This is a last ditch effort for me before I take this thing to the $60.00 an hour small engine repair shop. I have a Briggs & Stratton Model 28u707 Type 1170-E1. This is a 12.5 hp engine on a MTD Model 13AN660F120. I have went through 2 stators already and have ordered another one but will not fry this one until I figure out this problem out. So far I have replaced 2 safety switches,. This would be the one for the deck and the one for the brake. I have replaced the starter switch, the battery, the starter solenoid, the spark plug, the starter, although the one I have has the nylon gear instead of the metal gear that is called for. I kept popping fuses every time I would turn the key to the on, not start position, so I started undoing things to figure out were it was coming from. After unplugging every safety switch and wire and stripping tape off to check for frayed wires I undid the two wires that go into the stator and low and behold the fuse did not pop. Got a new stator and put it on. The mower fired right up and I took two victory laps around the yard. I turned the mower off and low and behold it would not start again!!! Check under the panel under the plate where the gears are and sure enough the fuse was blown. Put a new fuse in and turned it to the on position, "POP". Undid the wires to the stator and did that again. The fuse held. PLEASE HELP!!!

Double check your MTD model number, I cannot locate a parts breakdown for the model you posted. I did find one with this model number 13AH660F120 but these units show to have used a Briggs 28t707 engine.

In any case the problem could be a bare wire grounding out in the charging circuit or the ignition switch is bad or incorrect. Many of the switches for these small tractors look identical and the wiring plugs can have the same plug configuration, but the internal connections in the switch are different. The diode in the wiring harness may be bad allowing current to flow to the stator.

The safety switches on the seat, clutch pedal and blade engagement are not wired into the charging circuit and one of these switches, good or bad will not cause the fuse to blow when the switch is turned on.

$60.00 / hour is not that bad, I charge $65.00:freak:

Thanks for the reply. I figured this one out on my own. Seems as if the wing-nut that had this mower before me cut the wires that plug into the stator and cut the plug off the stator itself. I did the same thing twice without giving it a second notice. After getting my 3rd new stator and doing some snooping I found the end that I had cut of the stator. I unwrapped the shrink wrap and to my behold found a small barrel shaped thing with numbers on it. I googled the numbers and found it to be a rectifier. I googled rectifier and sure enough that is what the problem was all along. I put the new one on and purchased the end that comes from the mower itself and plugged it in. She runs like a champ and starts up perfectly. So much for rigging things that should not be rigged. TAH-DAH!!!