Craftsman YT3000 no start

[slomo]

remove the negative cable from the battery and let it sit until the next cutting. If the battery remains fully charged, you have a parasite draw

If you pull the - battery cable, no chance in Russia you can have a parasitic draw.

And if it is fully charged you don't have a draw either. You have a fully charged battery.

Don't even mention parasitic to the OP. No offense but I think he knows a few words and is dangerous with them. All these things test good but his mower still doesn't crank, doesn't add up.

 

[Rivets]

Slomo, your posts are not helping anyone, mainly because you don’t understand the direction I’m trying to take Willy to resolve his problem.

 

[slomo]

Slomo, he has installed a new battery

Yes an untested battery.

we know the solenoid is good

And the engine still doesn't crank proper.

If you would read and understand my last post you would know we are trying to see if the new battery is bad.

All good.

If you read post number 5 you would see his second try got 11+ VDC

First crank was 7 volts.

Made three more attempts to start it and everything seems fine!

I missed this. My bad. Congratulations on getting her going again. Job well done sir.

 

[Willy56]

Me and dad appreciate the help. He has the battery which has been charging all night and he is coming here later to try it out. In the meantime i thought I would run a new battery cable from battery to solenoid. Any idea what gauge wire that is? I see some 6 gauge cable available locally. Figuring a few bucks spent on new cable could eliminate that as an issue. Many thanks...

 

[Rivets]

6 gauge should work fine, but I doubt that that cable would be the problem, as I hate throwing parts at something if I don’t have to.

 

[Willy56]

6 gauge should work fine, but I doubt that that cable would be the problem, as I hate throwing parts at something if I don’t have to.

Agreed. but for the $8 it will bring me some piece of mind to this frustrating situation. thanks Rivets!

 

[bertsmobile1]

Agreed. but for the $8 it will bring me some piece of mind to this frustrating situation. thanks Rivets!

The ground cable is usually the one that causes grief because it is out of the way so no one does any maintenance on it .

 

[Willy56]

Update. Auto parts store confirmed battery is charged and has proper amperage under load. I am getting 12.6 volts at the battery and solenoid. When cranking, the motor is struggling to turn and I get 8.6 volts at the solenoid. It will spin one time then silence, nothing happens. Next time I try to turn the key silence./..nothing. After two or three attempts at cranking it will try to turn but just seems to not have enough juice. I am at my wits end with this possible electrical gremlin. Starting to wonder if it is a flywheel or mechanical issue. But I am just not sure. At this point I am considering calling a local shop as this seems to be beyond my abilities. Thanks to all for your help!

 

[Rivets]

First I’m assuming that the +&- battery cable are good, clean and tight, as well as the cable from the solenoid to the starter. Battery dropping to 8.6VDC during cranking tells me to replace the battery. I don’t care what the parts guy says. One or more of the cells are bad. Option is up to you, read my signature.

 

[bertsmobile1]

Run a jumper from the battery - to a good ground point on the mower engine
The drain plug is a good place or lifting hooks if your engine has them
Then try again
Engine cranks fine = bad ground cable
I would replace 10 times as many grounds as I replace power cables .
I have even seen some where the only ground was the throttle cable which would glow red hot when cranking the engine .