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Ah, playing here from Sears PartsDirect. They were going to tell with you to writing long war that doesn't do anything when you turn the key to start the engine, not even click. Before you do anything, make sure the parking brake is set and the blades are disengaged. The writing more won't start otherwise. You'd be surprised how many people forget those steps and think there's something wrong with their mower.
What is the significance of the click when you turn the key? When you hear the click, you know the starter solenoid coil is getting power from the battery through the ignition switch. If you don't hear that click, either the starter solenoid has failed or the starter solenoid coil is not getting power.
We'll show you how to pinpoint the cause by checking the riding mower's battery, solenoid posts and coil, fuse, ignition switch, brake switch, and blade switch. We'll use this Craftsman riding mower for our troubleshooting. This type of mower is common, but the wiring and components in yours might be different. Refer to the wiring diagram for your model if you notice differences.
To understand how we clap down the problem, it helps to know how the starting system works. The positive (red) battery cable connects to one of the two large terminal posts on the starter solenoid. The black wire, connected to the other large terminal on the starter solenoid, carries power to the starter motor.
To start the engine, a small red wire branches off the red solenoid terminal post to carry power through the ignition switch to the coil at the bottom of the starter solenoid. When you turn the key to the start position, the ignition switch sends power through the white wire, energizes the coil inside the solenoid. The coil closes an internal contact to send power from the red battery cable to the black wire, which powers the starter motor to spin the engine.
So what could go wrong with the starting system? Well, a dead battery won't power up the starter system and could prevent the solenoid coil from clicking. To check the battery, we'll use a multimeter to measure DC voltage across the battery terminals. Put on work gloves and safety goggles, turn off big access the battery. In this type of riding mower, you lift the seat to get to the battery.
With the multimeter set to measure DC voltage, touch the red multimeter probe to the positive or red battery terminal and the black meter probe to the negative or black battery terminal. If the battery is good, it measures more than 12 volts DC. If it measures less than 12 volts, the battery is weak or dead, and you've likely found the problem.
A weaker or dead battery won't power the starter solenoid coil. Try recharging the battery using a charger, or in a pinch, you can use jumper cables to jumpstart a riding mower model that uses a 12-volt battery. If the battery won't recharge, replace it. If the battery is okay, that means power is getting to the red battery cable, but is voltage getting through the red battery cable to the red terminal post? To check that, let's measure voltage at the red terminal post.
With the multimeter set to measure DC voltage, touch the red meter probe to the red post on the starter solenoid and the black meter probe to the negative terminal on the battery. It should measure more than 12 volts. A word of warning here, don't let the meter lead touch both the solenoid posts at the same time, or you'll see a severe spark shorting across the solenoid post.
Sending the current to the starter motor. Some of you may be tempted to short across a Tumblr post intentionally using an insulated screwdriver to start the engine, but we strongly discourage this approach because this dangerous practice overrides safety switches.
If the battery measures less than 12 volts, check the battery terminals and cable leads for corrosion. Clean corrosion off the battery terminals and battery cable leads with a wire brush. Corrosion can prevent the red solenoid post from getting power. Recheck the voltage. If it still doesn't measure more than 12 volts at the red post, replace the red battery cable.
So let's get back to troubleshooting the starting system. Now that we know the red terminal is getting power, the next step is to find out whether the solenoid coil gets power when you turn the key. If you measure voltage at the coil but the internal contact doesn't click, the starter solenoid is to blame. The solenoid clicks when it sends power to the starter motor.
To check voltage on the solenoid coil wires, you'll need clip-on meter probes to hold the probes on the wires as you turn the ignition key. Unless you have a helper to turn the key while you hold the probes on the wires, pull the white and black wires off the spades of the solenoid. Set the multimeter to measure DC voltage. Clip the red meter probe to the white wire female Spade connector and the black meter probe to the black wire female Spade connector.
Turn the ignition key to the start position. Note the voltage reading on the meter display and then turn the ignition key off. If the multimeter measures battery voltage, it will be more than 12 volts. Replace the starter solenoid because the coil is getting power but not closing the internal contact to send power to the starter motor.
If it measures zero volts, there's a break in the circuit to the solenoid coil. The starter solenoid is likely okay; it's just not getting power. Time to test the coil circuit. We'll check the ground side of the circuit first. The black wire attaches to the solenoid coil and connects to the middle frame of the mower as a ground. A break in that wire keeps the coil from getting power.
To check the ground wire, we'll check for resistance between the female Spade on the black wire and the metal frame of the mower. Disconnect the negative battery cable and then the positive battery cable to completely kill power to the mower before checking resistance. Touch the cables away from the battery to keep them from touching the posts and accidentally restoring power.
Set the multimeter to measure resistance and touch one meter probe to the black wire female Spade and the other meter probe to bare metal on the mower frame to ground it. I'm using the mower deck height lever. A reading near zero ohms of resistance means the black wire is grounded. A reading of infinite resistance means you must find and repair the breaks in the black ground wiring.
Once you restore a good path to ground on the black wire, you should be able to start the engine. If the ground side of the circuit is okay, we'll check the hot side of the circuit that begins with the small red wire on the starter solenoid terminal and ends at the white wire that connects to the coil Spade. The circuit includes a fuse, the ignition switch, break switch, and blade switch.
First, we'll check for a blown fuse because you could usually see a blown fuse just by looking at it. The fuse in this mower is right here next to the starter solenoid, but we need to pull out the battery and battery box to access the fuse. Move the zip tie over and pull the fuse from the holder. If you find the fuse element broken like this, replace the fuse because it's definitely blown. If you're unsure whether the fuse is blown, check for continuity through the fuse with your multimeter.
Place one meter probe on each of the fuse leads to measure resistance through the fuse. You should measure near zero ohms of resistance through the fuse. If you measure infinite resistance, replace the fuse because it's blown. Keep in mind the fuse blew because of a short in a component or wiring. Follow the steps in this video to determine the cause of a blown fuse and fix the problem, so the fuse doesn't blow again soon after you replace it. If the fuse is okay, reinstall it in the holder and secure it with the zip tie.
Next, we'll check continuity through the red wire from the starter solenoid post to the ignition switch. Open the mower hood, pull the wire harness off the ignition switch. Release the locking tabs on the ignition switch and push it out of the dash. Push the wire harness plug through the holes so you can easily access the contacts for testing.
With the multimeter set to measure resistance, place one meter probe on the starter solenoid post with the red wire and the other meter probe on the female plug Spade with the red wire attached. You should measure near zero ohms of resistance through this section of wiring. If you measure infinite resistance, find and repair the break in the red wire.
If this section of wiring is okay, we'll test the ignition switch next. When you turn the key to start the engine, internal ignition switch contacts should complete a circuit from the red wire on the B terminal to the white wire on the S terminal. To test the ignition switch, we'll measure the resistance between terminals B and S with the key turned to the start position. With the multimeter set to measure resistance, touch one meter probe.
