(ET) E141 mystery

[Erick Smith <ericksmi mac com>]

I have a Wheelhorse E-141 mower which originally came with 6 12v
batteries - two strings  of three running a 36 v system.  Last winter I
converted it to six 6-volt batteries and it has performed wonderfully
all summer - doing triple duty or more because of our abundant (to put
it mildly) rainfall.

At least until today when it would not "start".  Nothing happened when
turning the switch that starts the main drive motor running.  Although
the  batteries should have been fully charged, I put the charger back on
to be sure.

With the charger connected, I tried starting it again and it started
right up.  Turned it off and tried to start it again - nothing.


So, I let it charge for awhile.  Once assured of having a full charge, I
disconnected the charger and turned the main power switch (the E-141 has
a main power switch to turn on first, then a key starter to start the
main motor).
As soon as the main switch was on, a piercing noise began - sounded like
the warning noise a construction implement makes when backing up -
except this was constant rather than intermittant.  After a few seconds
it stops.

Some investigation showed that the noise was coming from what appears to
be an intentional noisemaker/warning device, a vertical cylindrical
object about 2 inches in diameter and an inch high mounted just behing
the uppermost battery and just below the two solenoid switches (at least
they look like solenoid switches) that are directly behing that battery.

  
Turn the main switch off and turn it back on again and the same thing
happens.

So then, after the noise has stopped, I try starting it several times -
nothing.

So then I hook the charger back up, turn on the main power switch, wait
for the noise to stop, and try starting it.  Viola - starts right up.

Without shutting it off, I disconnect the charger, go out and mow some
especially tall grass.  The mower has full power and mows to perfection.

Drive it back to the barn, shut it off and try to restart it - nothing.
Hook up the charger and try to start it - nothing

At that point, I decided it was time to get some better advice.
Any ideas?

Erick smith

PS I could find no loose connections, nothing was getting hot that I
could see, no smoke or odors.