A John Deere L130 Lawnmower Won't Crank After the Blades Are Sharpened

Preparation

• Park the John Deere L130 on a level surface. Ensure the blades are disengaged. Pull down on the deck lift lever to the right of the John Deere's driver seat to lower the mower deck.

Spark Plug Troubleshooting

• Open the front hood over the L130's engine. Check the spark plug on the right side of the Kohler engine. The spark plug is partially inserted into the spark plug hole here, and a thin, black wire extends out from this hole. This ignition wire must be connected to the spark plug. You may have disconnected it for safety purposes before sharpening your blades and simply forgotten to reconnect it. Slide the ignition wire into the rear of the spark plug and test your John Deere L130 mower.

Drive Belt Tightening

• If the lawn mower still won't crank, disconnect the spark plug's ignition wire, then look under the base of the mower deck and find the pulley at the center of the deck. The drive belt is connected to the pulley. This belt is responsible for the engagement of the blades and was likely loosened and misadjusted accidentally as you operated on the blades, due to the close proximity of the blades to the belt's pulley system. Find the spring-loaded idler directly beneath the drive belt. The idler is distinctive thanks to its wheel-like shape. Loosen the bolt on the top of the idler's metal plate with counterclockwise twists from a socket wrench. Position a breaker bar or ratchet within the square hole on the face of the idler's metal plate, then wind the bar or ratchet clockwise until you feel resistance. Stop winding immediately upon feeling resistance, as this indicates the belt has been properly tightened and the mower will again crank and re-engage its blades.

Finishing Up Repair

• Retighten the idler's bolt with clockwise twists from your socket wrench. Insert the ignition wire back into the rear of the spark plug, then pull up on the deck lift lever to raise the mower deck again.