Craftsman 944.365550 Owner's Manual page 7

The operation of any lawn
mower can result in foreign
objects thrown into the
eyes, which can result in
severe eye damage. Always
wear safety glasses or eye shields while
operating your lawn mower or performing
any ad just ments or repairs. We recom-
mend standard safety glasses or a wide
vision safety mask worn over spectacles.
HOW TO USE YOUR LAWN MOWER
THROTTLE / ENGINE CONTROL
The engine is controlled by a throttle
control located on the side of the upper
handle. CHOKE position is for starting a
cold engine; FAST position is for starting
a warm engine, normal cutting, trimming
and better grass bagging; SLOW posi-
tion is for light cutting, trimming and fuel
economy, and STOP position is for stop-
ping the engine.
FAST
CHOKE
BLADE CONTROL
CAUTION: When the blade control is
engaged, the blade turns.
• To start the blade, hold the operator
presence control bar down to the handle
and push the blade/brake control lever
forward until it latches. To stop the
blade, release the operator presence
control bar. Do not pull the blade/brake
lever rearward with the operator pres-
ence control bar down against the
handle. Allow a cold engine to warm
up in high idle position for one minute
before engaging the blade.
NOTE: It is normal to hear the belt slip
as the blade is engaged and comes up to
speed.
• Do not start the blade in uncut grass.
Move the mower out of uncut grass
before starting the blade.
CAUTION: Federal regulations require
this blade/brake control to minimize the
SLOW
STOP
risk of blade contact injury. Do not under
any circumstances attempt to defeat the
function of this control.
Operator presence control bar
TO
ENGAGE
BLADE
DRIVE CONTROL
• Self-propelling is controlled by hold-
ing the operator presence control bar
down to the handle and pulling the drive
control lever rearward to the handle.
The farther toward the handle the lever
is pulled, the faster the unit will travel.
• Forward motion will stop when either
the operator presence control bar or
drive control lever are released. To stop
forward motion without stop ping blade,
re lease the drive control lever only. Hold
op er a tor presence control bar down
against handle to con tin ue mowing
without self-propelling.
NOTE: If after releasing the drive control
the mower will not roll backwards, push
the mower forward slightly to disengage
drive wheels.
Operator presence control bar
TO
Adjustment ENGAGE
turnbuckle DRIVE
(on underside) CONTROL
DRIVE CONTROL ADJUSTMENT
Over time, the drive control system may
become "loose", resulting in decreased
speed. There is a turnbuckle on the
un der side of the drive control housing to
increase tension on the drive cable. Pro-
ceed as follows:
1. Turn unit off and disconnect spark plug
wire from spark plug.
2. Turn nut on underside of drive control
to increase drive speed.
3. Operate mower to test drive speed.
Readjust as required.
4. If condition fails to improve after the
above steps (forward speed remains
the same), your drive belt is worn and
should be re placed.
7
Blade/brake
control lever
BLADE
DISENGAGED
Drive
control
lever
DRIVE
CONTROL
DISENGAGED