Why Your Ferris Zero Turn Won’t Crank or Turn Over: 7 Possible Causes

If your zero-turn won’t flip over or start, you need to locate the source(s) of power loss before you can get the engine spinning.

When the battery is low, the wiring and components are loose, the fuse is blown, the ignition switch is defective, the safety switch is faulty, the starting solenoid is problematic, or the starter motor is faulty, a Ferris zero-turn will not turn over or crank.

Be careful not to electrocute yourself while dealing with your electrical system. Before working on the electrical system, remove the black negative battery wire.

When troubleshooting, repairing, or using a piece of equipment, be sure to first read and follow any safety recommendations found in the handbook. If you don’t feel confident in your ability to conduct the repair safely due to a lack of knowledge, experience, or physical ability, you should get some help from a professional.

Causes of a Stuck Ferris Zero-Turn Mower

Your Ferris zero-turn vehicle’s battery is dead or malfunctioning

A Ferris zero turn cannot be made with a battery too weak to even operate a light bulb. The battery will last longer if it is kept completely charged, which is especially essential if you want to store the mower for a prolonged length of time.

Follow the guidelines in the article “5 Things That Are Draining the Life of Your Lawn Mower Battery” to check the health of your battery.

Battery Recharge: When handling the battery, it’s important to use safety goggles and gloves to prevent injury to your eyes and skin. Here’s how to use a battery charger on a 12-volt battery:

• Get at the connections and batteries. A screwdriver may be required to access the battery. It is not recommended that you take the battery out of its housing.
• The positive cable should be plugged in first when connecting the charging cords. The red cable, or the plus-sign cable, is the one you need. Connect the wire to the battery’s positive pole.
• Always connect the negative end of the wire to the battery’s negative terminal. The negative-sign cable, or black cable, is this.
• To avoid electrocution, avoid touching anything that isn’t covered with rubber.
• Choose an appropriate voltage and current output from the charger. On average, lawn mower batteries have 12 volts. The battery may be charged more quickly with an increase in amperage. Initiate with no more than two camps and no more than ten amps of power. It is preferable to charge slowly.

A new battery should be installed if the old one is unable to maintain its charge. A replacement battery may be purchased from any automotive store, hardware store, or Ferris mower dealer.

Remember to bring your dead battery. If you don’t bring in your old battery, the store may charge you a core fee of $15 to $25.

Your Ferris Zero Turn’s Loose or Corroded Wires and Connections

When you’ve finished with the Ferris batteries, double-check the connections and cords. A mower’s wires, wiring, and connections might break loose due to the shaking and bouncing about it experiences when mowing.

Verify that all of the wires are securely connected and that there is no corrosion that might cause a short. Rust and corrosion can form on terminals and connections if they are exposed to moisture.

Use a tiny wire brush and a baking soda solution to attempt removing this corrosion (2 cups water to 3 heaping tablespoons of baking soda). It’s best to remove the batteries and the parts before cleaning them.

If the corrosion is too extensive to be cleaned, you will need to replace the terminals or the part.

Your Ferris Zero Turn’s Fuse Just Blown

The electrical components of your Ferris are protected by a fuse. Make sure there isn’t a blown fuse in your mower. If you’re not sure whether or not the fuse has blown, you may test it by touching the probes of a multimeter to the terminals.

Your fuse is OK if the resistance measurement is close to 0. A blown fuse will show up as a reading of infinite resistance.

Always use a fuse of the same amperage rating to replace a blown one. If your Ferris keeps blowing fuses, you should take it to a repair shop or dealership that specializes in lawn equipment.

Your Ferris Zero Turn has a Faulty Ignition Switch

If nothing happens when you turn the key in the ignition, the problem may be with the switch. Your Ferris won’t even try to roll over and start.

Whether you suspect that the ignition switch is broken, you can test it with a multimeter to see if there is any continuity. You can tell which prongs belong to the battery and which belong to the starter solenoid by looking at the letters B and S.

Put the key in and turn it to the “on” position. Resistance may be measured by touching one probe to the B prong and the other probe to the S prong of a multimeter calibrated to the appropriate scale.

The resistance across a high-quality key switch for the ignition should be close to zero. The resistance reading from a faulty ignition key switch will be infinite, indicating the need for replacement.

Your Ferris Lawn Mower has a Faulty Safety Switch

You may feel comfortable knowing that an operator presence control system has been put on your Ferris. Your Ferris may not turn over if the safety switch is faulty.

Use a multimeter to make sure your switch is working properly. To troubleshoot, you may also temporarily disable the safety switch to see if the switch is faulty.

Use the safety switch whenever you use a lawnmower. Never use a mower with a bypassed safety switch. You never know when you might need a safety switch, but having one is always a good idea.

Your Ferris Zero Turn Starter Solenoid Is Broken

To get your Ferris engine revving, you need to engage the starting solenoid, which is an electromagnetic switch.

A faulty starting solenoid may have a weak spring or a corroded copper plate. The solenoid may fail because of an ineffective starter, a dead battery, or an improper ground.

The battery needs to be completely charged before the starting solenoid can be tested. To proceed with testing the solenoid, go to “How to Tell Your Lawn Mower Solenoid is Bad” for tips on diagnosing a faulty starting solenoid.

Your Ferris Lawn Mower’s Starter Motor may be Broken

Your Ferris won’t start? Check the starter once you’ve eliminated the batteries, cables, cabling, ground, and starter solenoid as possible causes. We may take out the starter and put it through its paces.

Instead of blindly purchasing an expensive replacement starting for your Ferris mower, I suggest having your local repair shop that specializes in starter and alternator repairs evaluate your starter and rebuild it if feasible.