I'm an idiot and I have proof.

[BigAngus752]

Long story.  Probably better suited to winter, but it's a summer story so...fair warning.

 

I was mowing with my new Toro ZTR today.  My 4th time using it.  I had only been mowing for about ten minutes and was going up a small slope when it died.  No sputtering.  Just a hard "nope" stoppage.  It has no gas gauge and it looked dry so I filled it up.  Still no start.  Wouldn't even click.  I could hear the park safety engaging so it had some power, but wouldn't turn over at all.  I was ramping up with some colorful language as I tried to disengage the hydros and push it to the garage and couldn't get it to budge.  Now I'm cussing like Yosemite Sam, but not with a Looney Tunes G-rating. 

 

I get my push mower and start in front of our house.  I'm cussing, thinking about demanding a refund, and mentally troubleshooting at the same time.  I think of a few things to check but I finish pushing the front yard first.  I go back to the Toro with my meter and check the battery, juice at the solenoid, fuses, seat safety switch. grounds, etc.  No love.  Now I just want it out of the middle of my yard.  I figure out that I have to have the ignition on to disengage the parking brake before I can push it even with the hydros disengaged.  I plan on putting it in front of my garage to have the shop pick it up but, as you may know, you can only push a ZTR by hand in one direction.  Then you have to go to the front and turn each wheel and push it again.  Then straighten each wheel and push some more.  I'm not having a fun day. 

 

I get it into the drive and in front of the garage.  I think, "Hey, I could have jiggled something pushing it around so I'll try it again".  I sit down and try to start it with no response.  I'm mentally going over all the safeties on the commercial Ztrak I mow with at work.  Suddenly it dawns on me....I was MOWING when it quit.  I looked down and the blade switch was still engaged.  I pop it off and the mower starts right up.  Heavy sigh...I'm an idiot.  I think to myself, "I hope the neighbors didn't see that", but I realize that they saw me working on it so they probably think I fixed something and I'm a genius.  That's great!  I look like a hero! 

 

Now I'm motoring back toward my yard to continue mowing WHEN THE RIGHT STEERING ARM COMES LOOSE.  Totally loose.  I was going full speed straight ahead.  Now I'm spinning in a full circle to the right at FULL SPEED.  First thing I think is, "The neighbors can see this".  Next thing is, "Why doesn't this steering arm work?".  Last thing is, "I need to figure this out right now because I'm four more spins from projectile vomiting".  I throttle down and find the sweet spot to jam the left arm into park and I stop.  Once I could walk without looking drunk I grabbed some tools and tightened BOTH steering arms and finished mowing. 

 

If someone ever tries to tell you that our Lord and Savior doesn't have a sense of humor, just point at me. 

[Kirtley Howe]

Are we related?

 

[Woody B]

I did that once.  Same situation.  Ran out of gas,  gassed it up and couldn't get it to start.  I didn't push it though.  Mrs B came out and asked "do you have the blade engaged".  

 

It's ok though.  A couple weeks later she couldn't get it started because the brake wasn't engaged.  

[TOXIC]

I’ll read your story and raise the ante.  I had gutter guards on all my gutters but with the combination of trees we have they didn’t work well and were always plugging up with hickory nuts, beech nuts, acorns and oak pollen strings, so I pulled them all off and I periodically climb up on my roof and blow out the gutters with my leaf blower much to my wife’s protesting.  My house is built on a cliff and a fall would be potentially life ending plus climbing the ladder to get up there isn’t as easy at 66 as it used to be.  Well, my trusty leaf blower gave up the ghost and I got a new one for Father’s Day.  I was a couple of months behind in getting on the roof so I knew the gutters would be completely full of sticks, pollen strings, nuts, etc, and full of water.  The pollen strings alone could fill the gutters by themselves.  The last few rains the gutters were overflowing badly so I knew.  Put the new leaf blower together, got the ladder out, shimmied my fat rear up there, started it up and it promptly blew the nozzle off the blower, it bounced and went right off the roof.  I climbed down  retrieved it, reattached it and climbed back up and it promptly did it again with the same result.  After 4, yes 4 more attempts and me going in the house a watching a d**n YouTube video and reading the instructions 20 times, I couldn’t figure out how something so simple was kicking my rear. I was now covered in sweat and mud from what short time I could get the nozzle to stay on.  I looked at it one more time before putting the ladder away because I was getting too tired to climb it many more times and if the nozzle flew off on the backside it would go off the cliff and I’d be done for sure.  That’s when I noticed there were 2 sets of raised plastic pegs on the nozzle.  The first were a guide and the second were to lock it on.  I was putting the nozzle too far on and it wouldn’t lock.  All I could think was D-U-m-B   A-z-z. 

[DitchPanda]

At work a while back one of the operators unlocked a pump after maintenance serviced it and said it wouldn't pump. He tried starting and stopping it to clear blockage, no dice. He back flushed the pump, nope. Watched the pump run making sure the coupler wasnt broke, it wasn't-- pump turning but no flow. Walks into my office and says hey man I've tried everything, can you come look and see what's up? I walk out and go to the pump and within 3 seconds turn to him and say when you unlocked it you left the discharge valve closed. Opened it and the control room says I don't know what you just did but we got our flow back.

[flyfisher]

Sounds like my friend when we went out on his dad's jon boat on an electric only lake.  We use the trolling motor for a good mile or so and had a good old time.  Then it stops working.  He messes around with it can't get it to work.  Cell service is spotty so he can't get a hold of his dad.  He pulls out the lone paddle and paddles back to the ramp.  We get there and cell service is a little better and his dad says, did you check the switch?  He said theres a switch?  Must have bumped the switch and turned it off.....turned it back on and good as new lol

[TnRiver46]

I knew what happened before I got to the end of the story, I used to work on a law care crew hahaha. Over the years you end up doing it all. What’s really wild is when you get the front of a zero turn going downhill………

 

also gutter guards sucks, I rest my case 

[12poundbass]

1 hour ago, flyfisher said:

Sounds like my friend when we went out on his dad's jon boat on an electric only lake.  We use the trolling motor for a good mile or so and had a good old time.  Then it stops working.  He messes around with it can't get it to work.  Cell service is spotty so he can't get a hold of his dad.  He pulls out the lone paddle and paddles back to the ramp.  We get there and cell service is a little better and his dad says, did you check the switch?  He said theres a switch?  Must have bumped the switch and turned it off.....turned it back on and good as new lol

I did the exact same thing three years ago. I took my son and his friend fishing. They were on the fish, having a great time, then the TM all of a sudden quit. I was checking everything with no luck. I fire up the outboard and load the boat up. They were bumming big time! The next day I’m looking things over and see the switch on the foot control, flip it, and good as new! 
 

Looking back, they were taking turns running the TM and one of them must’ve hit the switch. 

[TnRiver46]

I was just petting a dog and drinking a cup of coffee, then I took a sip of coffee mixed with about 20 dog hairs. I felt this belonged in this thread 

[12poundbass]

If I posted everything dumb I’ve done Glenn’s server would crash.

[gim]

On 7/2/2023 at 11:49 AM, BigAngus752 said:

Now I'm spinning in a full circle to the right at FULL SPEED. 

[LrgmouthShad]

My Dad sometimes seems like the world’s worst, and there are most often injuries involved. I have to remind myself that it happens to him because he’s the one out there trying to get stuff done. But he has had an ER visit or two, or a dozen. 

[BigAngus752]

3 hours ago, gimruis said:

But he's much more coordinated...and his legs are longer...