LT166 riding mower. B&S 16HP V-twin. The mower will not turn over. Clicks with key turn. Battery freshly charged and showing 12V. When I turn the key, only 6V coming out of the solenoid, then I observed smoke coming from the cable connection at the starter. Is the solenoid bad only showing 6V, and what is with the smoke at the starter?
Smoke can indicate that there is a bad connection of the cable. (if a connection gets hot you know you have a bad connection) So check that the cable's are connected propperly. After that i would measure the voltage at the battery. if the battery gets below 10 volts while starting something is wrong. (battery can be bad, starter relay can be defective or the motor doesn't turn smooth (valve clearance). if you doubt the battery you can use jumper cables with your car just to be sure.
Sounds like your starter may be tight, causing an overload. Check to see if you can turn the flywheel by hand, as the bendix may be stuck to the ring gear, causing the overload.
