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I decided to start up my John Deere L110 today (Yes, we have 2 feet of snow on the ground) to move a bit of fuel through the lines (I didn't have treated fuel in the tank yet, and there wasn't a lot of fuel in the tank...but that's not the problem).

Anyway, this mower has had a difficult time turning over in the past. It cranks "rough"...it always has. At least, this is what my grandfather (previous owner) says. He says, "Just keep trying, it'll go". That doesn't sit right with me, as an engine shouldn't have this difficult of a time to crank.

Today, it wouldn't crank the flywheel around more than an 1/8th of an inch at a time. Then, it would make a quarter turn, and then barely nothing at all.

I thought that maybe it was just cold (it is about 32ｰF outside), so I put a hair dryer to it for about 15 minutes, warming everything up...still no turning.

When I turn the key, it clicks, I get a high pitch whine (I'm assuming from the starter), and I get a very small turn of the flywheel. Then, it locks, the starter continues to whine until I let off the ignition.

Any thoughts? Bad starter comes to mind, but I'm not sure. It's almost like it's hanging up on something, or there isn't enough power to overcome the friction/mass of the engine.

How old is the battery? Life span of the lawn and garden batteries are 1-3 years. Check all battery cables make there clean and tight. Same goes with the ground wire thats bolted to the frame from the negative side of the battery.

What engine is fitted?
Sounds like engine is not getting past compression stroke.
Fuel in cylinder due to carb needle not sealing.
Battery at end of its life.
Could also be wrong viscocity of oil making engine slow to turn.

All so check the battery cables . Maybe a bad battery cable.

I'll confirm this with my grandfather, but I'm pretty sure that the battery is new this summer.

The engine fitted is a Kohler 17.5.

The mower was just serviced at the end of September, so the oil was changed out by a small engine mechanic then, and while it started a bit rough, it turned over and started every time.

As for battery contacts / cables, this "might" be the issue.

A bit of back history: My grandfather used this lawnmower for more than he should have. By that, I mean he took it through his half acre garden at the end of every summer (for the past 7 summers), and mowed everything down. The result was a filthy mower that was never washed.

When the mower was passed on to me a few months ago, I spend nearly three house cleaning it, but may not have cleaned the terminals or other contact points well enough.

I'll take a look at this tomorrow.

Ok..so he can't remember when the battery last went in (I could swear it was this past summer, but maybe that was for his tractor).

So that's my first step...new battery. While I'm at it, I"ll check the cables, and clean all points of contact.

Thanks for the advice guys! I'll keep you posted.

What did you end up doing to fix? I have been having this same problem with my L100.

Nick,

That poster has not been here for 2 years and like most, found his problem and will never return unless he has another problem.
Your problem will be oe of those listed by Plug in answer No 3.
Also check the valve lash as excessive clearence defeats the automatic decompression.
You can get the service manual for your engine from Kohler.
Log in as a guest, click the agree button and downlaod your manual.
the same one is available from mymowerparts.com/pdf/.
click Kohler and find your engine.