You are just cruising along on your riding lawn mower and hit a dip or bump in your yard and the mower just cuts off for a split second. Why? Is there something wrong with the lawn mower or could it be something I am doing?
Well…there is probably nothing wrong with the lawn mower as it is doing what it is supposed to do. When you hit a bump, it causes you to momentarily come off of your seat. When you come off your seat, the seat switch activates and cuts off power to the ignition system to kill the engine.
Why does the seat switch kill the engine? Because it is thinking that you just rolled the lawn mower and it wants to shut down the engine which in turn will stop the lawn mower blades from dicing you up if it rolls over onto you.
The seat switch is a vital part of the safety switch system and unplugging it is a very bad idea safety wise. If the lawn mower rolls over and lands on its wheels and doesn’t die, the mower could continue moving and hit something or someone. I know it is an annoyance when you hear the engine popping, but that switch is there for a reason and make sure that it works as it should.