Craftsman 247.288870 Operator's Manual page 9

IM PORTANT: Yourtractorisshippedwith motoroil inthe engine.However,
youMUST check the oil levelbefore operating. R eferto the Service & Maintenance
sectionforinstructions on checking the oil level.
Attaching the Battery Cables
CALIFORNIA PROPOSITION 65
Batteryposts,terminals, andrelatedaccessories c ontain lead andlead
compounds,chemicalsknown to the Stateof Californiato causecancerand
reproductiveharm.Washhandsafter handling.
Shipping BraceRemoval
Makesurethe riding mower'sengine isoff, removethe ignition key,and
set the parkingbrake before removing the shipping brace.Referto the
Operaton sect on for nstruct ons on how to set the park ng brake.
Locate the shippingbrace, i f present, a ndaccompanying warningtag found
on the rightsideof the mower,betweenthe discharge c hutedeflectorand
the cuttingdeck.See Figure 2.
Whenattaching battery cables,alwaysconnect the POSITIVE (Red)wire to its
terminal first, followed bythe NEGATIVE (Black)wire.
Forshippingreasons, bothbatterycables on yourequipmentmayhavebeenleft
disconnected f rom the terminalsat the factory.Toconnect t he batterycables,
proceed asfollows:
NOTE: ThepositivebatteryterminalismarkedPos. ( +).Thenegativebattery
terminalismarkedNeg. ( -).
I. Remove t he plasticcover, i f present, f rom the positivebatteryterminaland
attachthe redcableto the positivebatteryterminal(+) with the bolt and
hexnut.SeeFigure I.
2. Remove t he plasticcover, i f present, f rom the negativebatteryterminaland
attachthe blackcableto the negative batteryterminal(-) with the bolt and
hexnut.SeeFigure 1.
f
/
7"
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J
/
Figure 1
3. Positionthe redrubberbootoverthe positivebatteryterminalto help
protectit from corrosion.
NOTE: Ifthe batteryisput intoservice after the dateshownon top of battery,
charge the batteryasinstructed in the Service & Maintenance s ectionoftNs
manual p riorto operatingthe tractor.
J
Figure2
Place the decklift leverin the highest c utting position.Refer t o Settingthe
CuttingHeightinthe Operation sectionof thismanual.
While pushing t hedischarge chute deflector towards themachine w ithyourleft
hand, r emove t heshipping b race w ithyourrighthand bygrasping i tbetween y our
thumbandindex f inger a ndrotating itclockwise.
9
Theshipping brace,usedfor packagingpurposesonly, must be removedand
discardedbefore operatingyour riding mower.
Themowing deckiscapableof throwing objects. Failureto operate the
riding mower without the dischargecoverin the proper operating position
cou d resut n set ous persona njury and/or property damage.
Attaching TheSteering Wheel
Ifthe steeringwheelforyourtractordid notcomeattached, t he hardware for
attachingit hasbeenpacked within the steeringwheel,beneath the steeringwheel
cap.Carefully pryoffthe steeringwheelcapandremove the hardware.
I. With the wheels of the tractorpointingstraightforward,placethe steering
wheeloverthe steeringshaft.
2. Place the washer (with the cuppedside down)overthe steeringwheeland
secure with the hexbolt. See Figure 3.