Safety Interlock System; Starting The Engine - Craftsman 247.204201 Operator's Manual

Startthetractorandmovethe controllevers inwardto the neutraloperating
position.Engage the PTO andmovebothcontrolleverslowlyinto the slow
withthe keyinthe NORMAL M OWING _ ,; the PTO
reverse position
shoulddisengage andthe mowerdeckshouldstop.
Before Operating Your Tractor
1. Beforeyouoperate the tractor,studythismanual c arefully to familiarize
yourself w ith the operationofall the instruments andcontrols.It hasbeen
prepared to helpyouoperateandmaintainyourtractorefficiently.
2. Fillthefuel tank withonlyclean,fresh,unleaded gasoline with a pump
stickeroctaneratingof87 or higherand10%ethanolmaximum. W henthe
fuel reaches o neinchfrom the top of thetank,stop.DONOT OVERFILL. Space
mustbe left forexpansion.
3. Unleaded g asoline isrecommended because i t leaves lesscombustion c hamber
deposits a ndreduces h armfulexhaust e missions. Leaded g asoline isnot
recommended andmustnot beused whereexhaust e missions a reregulated.
NOTE: Purchase g asoline insmallquantities. D onot usegasoline left over
fromthe previous s eason, t o minimizegumdeposits inthe fuel system.
4. Gasohol (upto 10%ethyl alcohol, 9 0%unleaded gasoline byvolume)isan
approved fuel. Othergasoline/alcohol blendsarenot approved.
5. Methyl T ertiary ButylEther ( MTBE) andunleaded g as blends (uptoamaximum
of15%MTBE b yvolume) a reapproved fuels. O ther g asoline/ether blends arenot
approved.
6. Check theengineoil level.Refertothe Engine Operator's manual f or
instructions on checking the engineoil level.
7. Clean the air cleaner e lement i f necessary.
8. Check thetire inflationpressures. See the tire sidewall forproperinflation
pressures.
NOTE: Newtiresareoverlnflated inorderto properly seatthe bead to the
rim.
9. Check thatall nuts,boltsandscrews aretight.
10. Check thetensionof the deck drivebelts.
a. Remove t he deckcover
b.
11.
12.
13.
The tension ofthe deck drivebeltsaremaintained byaspring
mechanism thatadjusts forwearandstretch.
c. Examine the beltsforcuts,fraying,andexcessive w ear.Replace i f
anyof thesearedetected.
d. Replacethedeckcover.
Check if deck is level. When correctly adjusted the mower deck
should be level side to side, and the front of the deck should
be approximately ¼" lower than the rear of deck. If deck needs
to be leveled, refer to the Service and Maintenance section.
Lubricate all pivot points listed in the Service and Maintenance
section.
Adjustthe seatfor operator's maximum comfort,visibilityandfor
maintaining completecontrol o f the tractor.
Safety Interlock System
Thistractorisequipped with asafetyinterlock systemforthe protectionofthe
operator. I fthe interlock systemshouldevermalfunction, d o not operate the
tractor.Contact y ourauthorized service dealer.
The safety interlock system prevents t heengine fromcranking orstartingunless
the RH andLN drivecontrol l evers a removed fullyoutwardinthe neutral p osition
-- whichengages t heparking brake-- andthe PTO isdisengaged.
Thesafetyinterlocksystem will shutoff the engineif the operator leaves
the seatbefore the RH andLHdrivecontrol l eversarefullyoutwardinthe
neutralpositionengaging the parkingbrake.
Thesafetyinterlock system will shutoff the engine if theoperator l eaves the
seatwiththe PTO engaged, regardless of whetherthe RH andLHdrivecontrol
levers arefullyoutwardintheneutralposition engaging the parkingbrake.
NOTE: ThePTO switchmustbemovedto the "OFF" p ositionto restartthe
engine.
The safety interlock system willshutoffthePTO andthemower b lades w illstopif
bothdrive control l evers a removed intothe reverse position. To restart t heblades
thePTO mustbemoved t o the"OFF" position a ndthenback tothe"ON" position.
Starting the Engine
Thistractor isequippedwith a safetyinterlock systemdesignedfor the
protection of the operator. D onot operate the tractor if any part of the
interlock systemismalfunctioning. Periodicallycheckthe funotionsofthe
interlock systemfor proper o peration.
Forpersonalsafety,the operator mustbe sitting inthe tractor seatwhen
starting the engine.
1. Operator m ustbesitting inthe tractorseatwith the RH andLHdrivecontrol
levers fullyoutwardintheneutralposition engaging the parkingbrake.
2. Makecertainthe PTO switchisinthe disengaged (down)position.
3. Pullthe chokeknob(if equipped) u p into the CHOKE positionor move
the throttle/choke control ( ifequipped)into the CHOKE Ill position.
NOTE: I fthe engineiswarmedup,it maynot benecessary t o chokethe
engine.
5. Movethe throttlecontrol(if equipped) t o midwaybetweenitsslow
andfast_ positions.
6. Turnthe ignition keyclockwise to the START (_) position. A fter theengine
starts,release the key.It will returnto the NORMAL M OWING _ q)
position.
DoNOT holdthe keyin the START _ position for longerthan ten seconds at
atime. Doing somaycausedamageto yourengine'selectricstarter.
Once the enginewarmsup,pushthe chokeknobdown intothe OFF position.
NOTE: DoNOT leave thethrottle/choke control ( if equipped) or choke control ( if
equipped) i nthe CHOKEI_I positionwhileoperating thetractor.Doing sowill
resultina"rich"fuel mixtureandcause theengineto runpoorly.
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