KT735 starter or electrical issues.

[ryansk]

I have a 2016 (?) Hustler Raptor with a Kohler KT735 strapped to the back of it. When I bought it, the guy recently had Hustler give it a tuneup and they mentioned that the starter was going to die in it soon. Sure enough, about 6 months later, it stopped starting. Off to eBay I went and once the new starter was bolted on, the thing ran like a champ.

That is, until this year.

At the start of mowing season, I would get a "click" when turning the key and absolutely nothing else. I wasn't getting any voltage to the starter and figured it was either the battery or the starter solenoid. I jumped the mower by adding power directly to the starter and it ran. I was also getting good readings from the battery, so, I was back on eBay and after bolting on a new starter solenoid, we were back in business.

That is, until recently.

A few weeks ago, I would get weird sounds coming from the starter solenoid and sometimes, smoke. Now, it looks like it's all-together dead. I'm experiencing the same thing I did before swapping out the starter solenoid; except this time, when I add power directly to the starter, sometimes, it'll start for a second or two, then, it won't start again until I let it sit for a while. Sometimes when trying to jump the starter, it'll just crank and crank and crank but never turn over.

I figured replacing the starter solenoid (again) would get me back up and running, but obviously, there's something else wrong that is causing the issue to recur. What troubleshooting steps should I take to find the root cause of this? Or is it because I bought a cheap chinese replacement off eBay and was destined for it to break?

 

[Rivets]

Before spending any more money I would have your battery tested. From what you posted I would have done that in the beginning. Also, check to see that the ground cable to chassis is clean and tight. Report back with what you find.

 

[bertsmobile1]

Did you buy a good starter or a cheap starter ?
Loads of places selling cheap starter motors that will just barely run for one season
We had sphincter down here who got a container load of mower starters that were total trash.
Seemed really good when new but barely ran a season.
Real slease bag stuff like an armature with a copper plated plastic commutator and riveted in brushes about 1/8" long.
Thus the first time they got cranked for more than 20 seconds the starter literally burned up .
Had about a dozen customers who would not pay the $ 140 for a good quality aftermarket one because they saw these "high power" starters on ebay for $ 50 .
Then when it failed they of course blamed me & bad mouthed me everywhere, took their mowers into town, paid the $ 200 - $ 300 for a genuine starters

 

[StarTech]

If you are in the USA you can get a starter from DB electrical which has good starters with warranty. Many of the Kohler replacement starters that I buy from them are the same Johnson Electric starters. Just not going a half dozen middle men.

But I agree with Bert that a good quality starter needs to be installed. Most the items on RipBay (eBay) are junk especially when extremely low priced. Even on Amazon there is junk being sold as quality OEM products and they are sometimes just an aftermarket part.

My business rep is more important than dealing with customers that trying to go the cheapest route. I will install good quality part at fair prices but I will not install crap just the customer insists on it, there other fly by night shops for that.