bilt Lawn Mower has a Weak Battery

When the battery activates the clutch solenoid, the mower’s blades begin to turn. With a dying battery, you won’t be able to engage the clutch.

A multimeter may be used to measure the battery’s voltage. Approximately 12.7 volts is what a fully charged 12-volt battery should show. If it’s lower than that, the battery has to be charged.

Read 5 Things That Are Draining the Life of Your Lawn Mower Battery if the battery on your lawn mower keeps dying for no apparent reason.

Battery chargers may be used to recharge your Troy-Bilt battery. Put on safety glasses and gloves to guard against electrical shock before proceeding.

To use a charger on your riding mower or zero-turn, do as follows:

• Take off the housing and hook up the wires. You may need a screwdriver to get to the battery. There are two possible locations for the battery: under the seat or in the trunk. The battery should not be removed from its housing.
• The positive terminal of a battery must be connected first for charging to take place. That’s the red cable, often known as the plus sign cable. Join the wire to the plus side of the battery.
• Join the cable’s negative end to the minus end of the battery. Sometimes referred to as “black,” this is the negative-sign wire.
• Stay away from anything that isn’t made of rubber if you don’t want to get electrocuted.
• You may adjust the charger’s voltage and current to meet your requirements. The standard voltage for lawnmower batteries is 12 volts. A faster battery charge may be achieved with a greater current. Two amps is the minimum and ten is the maximum that you should use. Slow and steady wins the race.

If the battery is showing signs of not holding a charge, you should replace it. Most hardware and auto parts retailers have batteries for 12-volt lawn mowers. Batteries could be available at your local Troy-Bilt mower dealer.

The dead batteries should be brought along. In most cases, a core fee will be applied if the old battery is not returned. Between $15 and $25 is the typical price range for a store’s core charge.

Troy-Bilt Lawnmower Faulty Safety Switch

There is a safety switch for the operator presence system right beside the driver’s seat on Troy-Bilts. A switch underneath the control panel detects the operator’s presence.

There is a safety feature on the lawnmower that prevents the blades from spinning if the operator is not there.

It may not be feasible to determine who is at the controls if the seat swap fails. The safety system will not allow the blades to spin if the seat switch fails.

If you suspect a faulty seat switch, you may do a multimeter test or temporarily disable the safety switch. Turn on the lawnmower’s safety switch before using it.

Safety switches should be tested regularly to ensure proper operation of all machinery.

Troy-Bilt Lawnmower Has a Blown Fuse

A blown fuse might be the reason why the clutch isn’t receiving electricity from the battery. The fuse might prevent an electrical surge or short from damaging the Troy-Bilt system.

When a fuse blows, you need to replace it with another fuse of the same amperage rating. If you keep having electrical problems with your mower, you should take it to a Troy-Bilt service shop or a lawn mower repair company.