A lawn mower that won’t start up is pretty common. But one that won’t stop? That’s a bit weird. But it does happen. If this is the problem you’re facing, I’m going to run you through a few steps to help you diagnose the problem and hopefully fix it. That’s the plan anyway, as a lawn mower that won’t stop isn’t going to give you much peace at night!
First Things First: A Quick Way to Shut Off a Lawn Mower that Won’t Stop
You were out mowing, got to the end of your yard and released the bail lever. BUT YOUR MOWER IS STILL GOING?! You might think you’re in a dream for a second, as the bail lever kills the engine, right?
Yes, it does, and no you’re not dreaming. But you DO have a problem with your mower. First things, first. Don’t panic if your lawn mower won’t stop. There is a very quick and easy way to kill the engine, and then you can take the necessary steps to figure out why it won’t stop.
Take a pair of insulated pliers and pull the boot off the spark plug. Your mower will instantly shut off. No drama!
Reasons Why Your Lawn Mower Won’t Stop
Pulling the spark plug wire off is a quick-fix, but it’s a temporary solution. You need to get to the root cause to prevent your mower from failing to shut down every single time you use it.
In my experience, the most likely scenario is either that you’ve bashed into something – fences, trees, rocks, your giant Buddha statue – and a component has come loose or is bent out of shape. Or there’s a component that is faulty.
I’ll run through a few possible causes below.
Ignition Switch
Not every mower has one of these, but if yours does and your mower won’t stop, your ignition switch could be to blame.
When this switch is enabled, it creates a path to ground. It’s possible that a poor connection here could be causing the issue. So clean the wires and the connections and retest it. If it’s still not working, you might want to replace the ignition switch altogether.
Damaged Cable
Ever wondered how releasing your bail lever actually shuts off the engine? Well there’s a cable attached to it that controls the position of the ignition switch actuator; when the lever is engaged it pulls the actuator back and opens the ignition switch, and when you release it does the opposite, shutting off the engine.
This cable is exposed and it’s possible that is has been damaged and is no longer working as it should. I have managed to do damage to one by getting into an altercation with a particularly unfriendly bush before, so don’t rule this out until you check. It may no longer be altering the position of the ignition switch as it should, ensuring your lawn mower won’t stop.
The solution is simple. Install a new cable!
Control Bracket Not Making Contact with Switch Stop
If you’re particularly rough with your lawn mower, and you’ve recently has a few run-ins with garden furniture or ornaments, you might have bent a very important component out of shape; the switch stop.
If the control bracket doesn’t come into contact with the switch stop, it won’t ground the engine and your lawn mower won’t stop.
The good news is that this is a very quick and simple fix. You just need to bend either one of these components so that they DO make contact. You can do this with a flat head screwdriver.
My LTS 2000 Craftsman won’t stop. I’ve disconnected both wires from the battery, as well as the 2 small wires on the new solenoid and the key is off.
Could the ignition switch be the culprit of something? Thanks.
Hi Tom,
Sorry for the late response. The problem will lie within the coil grounding system, including the ignition switch. When you turn your ignition key off, your lawn mower sends the current from the coil to the ground instead of the spark plug. So, I recommend that you locate the coil’s ground wire and trace it to your lawn mower’s ignition, then the ground from the ignition to the frame. I’m pretty confident that this is going to be the issue and that you have a poor connection.
If you look at the side of your coil, you should find a ground connector. If you take an extra length of cable and connect this connector to the frame of your lawn mower, then the engine should turn off. This will tell you that the problem does lie within the grounding system. But first, check the wiring diagram of your coil to make sure you have the right connection.
I hope this helps.
Tom.