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Have a Toro wheelhorse 14 - 38 XL riding mower handed down to me. owned one year and started last year. I went to start it up to change the oil and when i turned the key, nothing. The engine wasn't trying to turn over, nothing. Its like i didnt even turn the key. The safety switch is good, changed the solenoid, and i do have a wire that isnt connected to anything, but i cant find it in the wire schematic. Help would be greatly appreciated.

gwar said:

Have a Toro wheelhorse 14 - 38 XL riding mower handed down to me. owned one year and started last year. I went to start it up to change the oil and when i turned the key, nothing. The engine wasn't trying to turn over, nothing. Its like i didnt even turn the key. The safety switch is good, changed the solenoid, and i do have a wire that isnt connected to anything, but i cant find it in the wire schematic. Help would be greatly appreciated.

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Welcome to LMF....BTW, Gwar rocks...:wink:

That wire go to the carb? It won't solve your dead problem, but that might be where it goes, under the bowl.

This is a silly question, but since you didn't say - you made sure there was charge in the battery, right?

yeah shouldve said that sorry.. batteries charged. tested it today to make sure. solenoid is working proper aswell. i can take an engine apart and put it together in a heartbeat, but when something isn't working... im no good..

This wire that is not connected to anything... Where is it? :smile:KennyV

the wire that has no connection is either tan or it was white and faded... but its is located just under the starter on the right side (when sitting on the seat) and it comes from the conduit carrying two wires which connect to the headlight housing... i haven't the foggiest idead where the hell this thing goes... i dont even know if its important...

Is the small wire going to the solenoid coil showing 12 volts when the key is turned to start? :smile:KennyV

not sure. if it is, what does it mean? if not, what does it mean?

The key when turned to start will apply 12volts to th coil in the starter solenoid.. If it doesn't then there is something at, after or before the switch preventing the 12 volts ...
If there is no wire going to the small (coil) terminal on the solenoid & that unknown wire has 12 volts with the key turned to start... Then thats the wire that needs to be reconnected ... Just a little time with a volt meter will find the problem... :smile:KennyV

alright. thanks a bunch. i'll post if i have any more questions. beena great help.

KennyV said:

The key when turned to start will apply 12volts to th coil in the starter solenoid.. If it doesn't then there is something at, after or before the switch preventing the 12 volts ...
If there is no wire going to the small (coil) terminal on the solenoid & that unknown wire has 12 volts with the key turned to start... Then thats the wire that needs to be reconnected ... Just a little time with a volt meter will find the problem... :smile:KennyV

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So I've been reading as I have a problem with starting my mower, same as thread. Power to solenoid to fuel, but starter wont turn over. Only way I can start the mower is to turn ignition switch on and then boost from car battery direct to starter. Would I be wrong in assuming its the solenoid (4 pole)?

Yes but that is assuming the problems are exactly the same. Test by jumping the two big poles of the solenoid together. If start then it is bad.

:welcome:

Firstly you are wrong to tack your problems on the bottom of an old thred, but we will forgive you for that.

Starter solenoilds are nothing more than a relay, we used to call them starting relays at one time.
As such you need a + & - to trigger the switch to connect the two heavy wires together.
The + & - can be either two wires, which we call a 4 pole
OR a single + wire and get the - through the grounding and that is a 3 pole.

the starter draws a lot of power so eventually the contacts inside the solenoid burn out
You test it is functioning by jumping to the control wire (s).
It should click fairly loudly and you should get 12V at the starter side.

You check the wiring by checking you get 12V at one of the control wires when you turn the switch to start and have continuity to earth on the other wire or solenoid body.

To me it sounds like you have a bad contact and generally it is the ground contact.

Tip worked, solenoid is garbage. Thanks.

before you consign it to the bin, check it connected directly to the battery with some jumpers.
The type that only has 1 control wire and grounds out through the frame suffer corrosion & thus a bad ground.