Question about a riding lawn mower

[kevin2353]

Alright, so I know this may not be the place to ask this but here goes. I have a riding lawn mower that one day (about a month ago) I was mowing grass and something was in the way so the lawn mower I have has a 'hold' option so I placed it in hold, got off and moved the obstacle out of the way and before I returned to the mower it made a loud screeching noise along with it smoking, then eventually giving out within a few seconds. Since then I cannot get it to start. I haven't tried a lot of options because I don't know pretty much anything them, but the options I have tried were: the driveshaft (rotated it manually to make sure it wasn't stuck), and spark plug. If anyone might have any ideas that would be great.

 

[COLGeek]

Are all the belts intact (loud screeching noise along with it smoking)? Does the engine have the proper amount of oil in it?

 

[kevin2353]

Are all the belts intact (loud screeching noise along with it smoking)? Does the engine have the proper amount of oil in it?

I checked the under side to make sure belts were in tact and they were all in tact for what I seen. Also checked the oil and that was fine.

 

[USAFRet]

"screeching and smoking" indicates a belt issue.

Engine turns
That turning is transferred to the blades via the belt, with pulleys on the engine shaft and the blade shaft.
If the blade(s) cannot turn...screeching and smoking ensues.

 

[kevin2353]

Yeah if the motor locked up that could be a little large screeching right there and it probably won’t start after that until you replace the motor or rebuild it

We did rotate the under side or driveshaft I believe is whats its called. Even if we rotated could that rotate even with the motor locked?

 

[Deleted member 14196]

Yeah I just deleted my bogus answer because I reread your post and you said that the driveshaft was moving so forget what I said

Still start your basic troubleshooting make sure the engine has a proper amount of oil etc. etc. and look around in the engine and see if you can locate the source of the burning

 

[kevin2353]

Yeah I just deleted my bogus answer because I reread your post and you said that the driveshaft was moving so forget what I said

Gotcha

 

[kevin2353]

Yeah I just deleted my bogus answer because I reread your post and you said that the driveshaft was moving so forget what I said

Still start your basic troubleshooting make sure the engine has a proper amount of oil etc. etc. and look around in the engine and see if you can locate the source of the burning

Oh sorry forgot to mention, this happened about a month or so ago. Sadly checking for anything burning isn't possible anymore...

 

[COLGeek]

Any evidence of damage on the belts (like severe glazing) or any oil leaks on the engine?

 

[Ralston18]

Per your post:

"driveshaft (rotated it manually to make sure it wasn't stuck), and spark plug."

Does that mean that you removed the spark plug and looked inside to see if the piston head moved when the drive shaft was rotated?

 

[punkncat]

It would be helpful, perhaps, if you were to post the model of your mower.

I am not familiar with a mower having a "hold" button or what it may be for. As a for instance, on mine you actually cannot get off with the blades engaged and without the parking brake on without it killing the motor. (not that it has anything to do with your issue, just saying)

On the typical riding mower you have two belt systems that run off the motor. One of the is the drive system, and the other is your blade system. With no small amount of certainty with the issue you describe it was one or the other of those belts screeching and smoking. The key will be to find out which. It should also be noted that in the case of some multi bladed deck systems there will be a third belt running the blades down at the deck level.

In the case of the drive system there will be a "clutching" mechanism of sorts that either engages with the drive pedal or speed control. Without knowing what the "hold" button you mentioned is for or how it operates, could possibly have something to do with issue.
The blade system is usually controlled by a lever or button that causes a pulley wheel to tighten the belt onto the drive shaft and thus spin the blades. In my experience with a similar issue, I would almost bet your issue resides here. Most often what I have seen is for that pulley wheel bearing or the wheel itself to go bad and bind the belt. Often this can be further troubleshot by disengaging the blade mechanism. Should crank, run, and have no issues while blades are "off". As noted above, if you have a separate deck belt you should check it for obstructions as well. Just the same, with the blades disengaged it would not interfere with cranking. (in some cases a deck bearing can go bad or be damaged, binding a blade, this belt, and the drive belt)
In the instance that the blades are off/disengaged and this issue persists, it has to be within the drive system.

If you look in your manual and sometimes even on your deck there will be instructions for replacing those belts. IF you are inclined, remove both belts and see if it will then crank. Replace the drive belt first, see if you have go, then the blade belt.