How To Troubleshoot a Lawn Mower That Won’t Pull

If yes, it must have kept you wondering whether it is possible to troubleshoot such failure, and, if possible, you must have wondered how to do so.

First, measure the cord length and circumference of the winder, wind the cord 3 times, and test. Look for blade obstruction and recoil starter failure. Take the necessary action.

If you follow the instructions thoroughly provided in today’s article, you can easily fix your mower. So, learn how to troubleshoot a lawn mower won’t pull.

What Causes the Problem?

Your lawn mower might seem hard to pull or won’t pull due to wrong cord adjustment, stuck rope, or the blade dragging on the ground.

In most cases, simple cord adjustment works perfectly to solve the hard-to-pull problem, but in some cases, other faulty parts also lead to experiencing similar issues.

A lawn mower becomes hard to pull due to blade obstruction, disengaged spark plug wire, or recoil starter failure.

5 Steps To Troubleshoot A Lawn Mower That Won’t Pull:

Encountering such commotions every once in a while, is very common for every lawn mower user, but it’s still annoying to deal with such problems out of the blue.

If you follow the available online consumer forums, blogs, and YouTube vlogs, you will find several DIY ideas to fix such problems. Unfortunately, not all of those ideas are reliable, and most of them are not even confirmed by the users whether those fixing techniques worked or not. 

Thus, I have enlisted an easy-to-do yet effective troubleshooting method to fix the problem quickly when your lawn mower fails to pull:

Things you will need to troubleshoot the lawn mower won’t pull:

Look at the checklist of the required tools or materials:

Step 1- Measure the length of the Cord:

First, remove the recoil assembly with a ¼ nut driver to fix the lighters.

You will see a couple of quarter-inch screws so, carefully excuse them with the nut driver.

Now you can lift the upper cover off and wind it back to correct tension, you need to know the accurate length of the cord.

If you see, you will find the cord mounted up on your lawn mower handle just like most mower models.

Tip: Remember that while you are calculating the cord length, you are not going to wind the entire cord.

If you measure the cord length the way it was done in the earlier picture it will measure around 85 inches (it can differ from model to model). The entire cord length might be 35 inches.

Step 2- Measuring the Winder Circumference:

Next, you need to know the winder’s circumference, and to measure it use a measurement tape shown in the picture.

You might see a 17 and three-quarter measurement in there (it can also vary depending on your mower model and size).

Let’s do the calculation properly before proceeding further:
[Overall winder – Outside winder] = 50/Circumference (17).
So, our result will be 2.9 which means the wind is three times three ones.

Step 3- Winding the Cord:

Now you need to wind the cord three times. But first, get the hole lined up outside the exit and wind the cord three times by using your hand.

Next, insert a screwdriver to lock it up and hold it there.

After that prepare the cord end by cutting the damaged or worn end.

Then, you need to clean

And melt the cord end.

Tip: Melting the cord end will keep it safe from fraying and will help to feed through there too if it’s nice and flat

Now, thread the cord end through from the outside to the hole, which will look like threading a needle in.

When the cord gets fully through the hole line, make a simple knot by hand.

Next, put the recoil assembly again in place securely. Let’s try to wind again and see whether the cord is responding or not.

Step 4- Test the Cord:

If the three winds do not seem enough, you have to take it back out and again just wind it. Back up all the way and jam the screwdriver in for the cord lined up.

Next, undo the simple knot and let it go back. Also, take off the screwdriver line that you used before.

You can do it again and this time you can try 4 if three seem too much slack. So, this time follow the same procedures to wind 4 times.

Now mount the cord first in its original place on your mower. Then, just swivel it around and line up the holes.

Grab a quarter-inch nut driver and reinsert the nuts or connecting screws in both slides securely.

Now you need to pull the cord couple of inches before its agency engine and let’s check out the cord

Step 5- Blade Obstruction & Recoil Starter Failure:

Next, you should check the condition of your mower’s blade.

If any strands of grass or debris get trapped in there, it will prevent the blade from spinning due to obstruction between the mower deck and the blade.

If you do not clean the obstruction out of the way on time, it will eventually cause the pull cord to get stuck.

To fix the blade obstruction trouble, thoroughly follow the Correct way to Tip a Mower for Maintenance.

If the blade is not the main culprit of your issue, check the recoil starter, which might be worn out or damaged.

In that case, open the blower housing first to inspect the recoil starter more closely. If it appears faulty, you need to replace the Recoil Starter.

Besides that, watch this video to learn how to fix the recoil starter easily.

Warning:

Undertaking such maintenance can be hazardous. Thus, always remember to read your lawn mower’s instructions manual first before operating, servicing, or troubleshooting it. Make sure you have the minimum expertise to do this task alone.

Watch this video.

Frequently Asked Questions: lawn mower won’t pull

Why does my lawn mower pull cord not catching?

The main reason behind a lawn mower cord catching failure is the failed flywheel starter assembly components like the broken/ worn out pawls or a damaged pulley system. They mostly fail or turn defective due to regular stress of use.

What causes the starting failure of my lawn mower pull start?

Such failure might occur due to a loose, dirty, or disconnected Spark Plug and dirty Air Filter. It can also arise if fuel is not reaching the mower engine properly and causing the motor to starve for fuel.

Why can’t I pull the string on my lawn mower?

Excess crankcase oil and storing the mower while it’s standing on its front wheels can cause the oil to bleed into the piston cylinder. This action will restrict the movement of the piston, and the piston will fail to move.

As a consequence, the crankshaft will not turn, and you won’t be able to pull the rope.

What causes the cord to get stuck on my lawn mower?

Such commotion can arise due to problems with the Recoil Mechanism. The pull cord sometimes crosses over itself while rewinding and gets stuck. 

How to determine if my lawn mower engine is locked up?

Some obvious signs can help you to determine when your lawn mower engine is locked up or seized. You will see symptoms such as motor sounds rough, hard to start, stuck blades, the piston, as well as cylinders won’t move, insufficient or old oil in the tank, and deteriorated fuel.

Final Verdict

Now that I have explained the simplest way to troubleshoot your lawn mower that won’t pull, you can easily get your mower back in perfect mowing condition. 

But remember, you can only get the best result if you thoroughly follow all the instructions without skipping a single detail. 

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