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Need help figuring out why my mower won't start

#1

S

stang8689

Hey guys as some of you know i've been battling my 99 troy bilt 25 horse mower, was a simple oil leak but it was the crankcase so I had to pull the motor. I also had to replace the drive belt which was a royal pain. After several hours of work and fustration I finally got it all back together go to start it and all it does is crank 1 time. The starter poops up turns the flywheel 1 tooth and thats it. The battery is fully charged. When I pulled the motor There were only a few wires with clip on connectors and the starter wire. I remember a couple wires being hooked to nothing,1 was a solid yellow the other solid black, I tried grounding the black wire to the frame and no help. Any ideas of what I could of messed up or forgot to do when I put the motor back in? Thanks for any help


#2

jmurray01

jmurray01

It sounds like one of the wires has stopped getting enough power, or there is corrosion on the Starter Motor stopping it from getting a clean flow of electricity.


#3

S

stang8689

I cleaned the cable that bolts to the starter it's nice and clean, is there a way to test the wires?


#4

reynoldston

reynoldston

I don't know what engine you have but most starter motors have two wires to them. One is a large red wire from the battery and the other is a smaller wire which gos to the starter switch after it gos through a lot of safety switches. Also there is another system that uses a external starter solenoid and that would only have a large red wire to the starter motor.


#5

reynoldston

reynoldston

I cleaned the cable that bolts to the starter it's nice and clean, is there a way to test the wires?

If you have a volt meter take a reading at both ends of the wire and they should be close to the same reading at both ends when the wire is under a load.


#6

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taxidermist

Can you turn it over by hand? What did you take apart to fix the oil leak?

Rob


#7

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stang8689

It only had 1 wire going to it I remembered that for sure and yes I can turn it over by hand. I didn't remove anything to do with the cylinder heads including wires and stuff like that just bottom end like pullies and stuff


#8

S

stang8689

does anyone know where to get a wiring diagram?


#9

C

crazyoldtractor

If you lawn mower has a fuel solenoid on the carb check to see that that is working correctly. If it isn't, then thats your problem.


#10

T

taxidermist

If you lawn mower has a fuel solenoid on the carb check to see that that is working correctly. If it isn't, then thats your problem.

Might want to read the post again.

"Hey guys as some of you know i've been battling my 99 troy bilt 25 horse mower, was a simple oil leak but it was the crankcase so I had to pull the motor. I also had to replace the drive belt which was a royal pain. After several hours of work and fustration I finally got it all back together go to start it and all it does is crank 1 time. The starter poops up turns the flywheel 1 tooth and thats it. The battery is fully charged. When I pulled the motor There were only a few wires with clip on connectors and the starter wire. I remember a couple wires being hooked to nothing,1 was a solid yellow the other solid black, I tried grounding the black wire to the frame and no help. Any ideas of what I could of messed up or forgot to do when I put the motor back in? Thanks for any help"


I dont think the fuel solenoid would cause this.
Rob


#11

T

taxidermist

Check your drive belt again and make sure its on right. Make sure you can turn the motor 360* by hand. If it cranked 1 time your started should be wired right. check all you connections to starter for tightness. If that does not work remove starter and jump it to see if it works off the motor.

Rob


#12

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stang8689

yeah it pops up and turns 1 tooth and thats it, any more ideas?


#13

C

crazyoldtractor

Try turning the key so the mower will spark and put your jumper cables directly to the starter. Red to the screw on it and black to the chassis. If it cranks then you know its a wiring problem or there is something wrong with the solenoid. When you turn the key use a volt meter to make sure there is voltage on the little wire that goes the solenoid too.


#14

reynoldston

reynoldston

It only had 1 wire going to it I remembered that for sure and yes I can turn it over by hand. I didn't remove anything to do with the cylinder heads including wires and stuff like that just bottom end like pullies and stuff

If you have only one wire going to the starter which should be a large wire you have a external starter solenoid. You can check this solenoid out with a volt meter. As you try to start it take a voltage reading on both large terminals and you should get close to the same reading on both of them. If you don't have a volt meter you can use a test light which might not work as well, the test light should be just as bright on each terminal as you try to start it. Also just recheck all your connections and make sure you don't have any loose ones or corroded ones.


#15

S

stang8689

My dad came over last night with his volt meter and we checked everything out and it is getting the proper voltage to the starter. The battery is only 1 month old and is a briggs high cranking amp battery, I put it on slow charge over night to be sure and no help. Is it possible the starter is bad? Everythime I turn the key to start the starter gear pops up and turns the flywheel 1 tooth and thats it. It is not the battery for sure, I also cleaned the grounds and wires to the silinoed to be safe, any ideas? Starter maybe?


#16

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stang8689

anyone? Need help please, thanks


#17

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stuckinnj

Just a thought - is the drive belt (the one you replaced) locking up the engine when torque is applied? You stated that you could turn the engine over - was that by hand or using a pull starter? By hand is usually much slower and applies little torque through the engine. One other thought, remove the spark plug and try cranking over. The engine may be hydro locked - combustion chamber full of fuel.

At the end of the day, you need to confirm to your supporting audience if this is electrical or mechanical for anyone to offer technical support. MAybe a better description of the diagnostics you have already performed and how you did same.


#18

reddragon

reddragon

take the sparkplug out and crank it...see if that helps..then youll narrow it down


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