I have a 8 year old Tiger Cat with a 26hp Kohler and a no start condition. For the past year or so I've had an intermittent start problem where I'd have to turn the ignition key multiple times before the mower would 'catch' and attempt to crank and fire. Once the mower makes 'contact' it fires up just fine. The problem is certainly electrical in nature. I was thinking it might be the ignition switch or the park switch or the seat safety switch and was about to start trouble shooting those devices until I took a closer look and discovered that when I turn the key I get a very weak 'click' sound from the fuel shut off solenoid. My question is ... does a bad fuel shut off solenoid keep a mower from cranking and attempting to start? I want to see if I'm headed down the right path. The solenoid itself is a $12 part so I've gone ahead and ordered one. I'm just looking for confirmation that it could / should be the source of my problem. What is your opinion? One last bit of info....on occasion, after an extended running time, the mower will backfire upon shutdown. Does that indicate a intermittent operation of the fuel shut off solenoid? Or am I totally barking up the wrong tree? Thanks in advance for your input.