Old craftmen garden tractor will not start after new parts

Shealray · Jul 30, 2015

I have a 15 year old craftsmen garden tractor 22, kohler engine, model number 417.273090.

It will not start without a jumper from charger. Mower deck will not run again if turned off after running engine. Mowing deck will run if you let the engine idol for a minute or two then the mower deck will start.

We did the following

New stator (old stator wire black)
New rectifier ( We burned out old having it connecting when jumping engine)
New solenoid ( purchased from sears)
New battery ( had old battery tested it was bad)
New starter (old cracked)

Tried starting again solenoid makes a clicking sound tractor will not start.
Purchased the solenoid new from sears.

Replacement starter looks bigger, however fits the tractor.
Is the mower deck causing the starter issue now?

Sure could use some assistance.
All comments welcome.
Thank you for your time

oldtanker · Jul 30, 2015

Check the safety switches by bypassing them one by one.

Rick

Shealray · Jul 30, 2015

(quoted from post at 07:44:57 07/30/15) Check the safety switches by bypassing them one by one.

Rick

There is a safety switch by the clutch we know of.
There is a safety switch under the seat.

We will try this let you know.

Never though of safety switch issues.

THANKS

cole in mo. · Jul 30, 2015

A clicking solenoid sounds like bad cable connections.

old · Jul 30, 2015

Clicking solenoid means you have enough power to make the solenoid talk to you but not enough to spin it over. Poor connections some place or you new battery is no good or needs to be charged or even a new bad solenoid. Jump across the two big terminals on the solenoid and if it spins over the solenoid is bad if it does not then one of the other things I said

Txturbo · Jul 30, 2015

(quoted from post at 07:33:50 07/30/15) I have a 15 year old craftsmen garden tractor 22, kohler engine, model number 417.273090.

It will not start without a jumper from charger. Mower deck will not run again if turned off after running engine. Mowing deck will run if you let the engine idol for a minute or two then the mower deck will start.

We did the following

New stator (old stator wire black)
New rectifier ( We burned out old having it connecting when jumping engine)
New solenoid ( purchased from sears)
New battery ( had old battery tested it was bad)
New starter (old cracked)

Tried starting again solenoid makes a clicking sound tractor will not start.
Purchased the solenoid new from sears.

Replacement starter looks bigger, however fits the tractor.
Is the mower deck causing the starter issue now?

Sure could use some assistance.
All comments welcome.
Thank you for your time

f the solenoid clicks there is nothing wrong with the safety switches. Sounds like you have a bad ground somewhere. Get a set of jumper cables and connect one end to the negative terminal of the battery and the other end directly to the case of the motor or starter bracket. Then try starting it. If that fixes all the issues then check your ground cable.

Steve@Advance · Jul 30, 2015

The mower deck is not causing the starting problem.

The only true way to know is to test it with a test light or volt meter.

If you have a test light or volt meter, connect it across the battery lugs. If the voltage drops when you try to start it, (What you're doing is "load testing" the circuit by testing it with the starter held on.) possibly the battery just needs charging, may have been on the shelf for a while.

If the voltage doesn't drop, start moving the test leads and trying the starter. When you find the voltage drop, you've found the problem.

If the battery side of the solenoid has power, but the starter side doesn't, under load, the solenoid is bad. If the starter lug has power, and the starter isn't working, the starter is bad.

Of course you need to verify all the connections are tight and clean. Any warm connection is a sign of a bad connection.

Once it's running, check the charging system. With the engine revved up, need around 13 volts. If it's not charging, you don't want to be operating the electric deck drive clutch! It's possible it may already have some damage, won't know till you try, but running the clutch with a bad charging system, low battery, will cause the clutch to slip and burn the friction plate. That gets costly!

Shealray · Jul 30, 2015

(quoted from post at 15:01:13 07/30/15) The mower deck is not causing the starting problem.

The only true way to know is to test it with a test light or volt meter.

If you have a test light or volt meter, connect it across the battery lugs. If the voltage drops when you try to start it, (What you're doing is "load testing" the circuit by testing it with the starter held on.) possibly the battery just needs charging, may have been on the shelf for a while.

If the voltage doesn't drop, start moving the test leads and trying the starter. When you find the voltage drop, you've found the problem.

If the battery side of the solenoid has power, but the starter side doesn't, under load, the solenoid is bad. If the starter lug has power, and the starter isn't working, the starter is bad.

Of course you need to verify all the connections are tight and clean. Any warm connection is a sign of a bad connection.

Once it's running, check the charging system. With the engine revved up, need around 13 volts. If it's not charging, you don't want to be operating the electric deck drive clutch! It's possible it may already have some damage, won't know till you try, but running the clutch with a bad charging system, low battery, will cause the clutch to slip and burn the friction plate. That gets costly!

Took battery out and used car with jumper cables tractor starts right up. He stared it 3 times this way. We are going to advanced get it tested with a printout and take it back to where we purchased it. However we also replaced ignition switch and deck mower switch, all are 15 years old also. Trouble shooting is an art. We are also going to have batteries we buy tested before we put them in a machine.
Thanks
So much to learn, so little time

Old craftmen garden tractor will not start after new parts

Shealray

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oldtanker

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Shealray

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cole in mo.

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old

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Txturbo

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Steve@Advance

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Shealray

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