Help with lost electric mower "key"

[Sancho's Horse]

I have a Black and Decker 36v SLA electric mower which does a very good job for our small yard. I have apparently temporarily or pemanently misplaced the safety "Key" for this. The key consists of a set of connector plugs in a housing which completes the circuit and allows the mower to run. I will call them tomorrow and see what one will set me back, but I was wondering if I could complete the circuit on my own and save the trouble. Here are some pictures:
View attachment 1
This is the throttle. The key must be plugged in to the connectors, the orange rhombus shaped button must be depressed, and then the throttle bar can be pulled towards the handle starting the mower. Here are the throttles guts:

The problem is...I am cheap, no, poor, no, I hate having parts held over my head...
the problem is... the connectors in the above picture are where the key plugs in, but also where the battery charging system plugs in, so whatever modification I make...I cannot lose this charging function.

What do you think is my best option?

 

[dogman dan]

Those connectors look a lot like Anderson powerpoles to me.

So if so, you could get pp's and make your own key that completes the circuit. If those are something different, then the entire setup could be replaced with andersons.

You'd put new andersons on the charger, the mower, and the new homemade key.

But maybe you will find the key soon? Meanwhile you could just use some kind of fat wire jammed into the connectors to complete the circuit. A piece of solid copper house wiring might fit in the female holes. Or perhaps fit if the bare end is folded, and shaved to the proper size.

The key to my B&D 24v mower was missing when I bought it. Different system. Balking at buying a new key for a stupid price, I made one from a piece of wood and a nail.

 

[dnmun]

mine was missing the key too when they gave it to me. they thought it was dead. i had the old type like dogman but i just took it apart down to where the key was used as the fulcrum of the lever that made the contact when you pulled the handle. used a piece of bailing wire to hold it in place instead of using the key to hold it.

it worked, but sometimes i had to bang on the top of the motor to make it turn off.

 

[cal3thousand]

Better pictures of the complete wiring may help in determining the connections required in the "key"

 

[John in CR]

If you can't hotwire a lawnmower any future as a car thief is definitely out the window. :lol:

I say go for it. A multimeter should tell you everything.

John

 

[Sancho's Horse]

I called the Black and Decker service dept., and a new safety key is $19.99 plus tax, with $10.47 shipping and handling.
So...I made this:

I may make some alterations in the future, but it works just fine as is.

I am sure this will assert my position among the great electrical engineers here on ES :wink: . More importantly, this will assert my position on the great fraud called product replacement or engineered BS acceptance.

I firmly believe people accept a great many insults, indignities and financial losses because they just don't question what they are getting. I may not call for a revolution in this lawn mower thread, but it is coming .

The mower is an 18" mower/bagger/mulcher. I got it for $150 at the end of last season. I think MSRP is something like $219. It has a 36v 24ah SLA battery. To replace the battery is $159.99. So, I got it for less than the replacement battery costs. The battery charging system is pretty good. I actually enjoy using it. Quiet, quick starting, light...no gas costs or hassles.

The batteries could be useful for a trike arrangement, although I doubt I will use it on my trike. However, getting a good mower, and the energy output for a grocery-getting trike could push a lot of people over into the, "it just makes sense," camp.

 

[Sancho's Horse]

One thing I have noticed, is that people around town have been mowing their lawns a lot less. With the price of gas, I think this trend will continue, except for those of us who have electric mowers.

Who knew that being part of the e-crowd would make me the Ward Beaver of my neighborhood?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Leave It to Beaver: Beaver's Ring (#2.7)" (1958)
Ward Cleaver: You know, Wally, when I went to high school, we used to have to wear a collar and tie to school everyday.
Wallace 'Wally' Cleaver: Well, gee, Dad, they're not allowed to be that mean to you, anymore.

 

[Hillhater]

One thing I have noticed, is that people around town have been mowing their lawns a lot less. With the price of gas, I think this trend will continue, .

Jeezz, ! what do they mow with ?..A helicopter towed gang mower ?? :lol:
I have a "normal" lawn ed block that takes me 45mins to mow. It needs less than $1 of gas.. ( actually 5 ltrs lasts over 6 months)

 

[Sancho's Horse]

The foreclosures are pretty obvious. When the lawn height is only limited by the plant variety, or when you notice that the tree growing through the spokes of a bike is beginning to get bark, foreclosure is a good guess.

Why others aren't mowing, I am not sure. Maybe the heat. Maybe gas prices. Maybe camouflage. Maybe they are busy at the coliseum watching the gladiators. Who knows? The good thing is lots of people made deals with farmers and just let their yards grow, and now the farmers have a little extra feed. The lot at my shop is 2 1/2 acres, but I have the neighbor mow that in exchange for letting him grow pumpkins there. Mowing that much acreage begins to add up.

 

[999zip999]

Why a horse maybe a goat, yes Sancho's ?

 

[rscamp]

Don't buy a safety key. Make one!

I posted this over on the LawnMowerForum...

http://www.lawnmowerforum.com/black-decker-forum/9101-safety-key.html

 

[Sancho's Horse]

999zip999 - My parents wanted me to just get a cow, and let her roam. I may do this someday, just because. I have considered a goat, but they can be a little troublesome, and creative about it. A guy I was friends with growing up had a goat, and it first started getting on top of its "house," but eventually discovered the tree next to his house and would spend the biggest part of the day standing up in this tree. I saw it eat an aluminum can, so...not sure if I want that kind of thing going on.

rscamp - Thanks for the link. Great minds think alike. You have to be a member to view the pictures. I can tell you a few things. Connecting all three is not a problem. I left my "key" connecting all three powerpoles in... overnight. Working fine this morning. The bottom two, green and red are all that are needed to start the mower. Just interested, I guess, but I was pretty sure there wasn't a short, because a short at 36v would be pretty dramatic.

 

[Tmarsh7407]

I have a slightly different problem with my black and decker cordless electric 36v lawn mower. After four years of flawless operation the orange plastic key (part # 95030033) will not fit into the slot. I cannot see any obvious problems (bent posts or debris in key or housing). The charging cord which also goes into the same slot works just fine. I even got a replacement key but it also will not fit. If I can't find any fix for this is it possible to jump start it somehow? Hate to think a $500 mower is useless now due to a flimsy plastic part.

 

[markz]

Hate to think a $500 mower is useless now due to a flimsy plastic part.

Engineered to fail is a common practice.

I would see if I can get in behind the the key and see how many wires are there and see if you can access them all easy enough.

 

[ysk]

I lost one for my snow joe snowblower. Looks like these also work as safety fuse.
What size copper wire (or amps) would be good safety fuse/key for 40v(36v) snowblower with 4a battery?