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Looking for help with LTX1050. Mower will not turn over. Just get clicks from solenoid. Battery good. Starter motor spins when jumped. Will not spin if left in engine and jumped. Get about 5V across starter when key turned to start. Thinking solenoid?

Try jumping the 2 big posts on the solenoid.

Measure battery voltage when the key is in the start position. If it is less than 10 VDC battery is junk.

Rivets said:

Measure battery voltage when the key is in the start position. If it is less than 10 VDC battery is junk.

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Your instincts were right on. Drops to 8V Many thanks!

Run a jumper from the battery - to a good ground point on the engine and see f that makes a difference
Remove that then run another jumper from the battery + to either the starter side of the solenoid or the + terminal on the starter and see what happens
get back wit the results .

OK. Did that . replaced the battery and still no go. Connected the - on batt to side of starter and get the clicks. Connected the + to the starter terminal and get sparks and heat. Methinks its a dead short between + wire and ground. THe mower was overheated before problem due to clogged cooling fan. So I will trace wiring and fix.

northwoods100 said:

Get about 5V across starter when key turned to start.

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If your battery drops lower than 10.5 Volts DC while cranking, your battery is toast.

Take that hooptie to any auto parts store. They will test for free.

thanks for that but right now my problem is electrical. Cooling system cleaned every year.

thinking now that the engine is seized. batt and starter ok. bendix kicks in when trying to start. May be able to free up pistons with a bit of penetrating oil and torque on crankshaft. May be buying a new mower.

Remove the flywheel cover/flywheel shroud, and the spark plugs and see if you can rotate the engine by hand by rotating the flywheel.

northwoods100 said:

OK. Did that . replaced the battery and still no go. Connected the - on batt to side of starter and get the clicks. Connected the + to the starter terminal and get sparks and heat. Methinks its a dead short between + wire and ground. THe mower was overheated before problem due to clogged cooling fan. So I will trace wiring and fix.

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So to be clear
With a ground bypass the starter solenoid just clicks but the engine does not rotate
With the + connected directly to the starter + you got the big spark ( normal ) but still no engine rotation

If this is the case can you rotate the engine by hand ?
Some times the starter pinion can get jambed edge to edge on the flywheel effectivly locking the engine or the engine could be siezed

bertsmobile1 said:

So to be clear
With a ground bypass the starter solenoid just clicks but the engine does not rotate
With the + connected directly to the starter + you got the big spark ( normal ) but still no engine rotation

If this is the case can you rotate the engine by hand ?
Some times the starter pinion can get jambed edge to edge on the flywheel effectivly locking the engine or the engine could be siezed

Click to expand...

The bendix (top gear) on starter is probably just hung up on the flywheel. Try rotating the engine backwards and forwards until it drops back down.
You may be experiencing excessive voltage drop due to corrosion on terminals, etc. Take the time to clean battery terminals, negative and positive terminals from battery to solenoid, and solenoid to starter. Just did this yesterday on Toro zero turn. Was a combination of valve adjustment and high resistance on starting system that was causing engine to turn just a bit then stop on compression stroke.

northwoods100 said:

thanks for that but right now my problem is electrical. Cooling system cleaned every year.

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It all starts at the battery. Troubleshooting 101. Start from the beginning and follow a known good. You have no clue still, if your battery is even good. Good luck with it sir.