Murray riding mower wont start again
 

We have a bit of a puzzle here.

It starts with a 12.5 HP 40” Murray riding mower that sat unused for about 3-years under shelter.

I re-charged the old battery and it started the first time after draining the old gas from the fuel line at the carburetor, re-filling the gas tank with new gas and adding a squirt of starting fluid on the air filter. Some sneezing at first that settled down after a few moments, so I engaged the blades and ran it around for a few minutes. I heard some clattering from the blades hitting the metal safety cover, so I shut it down and bent the metal under the cover to stop that.

Now comes the puzzle. It won’t restart. Nothing. Not even a click from the solenoid being engaged if that were to happen like with larger engine automobiles.

Since it seems electrical, I have replaced the ignition switch, the solenoid, the battery, and the 15A fuse. Still nothing. I even tried to bypass the seat safety switch thinking that was causing a break. Nothing.

Before I get a meter and try to track the cause step-by-step from a rough electrical diagram, I want to toss this out for your feedback. The cause could be something obvious to one of you and overlooked by me. I welcome your feedback. Thanks much!

Prolly a dumb question...but did you check the oil level?
Oil level switch in most of 'em these days...

also do you have the blades engauged when you are trying to start it?

remove you plug wire and try to turn the engine over by hand. if you can remove the spark plug, cover the plug hole with you thumb or a fat finger, turn the engine over and check for cylinder suction, unless you have a pressure guage. hopefully you didn't cause engine damage.