Before Operating Your Riding Mower; Safety Interlock System; Starting The Engine - Craftsman 247,204110 Operator's Manual

Beforeleavingthe operator's seat:Shutoff the PTO, movethe RHandLH
drivecontrollevers fullyoutwardinthe neutralposition,engage the parking
brake 0, shutoff the engineandremove the ignitionkey.Waitforall
movement t o stopbeforeservicing or cleaning.
Operate the drivecontrollevers smoothlyandavoidanysuddenmovements
of the levers whenstartingandstopping. K eep afirm griponthe control
levers.
Becareful w henoperatingnearroadways. Stopthe ridingmowermotion
andwaitfor vehicles to pass beforeoperatingalongthe road.
Donot operate the ridingmowerwiththe mowerdeckremoved. R emoval of
the deckwill change the balance of the ridingmower,andcouldcontribute
to aridingmowerrollover.
Avoidoperation on tractionsurfaces t hat areunstable; u seextreme caution
if thesurfaceisslippery.
Slowdown before turningandcometo acomplete stop before anyzeroturn
maneuver.
Donot stopthe ridingmoweror parkthe ridingmowerovercombustible
materials suchasdry grass, l eaves, debris,etc.
Donot fill the fueltank whenthe engineisrunningor whilethe engineis
hot.Allowthe engineseveral m inutes to coolbeforerefueling.Tighten the
fuelcapsecurely.
Before Operating YourRidingmower
Before youoperate the ridingmower, s tudythismanual c arefully to familiarize
yourself w ith theoperation ofall the instruments a ndcontrols. I t hasbeen
prepared to helpyouoperate andmaintainyourridingmowereffldently.
Thisengineiscertifiedto operate onlyonclean,fresh,unleaded regular
gasoline. F orbestresults, f ill thefuel tank withonlyclean,fresh,unleaded
gasoline with a pumpstkkeroctaneratingof 87or higher.
Unleaded g asoline isrecommended because i t leaves less combustion chamber
deposits a ndreduces h armfulexhaust e missions. Leaded g asoline isnot
recommended andmustnot beused whereexhaust e missions a reregulated.
NOTE: Purchase g asoline insmallquantities.Donot usegasoline left over
fromthe previous s eason, t o minimizegumdeposits inthe fuel system.
Gasohol (upto 10%ethylalcohol, 9 0% unleaded gasoline byvolume)isan
approved fuel.Othergasoline/alcohol blendsarenotapproved.
MethylTertiaryButylEther(MTBE) andunleaded gasoline blends(upto a
maximum of 15%MTBE byvolume)areapproved fuels.Other g asoline/ether
blendsarenotapproved.
Check t he engine oil level.
Clean the air cleaner e lementifnecessary.
Check t he tire inflation pressures.
Adjustthe seatfor operator's maximum comfort,visibilityandfor
maintaining completecontrol o f the ridingmower.
Safety Interlock System
This ridingmowerisequipped with asafetyinterlock s ystem for the protectionof
the operator. I f the interlock systemshouldevermalfunction, d o not operate the
ridingmower.Call1-800-659-5917 t o schedule service fromSears Parts & Repair.
The safetyinterlock s ystem prevents t heengine fromcranking o rstartingunless
the RH andLHdrivecontrol l evers a removed fullyoutwardtoeach sideinthe
neutral p osition, the parking brake isengaged, andthe PTO isdisengaged.
Toavoidsuddenmovement w hendisengaging t he parkingbrake,the safety
interlock systemwill shutoffthe engineif the RHand/orLHdrivecontrol
levers aremoved to apositionotherthanthe fullyout inthe neutralposition
whenthe parkingbrakeisengaged.
Thesafetyinterlock systemwill shutoffthe engineifthe operator leaves the
seatbefore engaging the parkingbrake.
The safetyinterlock s ystem will shutofftheengine iftheoperator l eaves t heseat
withthe PTO engaged, regardless ofwhethertheparking brake isengaged.
NOTE:The PTO switch mustbemoved tothe"OFF" position to restart t heengine.
Thesafetyinterlock systemwill shutoff the PTO andthe mowerblades will
stopif bothdrivecontrollevers aremovedinto the reverse position. T hePTO
will re-engage whenoneor bothof the leversaremovedbackto eitherthe
neutral o r forwardposition.
Starting the Engine
Thisriding mowerisequippedwith a safetyinterlock systemdesignedfor
the protection of the operator. Donot operate the riding mower if any part
of the interlock systemismalfunctioning. Periodicallycheckthe functions
of the interlock systemfor proper operation.
Forpersonalsafety,the operatormust be sitting in the riding mower seat
when starting the engine.
1. Operator mustbesitting inthe tractorseatwith the control l eversfully
outwardinneutral(parkingbrakeon).
2. Makecertainthe PTO switchis inthe disengaged (down)position.Referto
Figure 11.
RHControl L ever
Ill Control L ever 3 o o o o o o o G
OntinNentral 3 o o o o o o o o _ OntinNentral
00000000000
00000000000
Throttle/Choke Control
tothe Choke Position
/
(Disengaged)Position
--__itch
Figure 11
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