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My Cub Cadet won't start, or turn over at all. Battery is good. One of the red dashboard lights does, but no turnover or 'clicking.' People have mentioned jumper wires, but I need more specifics. Kohler Courage engine. Thanks.

Go through this troubleshooting procedure and let us know what you find.



Electrical* problems can be very easy or very difficult, depending on four things.
1. * How well you understand basic electricity.
2. *What tools you have and know how to use.
3. *How well you follow directions.
4. *You don't overlook or assume anything and verify everything.

Remember we cannot see what you are doing. *You are our eyes, ears and fingers in solving this problem. *You must be as accurate as you can when you report back. *The two basic tools we will ask you to use are a test light and a multi-meter. *If you have an assistant when going through these tests it would be very helpful. *These steps work the best when done in order, so please don't jump around. *Now let's solve this problem.

First, check the fuse(s), check battery connections for corrosion (clean if necessary) and *voltage - above 12.5 volts should be good.*

Second, check for power from the battery to one of the large terminals on the solenoid. *One of the wires is connected directly to the battery and has power all the time so one of the large terminals should light a test light or show 12 volts on a meter at all times.*

Third, *check for power at the small terminal of the solenoid while depressing the clutch/brake pedal and holding the key in the start position (you may need an assistant to sit in the seat to override the safety switch). If your solenoid is a four wire solenoid, check both small wire terminals as one is ground and the other is power from the ignition switch. *If your solenoid is a three wire solenoid, make sure the solenoid body is not corroded where it bolts to the chassis of the mower as this is your ground path back to the battery. *If in doubt, remove the solenoid and clean the mounting area down to bare metal. *If there is no power to the small terminal then your problem is most likely a safety switch, ignition switch or in the wiring.*

Fourth, check for power on the other large terminal of the solenoid while holding the key in the start position (you may need an assistant to sit in the seat to override the safety switch). *If you have power what is the voltage?

Fifth, check for power at the starter while holding the key in the start position (assistant again). *If you have power what is the voltage?

Sixth, check your ground circuit back to the battery.

After you have gone through each of the above steps, let us know what happened when you did each step. *At that point we will have great info to tell you how to proceed. *Remember you are our eyes, ears, and fingers, so please be as accurate as possible.

Be as specific as possible with voltage readings as this will help diagnose your problem quicker. *If you do not know how to perform the above checks, just ask and I will try to guide you through it. *Youtube also has some videos and as you know a picture is worth a thousand words.

On the dash what light is on?
Them lights tell you why the engine will not turn over.

I have a CUB CADET LT1045 that won't start. The old battery I had 2 jump start and it ran after it was started,So I got a new battery and installed it. My problem is that I have no power anywhere on the tractor. Not even the little RED lites on the IGNITION switch don't light up.So how can I fix this problem? Any help would be great.

After checking and cleaning all battery connections go through the troubleshooting procedure I posted. Don't forget to make sure the ground cable to tractor frame is very clean and tight.

Well Rivets, I've just joined here and I've seen you post those troubleshooting steps several times but I've never seen anyone come back with their results. My mower is doing the same thing and since the OP has never returned, I guess I'll just jack his thread instead of starting another one. I've got a meter, but not a test light. Is this just one of those 12V circuit tester lights like you can get at Walmart? I'll go pick one up if necessary. I'll get started with your check list and post back later.

Ok, well I got a ways into it and figured I'd just better take this thing on in for repairs before my grass grows over the house. I checked my fuse and it was good. No corrosion on the battery terminals and the battery is brand new. My voltage on the terminals was 12.5V but when I tried to crank, it was showing 11.9V on the dash. The oil light was illuminated and the headlights were on when I'd turn the key. The oil needs to be changed, but I checked it and the oil is not what's causing the problem.

I checked the terminal on the solenoid and it showed 12V.

