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How to Bypass a Lawn Mower Key Switch
How to Bypass a Lawn Mower Key Switch. If you have a riding lawn mower and the key has gone missing or broken off in the ignition switch, or if the ignition simply no longer works, you can bypass the key switch to start your mower. The key switch simply forms an electrical connection between a solenoid and the starter, causing the flywheel to spin...
If you have a riding lawn mower and the key has gone missing or broken off in the ignition switch, or if the ignition simply no longer works, you can bypass the key switch to start your mower. The key switch simply forms an electrical connection between a solenoid and the starter, causing the flywheel to spin and the engine to start. The key is unnecessary to make the engine start as you can just "jump start" the machine.
Things You'll Need
Rubber work gloves
Pliers
Battery post cleaner
Booster cables
Put on rubber work gloves and raise the hood on your riding lawn mower.
Go to the battery and disconnect the black, negative, cable and then the red, positive, cable from the posts using pliers.
Fit a battery post cleaner over one post and twist it several times to knock off any corrosion that might be present. Then, clean off the other post in the same manner. This will give you a good electrical connection to work with.
Reconnect both the cables to the batteries, putting the positive, or red, cable back on the positive post first, then the negative, or black, cable back on second.
Clamp the black booster cable around the negative battery post on your riding mower. Then clamp the free end of the black booster cable to the lawn mower's metal deck.
Clamp the red booster cable to the positive battery post, then sit down on the operator's seat and hold the free end of the red cable against the red or positive side of the riding mower's starter. The engine should immediately turn over.
While still seated, reach over and remove the red booster cable from the battery, then remove the black booster cable from the battery. Put the hood down.
Tips & Warnings
To turn the engine off after you have finished using the mower, just stand up out of the operator's seat and the automatic kill switch will engage, shutting off the engine. If the auto kill switch is disabled or no longer works, then just pull the choke out fully and the engine will shut down from lack of fuel flow.
