Lawnmower prob, any help much appreciated

[beansdaddy78]

hey guys, i have a john deere 165 hydro lawn mower. I got it for free along with a trailer load of junk.

the mower was supposedly just used a few weeks ago and was said to be a perfect runner

well the guy forgot to give me the key, its in st. louis (about 2.5 hours away)

I rent so i do not need a mower, and i found a guy willing to trade me a mower for a decent motor i need for a margay kart im fixing up.

I tried to bypass all the key stuff and just use a screwdriver to the selinoid and got nothing but clicks and sparks

then i took jumper cables hooked the one red to the positive batt. post and took one black to the mower deck as a ground, put the other black on the negative batt. post and used the other red and used that to touch the positive post on the selinoid i think

either way this time the starter spun, made a zing noise or something like that. its not connecting with the flywheel or something


Im hoping someone can tell me that i just have a lever in the wrong position to engage this or that its a quick easy fix, I also can seem to get the mower to roll freely. so im hoping its stuck in a gear or something and someone knows why or how i can make it work

all i gotta do is make the thing start move and cut grass and ill get a motor i need pretty badly and cannot afford otherwise

oh, i bought a new ignition with a key, the posts all matched to a T but the packaging didnt say it would be compatible with a john deere, when i plugged it in, it would make a ticking sound for a bit then stop and i would get no action when i turned the key either way.

Is there a john Deere Dr. in the house

any help would be appreciated

 

[souperman000]

Couldn't you just complain to the guy that gave you the mower and get the key shipped out?

 

[Doc Sprocket]

A wiring diagram may be in order.

If the starter is spinning but not engaging, there may be a problem with it. All small engine starters that I have seen spin the pinion up a spiral shaft (I forget the correct term) to engage the flywheel. Perhaps it's not moving up. Try it again, this time watching it.

I think we need a bit more info. Model year, and engine details would be good.

 

[OzFab]

Couldn't you just complain to the guy that gave you the mower and get the key shipped out?

Get him to post you the key

 

[landuse]

Get him to post you the key

I agree. Don't go fiddling around with the electrics and maybe doing something that you shouldn't

 

[Kaptain Krunch]

most mowers use the same key...cant u just to to your local lawnmower shop and get one for a few bucks? Have you tried jumping directly to the starter with a known good battery (car/truck?).

 

[fowler]

Make sure all the saftey switches are working and u have then in the right place

Park brake on
Cutters off
Person in seat
If its a zero turn one then the handles must be out in neutral

The first thing to try is to get the key


As for not rolling
There should be a small lever at the rear of the transmission
It'll either twist or slide to dosengage the drive
Just remember to re activate it before u start the mower

The new ignition switch may not be working due to a bad contact

To hot wire it all u gotta do us jump the positive from the starter to the positive to the solenoid it must be the positive obviously
Double check that it is

 

[cumminsbayou4x4]

yeah you can get a lawn mower key from wallmart for like a dollar. jumping the starter trying to start it would be no use because it doesn't have spark with the key turned off. also the reason it won't roll is because its a hydro so there is a littel lever in the back with stickers around it say to pull back to push sometimes you it might pull back but wont roll then you can most of the time push them like 5ft with a 4 wheeler or something and they free up