Comments on: I have a Craftsman riding lawnmower 16.5 that starts right up, but when you put it in gear it dies?

By: chief

chief — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 01:58:37 +0000

a safety switch is causing this like in the seat or in the blade engagement or in the ignition you must put the switch in the backup mode or when you put it in reverse it will die.

By: kid360roadrash

kid360roadrash — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 17:39:31 +0000

With the tractor off, try to turn the pulleys - both on the transmission and deck. This is to check and make sure theres no stuck belts ( due to rust) or frozen deck spindles/transmission.
If those are fine, as suggested, could be a saftey switch.
Check the foot clutch switch, and the reverse sensor.
If the seat sensor was bad- it wouldnt start.

By: sensible_man

sensible_man — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 19:33:05 +0000

Could be a pulley that is tied up. When you release the clutch, the belt engages but can not turn the pulley so the engine dies.

By: bobo

bobo — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 14:20:31 +0000

there’s a safety switch in the seat that kills the motor if you fall off while in gear. I’d check this first.

By: Bart S

Bart S — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 18:47:06 +0000

There is a “Safety Switch” on the clutch that is most likely the problem. If you have a warranty on the machine, have a Sears technician come out and repair it for you. If you have no warranty left, try unplugging the switch on the clutch linkage and see if that solves the problem.