Lawn Tractor Not Starting - Craftsman DYT 4000

12 years ago

Hello,

I have a craftsman DYT 4000 that died on me over the weekend. It started up fine, and I made my first pass into the lawn and it started bogging down about one minute into my grass cutting routine. I shut the mower off and cleaned off the blade. After that it would not start. I took the engine cover off to see the spark plug and fly wheel, and the fly wheel appeared to be turning fine. It was making a "scratching" noise when I tried to start it, so I gave up after a couple of minutes. I returned 30 minutes later, hoping it was just flooded, but no luck.

I swapped in a brand new battery today and now the fly wheel doesn't seem to turn when starting the engine. I cleaned the leads on the battery to get rid of corrosion from the old battery, and still no luck.

I am thinking of changing the spark plug and air filter next, but now I am worried that something bigger is wrong here.

Any thoughts and suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

Comments (3)

arceeguy
12 years ago
Is the starter engaging the flywheel?
Is the battery charged?
Does it make any noises when you turn the key?
Can you turn the engine by hand?
Is there oil in the engine?

Replacing the spark plug and air filter won't do you any good if the engine isn't spinning when you hit the starter. You need to find out why the engine isn't cranking before you go any further.
tomplum
12 years ago
Which engine? Kohler? Sounds like maybe the flywheel magnets let go and is binding - keeping the engine from cranking.
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rcmoser
12 years ago
Yep, I would like to know if it had oil in it also and where on the dip stick? In the XXXXXs or none appears?

Some things that may help? take the spark plug out. Now there is no compression build-up. The engine should free spin. If it don't remove the starter. try turning the engine by hand as suggested. engine spins. Test the Starter using jumper cables and battery. Engine don't spin go to the bottom see if the drive belt or clutch and belt is bound up. If all is free then as suggested start at the flywheel end to see if you can find external problem why the engine would spin.