When I sat in the seat, depressed the brake pedal and tried to start it, I got nothing on the small terminal on the solenoid. I took everything apart and scraped all the connections to make sure there was no corrosion on the solenoid. Put everything back together and still nothing on the small terminal. When the instructions said our problem was "most likely a safety switch, ignition switch or in the wiring", I decided to take it to the shop.

I'm guessing the solenoid went out on it, but I don't know if those just fail. We were trying to crank it and it was turning over sluggishly, then it just quit. I tried to jump it off with no luck, but I assumed it was just my battery (I guess it should have still jumped off) because my battery was 6 years old. After we put the new battery in, nothing. All it does is light the oil light, display the voltage on the screen and the lights come on. Oh yeah, there's a single click when I turn the key but the motor won't turn over. Every time I turn the key I get one click like something is engaging and then nothing. I will report back with what the shop says because I hate threads where folks just say "got it going" or worse, never report back at all to let folks know if their advice helped or not.

Turns out it was the solenoid. This has been a TERRIBLE season for me and my equipment. Just can't seem to keep ANYTHING running this year. This mower was running fine before the solenoid went out. Took it to the shop and they replaced the solenoid. While it was in there, I had them change the oil and sharpen the blades. The bill was around $185.00. When the kid brought the mower around, it was sputtering real bad, but I thought he just had the choke still out because that's what it sounded like. I didn't think much about it. When I got it home, that's the way it was running. CRAP! So I called them up and they said bring it back in. They had it about a week and only after I called, they told me it needed a new carb. I said no way. If I had known that, I never would have had them sharpen the blades and change the oil, I would have put the whole amount on a new lawn mower. Who gives a customer a lawn mower back running like crap without at LEAST calling them and saying, "Hey, how was this thing running before? It's running really rough, do you want us to take care of that?" or whatever. So they said they'd "see what they could do" and the tech supposedly filled the carb jet with solder and then drilled it out. They said it may run better or not. So I got it back and it's running ok, but not stellar. Looks like I'll at least get through this season with it. That was an additional 60 bucks. On TOP of that, my mulch plug went missing. I guess they took it out when they sharpened the blades the first time. I KNOW it was in there because I never take it out. They looked all over and couldn't find it and said they'd order me another one. I called about a month later and they said it was on order. Another month later, still no mulch plug. Yeah.... that was the first time I'd ever used that place and it'll be a cold day below when I ever darken their door again.

Sorry I didn't get back to you sooner, but this year has been hell and without email notifications I have missed many replies. Sounds to me like you have got a dealer who is only in the business to make money, not help people. He also has mechanics who take shortcuts but don't fix the problem. I would also let the owner know that you will be spreading the word about your experience while you are shopping for a repair center with good techs. They are out there, the one you went to gives us all a bad rep. Sorry again.

No problem. I know everyone's busy. Yeah, that seems par for the course for our town. The first one over-charged me for a replacement wheel that I ordered off THEIR WEBSITE. He told me that was below his cost and I said "I don't know, the price came directly off your web site" and I even showed him the printout I brought with all his company's info on it. He agreed to honor the price and still over-charged me with the sheet of paper still in his hand. Never been back. The 2nd guy repaired some gas shears for me. They cranked it in the shop and it seemed to be running ok. Got them back and they still wouldn't run. Exact same problem as before. Took them back and after keeping them a month, told me it was going to need a new carb for $100 plus labor if he could find one. Thank you but no. Got my shears back and had to buy new ones in the mean-time. Now this guy. And folks wonder why people around here go out of town for services and products! :thumbdown:

The last LT1045 Cub I had in my shop for the same problem had a bad PTO switch. I traced the problem out with a wiring diagram and millivolt meter. You might want to do the same. You can buy a millivolt meter from HF for less then 5 dollars and as I recall it was the same mower as a MTD.

Mine's running ok now...... well, it sputters a *little* and occasionally you'll see some black smoke and get "that smell", but other than that it's running ok now. I think when I looked mine up it was mfg'd before MTD bought out Cub Cadet.