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Troy Bilt Pony - starter won't engage

#1

C

Carlwolfe3

I have a Troy Bilt 17.5 HP 42 inch cut mower. Last night I got it started but was having trouble keeping it running. This morning I went out to start it and the starter won't engage. Any ideas? Maybe a safety switch? thanks


#2

sgkent

sgkent

check the battery under load to see what the voltage is.


#3

R

Rivets

Most times I’ve experienced this it is either bad battery or bad starter bendix.


#4

S

SpammsMcghee

I think I'm having the same/similar issue with my Horse XP. I came here to do research, and this was the newest thread. Just my luck (good or bad, I'm not sure). I let my mower sit all winter ( I know, I know... Slap my hand.) The battery was dead, as expected. So I charged it up last night. After reinstalling it, the battery gauge on the mower shows maximum. When I turn the key, there is a rapid clicking noise coming from under the seat area. It sounds the same as the single click you hear when the battery is dead, but it continues as long as you hold the key in the starting position. Is this a bad starter, or possibly something else? I have very limited mechanical knowledge, so I am unable to diagnose problems in order to move forward in fixing them, or hiring someone else to do so.


#5

B

bertsmobile1

Hook a volt meter to the battery or hook some jumpers off you car
Engine sips fine = bad battery
Volts drop below 10V = bad battery


#6

Hammermechanicman

Hammermechanicman

SpammsMcghee said:
I think I'm having the same/similar issue with my Horse XP. I came here to do research, and this was the newest thread. Just my luck (good or bad, I'm not sure). I let my mower sit all winter ( I know, I know... Slap my hand.) The battery was dead, as expected. So I charged it up last night. After reinstalling it, the battery gauge on the mower shows maximum. When I turn the key, there is a rapid clicking noise coming from under the seat area. It sounds the same as the single click you hear when the battery is dead, but it continues as long as you hold the key in the starting position. Is this a bad starter, or possibly something else? I have very limited mechanical knowledge, so I am unable to diagnose problems in order to move forward in fixing them, or hiring someone else to do so.
Click to expand...
You have a bad battery and need to replace it. The clicking noise you hear is the starter relay.


#7

B

bertsmobile1

Hammermechanicman said:
You have a bad battery and need to replace it. The clicking noise you hear is the starter relay.
Click to expand...
You COULD have a bad battery The clicking noise is the starter relay
You Could have a bad ground or power cable or corrosion at either end of either cable
OR any combination of the above which is why you do tests .


#8

StarTech

StarTech

Or you could just throw parts at it and hope you got a big enough bank account.


#9

Hammermechanicman

Hammermechanicman

OP said battery went dead over the winter which i am going to guess it probably has some freeze damage. He charged it and it took some amount of charge but even though it may have showed somewhere around 12v it has almost no capacity. I see this probably a dozen times every spring. I have already replaced 4 batteries this spring that act just like what the OP described. It might be a bad connection but i would bet a nice lunch it is just a bad battery. He could do voltage drop tests on the battery cables. That would tell him if there is a problem with the battery and ground connections or not.


#10

S

SpammsMcghee

After looking at a couple YouTube videos, I'm also thinking the battery is bad, despite the fact that it charged. It's the original battery and is about 6 years old. And I've never taken proper care of it. I do know better, just lazy I guess. I'll get a new battery tomorrow. Laziness is expensive, and I deserve the punishment. I'll also go ahead and use that tune-up kit I bought 2 years ago while I'm at it.

Carlwolfe3, sorry for hijacking your post. Hopefully these guys can help you out. Good luck.


#11

sgkent

sgkent

I had this boat battery I let discharge once too often. After several weeks of charging and recharging it finally held 12.5V. even the cells showed the right specific gravity. Then I hooked it up and hit the start button. Dropped to about 5V. Once dead always dead. I learned that in college when I had a dead battery in my car and bought all those special fixes at the FLAPS. None worked but replacing the battery got it.


#12

StarTech

StarTech

I have recovered several batteries using my 60W solar panel that even a regular could not recover. But the battery is in freezing weather and discharged then it can freeze and damage the internal plates.

Now most lawn mower batteries are usually just good for a couple years then you are on borrowed time afterwards.


#13

G

Gord Baker

bertsmobile1 said:
Hook a volt meter to the battery or hook some jumpers off you car
Engine sips fine = bad battery
Volts drop below 10V = bad battery
Click to expand...
Never charge a small battery off a running vehicle. Stator will burn up
It would be helpful if those asking for help would give all info. Does the starter Turn but not engage? Does the solenoid 'click'?Did you check and clean battery, solenoid and Starter motor terminals?


#14

B

bertsmobile1

Gord Baker said:
Never charge a small battery off a running vehicle. Stator will burn up
It would be helpful if those asking for help would give all info. Does the starter Turn but not engage? Does the solenoid 'click'?Did you check and clean battery, solenoid and Starter motor terminals?
Click to expand...
Total rubbish for small engines and most older cars
Problem with modern fuel injected engines because the EEC gets weird signals from the electrical system
Starters burn up because they are cranked for too long or cranked at too LOW a voltage
Cranking one from a running engine which is putting out 14 V will actually cause the starter to use less amps and turn a bit quicker .

Common ploy for starting a rebuilt engine or one that has boiled & won't start was to toss a 6V battery in series with the starter so it cranked with 18V


#15

Hammermechanicman

Hammermechanicman

Gord Baker said:
Never charge a small battery off a running vehicle. Stator will burn up
Click to expand...
Actually no. What burns up the stator is jumping a near dead battery and then the stator needs to put out max amperage for an extended period of time that overheats the stator. Charging systems on these engines are not designed to charge a dead battery. If the battery is very low on charge you should charge the battery to the point it will start the engine. Not jumping it to start it and letting the engine charge the battery. For the stator to be affected by energy from another vehicle the energy must go back through the voltage regulator or diode.


#16

M

marionr26

Could it be the starter selenoid


#17

Hammermechanicman

Hammermechanicman

bertsmobile1 said:
Common ploy for starting a rebuilt engine or one that has boiled & won't start was to toss a 6V battery in series with the starter so it cranked with 18V
Click to expand...
When we retrofit 6 volt tractors to 12 volt we leave the 6 volt starter and run it on 12 volts. They work just fine.


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