Why a Troy-Bilt Mower Won’t Start or Crank: 7 Causes
When the mower won’t turn over, it’s time to figure out what’s preventing the starter motor from receiving power.
Problems with the battery, wiring, electrical components, ignition switch, safety switch, fuses, starter solenoid, or beginning motor can prevent a Troy-Bilt lawn mower from starting.
Prevent harm to yourself by using caution. Get in touch with a professional mechanic if you feel uneasy or inexperienced tinkering with the electrical system.
Table of Contents
Causes of Troy-Bilt Lawnmower’s Refusal to Start
Trouble Starting Your Troy-Bilt Mower Due to a Dead or Faulty Battery
A Troy-Bilt mower won’t start if the battery is too weak. If you intend to store the mower for an extended period of time, it is crucial that the battery be kept completely charged at all times.
When recharging a 12-volt battery, use a dedicated battery charger. Put on safety goggles and rubber gloves to prevent burns and electrical shocks before proceeding. To use a charger to replenish the battery on your lawn mower, do as follows:
- Get at the terminals and batteries. A screwdriver may be required to expose the battery. Don’t take the battery out of its case.
- Make sure the positive cable is connected first when using charging cables. The red cable, or the plus-sign cable, is the one you need.
- Attach the wire to the battery’s positive terminal.
- Connect the negative end of the cable to the battery’s negative terminal. Remember, this is the negative-sign cable (also known as the black cable).
- Anything that isn’t covered with rubber should be avoided at all costs because touching it could result in electrocution.
- You can adjust the charger’s voltage and current to meet your needs. In most cases, 12 volts is the standard for lawn mower batteries.
- Greater current speeds up the battery’s charging process. At most, you should only use 10 amps once you’ve expanded past the initial two camps. The most efficient charging method is a gradual one.
A new battery should be installed if the old one is unable to maintain its charge. A replacement battery can be purchased from any local hardware store, auto parts store, or lawn mower dealership.
Please remember to bring your old battery. There is typically a core charge if you don’t bring in your old battery.
Troy-Bilt Lawn Mower’s Wires and Connections Are Loose
If the Troy-Bilt battery checks out, then it’s time to inspect the cords and plugs. Vibration and jolting during mowing can loosen connections between wires, cables, and the mower itself.
Verify that the connections are tight and that there is no corrosion that could create a break in the circuit. Connections and terminals are vulnerable to corrosion when exposed to moisture.
Take a little wire brush and some baking soda solution and see if you can get rid of this rusting (2 cups water to 3 heaping tablespoons of baking soda). To clean the parts, disconnect the batteries and take them apart.
If the corrosion is too severe and cleaning is ineffective, you will need to substitute the terminals or the component.
Your Troy-Bilt Lawnmower Has a Blown Fuse
To keep the electrical components of your Troy-Bilt mower safe, a fuse has been placed. Make sure there is no blown fuse in your mower.
Put a probe from your multimeter into each of the fuse’s prongs to assess the resistance if you’re not sure if the fuse has blown.
If the resistance is close to 0, then the fuse is fine. A blown fuse is indicated by a reading of infinite resistance.
Fuse replacements should be of the exact amperage as the fuse they are replacing. To find out why your Troy-Bilt keeps blowing fuses, you should take it to a repair shop or dealership that specializes in lawn equipment.
Issues with the Ignition Switch of Your Troy-Bilt Lawnmower
If inserting the key and turning it results in nothing happening, the ignition key switch may be at fault. Despite your best efforts, you will not be able to get your Troy-Bilt to turn over and start.
Whether you suspect the ignition switch is malfunctioning, you can test it with a multimeter to see if there is any continuity. The B and S on the prongs indicate the direction the current should go from the battery and the starter solenoid, respectively.
Put the key in and turn it until you hear the starter sound. One probe is touched to the B prong, while the other is placed on the S prong of the plug in order to measure the resistance.
The resistance of a high-quality key switch for the ignition should be close to zero. If the resistance reading on your ignition key switch is infinite, you need to replace it.
Issues with the Safety Switch on Your Troy-Bilt Lawnmower
The Troy-Bilt you drive is outfitted with a safety feature called operator presence control. It’s possible that your Troy-inability Bilt’s to start is due to a faulty safety switch.
Run a multimeter test on your switch. Also, if you’re troubleshooting, you can bypass the safety switch for a little while to see if the switch is broken.
Mowers should never be used if the safety switch has been removed.
Putting a lawnmower to work after removing the safety switch is extremely dangerous. There’s no telling when you’ll need a safety switch until it’s too late to prevent a major accident.
Your Troy-Bilt Lawnmower Has a Faulty Starter Solenoid.
To get your Troy-motor Bilt’s revving, you need to activate the starting solenoid, which is an electromagnetic switch.
A faulty starting solenoid may have a weak spring or a corroded copper plate. The solenoid might fail for a variety of reasons, including a weak starter, a defective battery, or a poor ground.
A fully charged battery is required before you can test the starter solenoid. The procedures for diagnosing a faulty starter solenoid may be found in How to Tell Your Lawn Mower Solenoid is Bad, which you should follow to further test the solenoid.
It Could Be Your Troy-Bilt Lawnmower’s Starter Motor
If your Troy-Bilt won’t start, you should check the starter after eliminating the battery, cables, wiring, ground, and starter solenoid. Take out the starter and put it through its paces.
Before you go out and buy an expensive new starter for your Troy-Bilt mower, have the one you already have checked out by a local repair company that specializes in starter and alternator repairs, and have it rebuilt if necessary.
Is There Still a Problem with Your Troy-Bilt Mower?
When you’ve had a lawnmower for a while, it’s bound to develop some sort of fault, whether it refuses to start, dies mid-mowing, smokes, leaks gas, makes a poor cut, vibrates, or something else else.
To assist you save both time and money the next time your Troy-Bilt mower develops a problem, I have compiled this troubleshooting guide.
The manual is available at Common Troy-Bilt Lawn Mower Problems & Solutions.
Hire a professional to fix your lawnmower if you don’t feel confident diagnosing and fixing it yourself.
Doing so will protect you from harm and prevent further damage to the mower. There is a good chance that the lawn mower shop or dealership near you that specializes in Troy-Bilt products will be able to assist you.
