craftsman mower isnt starting

[Joshb]

So let me start by saying I'm pretty novice and there might be a stupid mistake hidden in here somewhere, but my mower isn't cranking. Just occasional clicking. After a long gap of not trying to start it, i heard the starter rotate a few times before stopping, like it had somehow stored a few volts before running out again. Craftsman DLS 3500.

-battery is definately ogood
-solenoid is new.

I thought it was the solenoid at first, but I replaced it and it started first try. Then it wouldn't start again, it randomly started up one more time and no dice after that.

Multimeter positive to the negative terminal on the solenoid and multimeter negative to the negative terminal on the battery shows 0v when attempting to start. I wondered if it was a failed safety switch, but then again it ran fine for over an hour yesterday before it quit and I wasn't able to start it again. (That was the second time it cranked after the solenoid replacement.)

There is a small chance I bought the wrong solenoid, but im pretty sure I didn't. I dont think its the starter because unless I somehow did it wrong, I'm not seeing any voltage even get to the starter. Cable to the solenoid reads 12v as well.

Any suggestions?

 

[Rivets]

First check your battery terminals for cleanliness and tightness. Then check the battery ground to chassis connection making sure it is clean and tight. If you have a three terminal solenoid, the frame of the solenoid is you ground and when mounting it to the frame the surfaces must be very clean. Abrasive paper is the best to use to clean these surfaces. Then preform this test. Hook up your meter across the battery and test the voltage while cranking. If the voltage drops below 9V you have a bad battery. If it stays above 10V let us kn and we will give you more suggests.