Thanks to all who sent me email. The problem was a bad charger circuit. I
bought a trickle charger at the local auto parts store ($28) and modified the
circuit. Works fine. (I don't recommend doing this unless you are familiar with
battery charging. It can be dangerous if it's not done right.)

Also, an electric mower is the ONLY way to go as far as I'm concerned. I bought
this one for $25 thru the paper, replaced the battery ($70 by mail/net) and got
several years out of it before the charger went out. While it was down, I
borrowed a friend's gas mower and I had forgotten how quiet and smokeless the
electric ones are.

I can mow the front and back yards twice on one charge. That's a total of about
12,000 sq ft. If you have much more than that, an electric mower might not be
the way to go. Also, mine is a push-type, so if you need a self-propelled, I'd
guess you get a lot less on a charge.

"LeeAnne"

I can't help you with your question, but I can say that my DR electric mower
has done some serious justice for me when it comes to cutting my grass!!!
If you can't fix the Ryobi, I recommend the DR - I bought it as a 'demo'
model, therefore I paid less, however it comes w/the same warranty as new --
this will be its third summer.

LeeAnne