Assembly; Attaching The Battery Cables; Shipping Brace Removal; Attaching The Steering Wheel - Craftsman 247.288812 Operator's Manual

IMPORTANT: Y ourtractoris shippedwith motoroil in theengine.
However, y ou MUSTcheckthe oil levelbeforeoperating.Referto the
Service& Maintenancesectionfor instructionson checkingtheoil
level.
Attaching the Battery Cables
CALIFORNIA PROPOSITION 65
Batteryposts,terminals,and relatedaccessoriescontainlead and
leadcompounds,chemicalsknownto the Stateof Californiato
cause cancerand reproductiveharm.Wash handsafter handling.
Whenattachingbatterycables,alwaysconnectthe POSITIVE (Red)
wireto its terminalfirst, followedby the NEGATIVE (Black)wire.
Forshippingreasons,bothbatterycables on yourequipmentmay
havebeen left disconnected from the terminalsat the factory.To
connectthe batterycables,proceedasfollows:
NOTE:Thepositivebatteryterminalis markedPos. (+).The negative
batteryterminalis markedNeg. (-).
1. Removethe plasticcover,if present,fromthe positivebattery
terminaland attachthe redcableto the positivebatteryterminal
(+)with the bolt and hexnut. See Figure1.
2. Removethe plasticcover,if present,fromthe negativebattery
terminaland attachthe black cableto the negativebattery
terminal(-) with the bolt and hex nut. See Figure1.
f
J
Figure1
3. Positionthe red rubber boot over the positivebatteryterminal to
help protectit from corrosion.
NOTE:If thebatteryis put into serviceafter the dateshownon topof
battery,chargethe batteryas instructedin the Service & Maintenance
sectionof this manualprior to operatingthe tractor.
Shipping Brace Removal
Makesurethe ridingmower'sengineis off, removetheignitionkey,
and set the parkingbrakebeforeremoving the shippingbrace. Refer
Ito the Operationsectionfor instructionson howto set the parking
lbrake.
• Locatethe shippingbrace, if present,and accompanying warning
tag foundon the rightsideof the mower,betweenthe discharge
chute deflectorand the cuttingdeck. See Fig. 2.
//
Figure2
Placethe deck lift leverin the highestcuttingposition.Referto
Setting theCuttingHeightin the Operationsectionof this manual.
Whilepushing thedischarge chuteddlectortowards themachine with
yourlefthand,remove theshipping bracewithyourrighthandbygrasp-
ing itbetween yourthumb andindexfingerandrotating itclockwise.
The shippingbrace,usedfor packagingpurposesonly, mustbe
removed and discardedbeforeoperatingyour ridingmower.
The mowingdeck iscapableof throwingobjects. Failureto operate
the ridingmowerwithoutthe dischargecoverin the properoperating
Ipositioncould resultin seriouspersonalinjuryand/orproperty
ldamage.
Attaching The Steering Wheel
If the steeringwheelfor yourtractordid notcome attached,the
hardwarefor attachingit has beenpackedwithinthe steeringwheel,
beneaththe steeringwheelcap. Carefullypry off the steeringwheel
cap and removethe hardware.
1. With the wheelsof the tractorpointingstraightforward,placethe
steeringwheeloverthe steeringshaft.
2. Placethe washer(withthe cuppedsidedown)overthe steering
wheeland securewith the hex bolt. See Fig.3-3.
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