Starting The Engine - Craftsman 247.25003 Operator's Manual

STARTING THE ENGINE
This ridingmoweris equippedwith a safetyinterlock s ystem
designedforthe protectionof the operator.Do notoperatethe riding
mowerif any partof the interlocksystemis malfunctioning. P eriodi-
_cay checkthefunctons of the nterock systemfor properoperaton.
Forpersonalsafety,the operatormustbe sittinginthe ridingmower
seatwhen startingthe engine.
.
2.
Openthe fuel shut-offvalve.
Operatormustbe sittingin the tractorseatwith bothdrivecontrol
leversfully outwardto eachside in the neutral/startposition.See
Figure13.
LH ControlLever
Out in !eutral
CHOKE Position
Parking Break
Engaged
RH Control Lever
Out in Neutral
J
Figure13
3. EngagetheparkingbrakeO.
4. Makecertainthe PTOswitchis in the DISENGAGED (down)
position.
5. Pull the chokeknobup intothe CHOKE!'_.1position.
NOTE: If the engineis warmedup, it may notbe necessaryto choke
theengine.
6. Pushthe throttlecontrolto the FAST_ (full throttle)position.
7. Turnthe ignitionkey clockwiseto the START_ positionand
releaseit as soonas the enginestarts; however, d o notcrank the
enginecontinuouslyfor morethan 10secondsat a time. Ifthe
enginedoes not startwithinthis time,turnthe key to STOP
and wait at least 30 secondsto allowthe engine'sstartermotor
to cool. Try againafter waiting.If after a few attemptsthe engine
fails to start,do not keeptrying to startit with the chokeclosed as
this willcausefloodingand makestartingmoredifficult.
8. Once theenginewarmsup, pushthechoke knobdownintothe
OFF I { ! position.
Cold Weather Starting
Whenstartingthe engineat temperatures nearor belowfreezing,
ensurethecorrectviscositymotoroil is used in the engineand the
batteryis fully charged.Start the engineas follows:
1. Be surethe batteryis in good condition.Also,a warm batteryhas
much morestartingcapacity thana coldbattery.
2. Usefresh wintergradefuel. Wintergrade gasolinehas higher
volatilityto improvestarting.Do notuse gasolineleft overfrom
summer.
3. Followthe previousinstruction for Startingthe Engine.
Using Jumper Cables To Start Engine
Batteriescontainsulfuricacidand produceexplosivegasses.Make
certainthe area is well ventilated, w earglovesand eye protection,
land avod sparksor f ames near the battery.
Ifthe batterychargeis notsufficientto crankthe engine,rechargethe
battery.If a batterychargeris unavailable and the riding mowermust
be started,the aid of a boosterbatterywill be necessary.Connectthe
boosterbatteryas follows:
1. Connecttheend of one cableto thedisabledriding mowerbat-
tery's positiveterminal;thenconnecttheotherend of that cableto
the boosterbattery'spositiveterminal.
2. Connectone endof the othercableto the boosterbattery's
negativeterminal;thenconnecttheother end of that cableto
the frame of the disabledriding mower,as far from the batteryas
possible.
3. Start the disabledridingmowerfollowingthe normalstarting
instructionspreviouslyprovided;thendisconnectthejumper
cables in the exactreverseorderof theirconnection.
4. Havethe ridingmower'selectricalsystemcheckedand repaired
as soonas possibleto eliminatethe needforjump starting.
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