I have a Cub Cadet 1050 with a Kohler 20 HP engine. The other day I went to cut grass but the mower would not crank. I felt like the battery was dead so I put the charger on it and put it to start mode and the mower still would not crank. It would turn over one time and then hesitate before turning over again.
I figured the battery was really DEAD so I took it out and tried jumping the mower without the battery in it and the same thing. Has the starter gone bad?
Like I said, the mower will turn over but its very sluggish and hesitates between turning over.
Could be the starter, could be a valve issue. Most newer engines use a compression release to kick open the exhaust valve at low RPM's so the starter isn't fighting full compression. If this isn't operating your starter may just not be able to get the engine past the compression stroke of the engine.
Starters for these tend to be pretty pricey, so if you can check the valves yourself, then this may save you a couple hundred dollars if the starter isn't the actual problem.
A little oil in the valve cover is normal. What you are going to look for is seeing if the exhaust valve is opening on the compression stroke. Remember your 4 strokes from TDC are: Intake, Compression, Power, Exhaust (the mnemonic I use to remember this is I Can Power Everything). If the exhaust valve isn't opening on the compression stroke, you may have a worn down lobe on the cam, or the cam may be stuck in the high RPM position. A stuck cam is less likely than a worn down cam lobe, but both are possibilities.
If the valves seem to be opening correctly, then the starter is pretty likely to be the issue.
