My lawn tractor will not disengage blades when trying to start it?

Question

the lawn tractor is a yardman hydrostatic 18 hp. briggs and straton. when starting it I raise the deck but the blades still turn.

Answer 1

after it's off. make sure the belts aren't too tight. if they are then they won't disengage. they should be taunt, but you should stil be able to move then a little.

Answer 2

You need to get an owner's manual and read it. It will tell you how to disengage the blades and the transmission. When starting you should have the blades disengaged, the clutch/brake pedal down and be sitting in the seat. The tractor should not move and the blades should not turn.

I can think of only two things that would make/allow the blades to turn durning starting. First the mower deck lever would have to be in the engaged position and the safety switch that prevents starting is bad, disconnected or missing. The second would be that the belt is wrong and the blades turn all the time whether the mower deck lever is in the engaged position or not. You should disengage the mower deck before shutting down the engine, but there should be no power to the starter if the mower deck in engaged. Is this a new tractor or has someone worked on it?