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No headlights, no dash lights, no solenoid click, nothing.

Model: 2001 LX 277 id 45xxx
Motor: Kawasaki FH500V-BS11
Battery is 4 years old. When first checked, under no load, it was pushing 12.48v. I charged the battery and it now reads 12.7v on the battery posts, from the negative battery terminal to the solenoid and from ground to the positive battery terminal.
Both 15 A fuses are okay.
Removed, cleaned and refitted both battery cables on both ends (battery and engine/solenoid)
Bypassed the seat switch and the brake peddle switch producing no change.

I need some help, please.

Since you have a voltmeter start circuit tracing per the following diagram.

Along with the schematic Star posted, this procedure may help you out.
Electrical problems can be very easy or very difficult, depending on four things.

1. How well you understand basic electricity.
2. What tools you have and know how to use.
3. How well you follow directions.
4. You don't overlook or assume anything and verify everything.
Remember we cannot see what you are doing. You are our eyes, ears and fingers in solving this problem. You must be as accurate as you can when you report back. The two basic tools we will ask you to use are a test light and a multi-meter. If you have an assistant when going through these tests it would be very helpful. These steps work the best when done in order, so please don't jump around. Now let's solve this problem.
First, check the fuse(s), check battery connections for corrosion (clean if necessary) and voltage - above 12.5 volts should be good. Check and make sure the chassis ground is clean and tight.
Second, check for power from the battery to one of the large terminals on the solenoid. One of the wires is connected directly to the battery and has power all the time so one of the large terminals should light a test light or show 12 volts on a meter at all times.
Third, check for power at the small terminal of the solenoid while depressing the clutch/brake pedal and holding the key in the start position (you may need an assistant to sit in the seat to override the safety switch). If your solenoid is a four wire solenoid, check both small wire terminals as one is ground and the other is power from the ignition switch. If your solenoid is a three wire solenoid, make sure the solenoid body is not corroded where it bolts to the chassis of the mower as this is your ground path back to the battery. If in doubt, remove the solenoid and clean the mounting area down to bare metal. If there is no power to the small terminal then your problem is most likely a safety switch, ignition switch or in the wiring.
Fourth, check for power on the other large terminal of the solenoid while holding the key in the start position (you may need an assistant to sit in the seat to override the safety switch).
Fifth, check for power at the starter while holding the key in the start position (assistant again).
Sixth, check your ground circuit back to the battery.
After you have gone through each of the above steps, let us know what happened when you did each step. At that point we will have great info to tell you how to proceed. Remember you are our eyes, ears, and fingers, so please be as accurate as possible.
Be as specific as possible with voltage readings as this will help diagnose your problem quicker. If you do not know how to perform the above checks, just ask and I will try to guide you through it. Youtube also has some videos and as you know a picture is worth a thousand words.

check the battery under load

Did you read step #4 in my procedure?

Here are my results in red.
First, check the fuse(s), 2 x 15A are okay check battery connections for corrosion (clean if necessary) and voltage - above 12.5 volts should be good all have been removed, cleaned and refitted. Check and make sure the chassis ground is clean and tight.
Second, check for power from the battery to one of the large terminals on the solenoid. One of the wires is connected directly to the battery and has power all the time so one of the large terminals should light a test light or show 12 volts on a meter at all times reads 0v on the positive cable side and 12.5v on the other large connector.
Third, check for power at the small terminal of the solenoid while depressing the clutch/brake pedal and holding the key in the start position (you may need an assistant to sit in the seat to override the safety switch) small terminal (purple wire) yields 12.5v in any of the three key positions. If your solenoid is a four wire solenoid, check both small wire terminals as one is ground and the other is power from the ignition switch see photo below for starter type (3 wire). If your solenoid is a three wire solenoid, make sure the solenoid body is not corroded where it bolts to the chassis of the mower as this is your ground path back to the battery there is no corrosion visible and the positive battery terminal connected to the starter housing yields 12.5v. If in doubt, remove the solenoid and clean the mounting area down to bare metal. If there is no power to the small terminal then your problem is most likely a safety switch, ignition switch or in the wiring.
Fourth, check for power on the other large terminal of the solenoid while holding the key in the start position (you may need an assistant to sit in the seat to override the safety switch) the large solenoid connector without the positive cable connector yields 12.5v.
Fifth, check for power at the starter while holding the key in the start position (assistant again) I'm not sure I understand this. The only positive side connection is a very short braided copper wire that runs from the solenoid directly into the starter. From that connection to the positive battery terminal yields 12.5v in any of the three key positions..
Sixth, check your ground circuit back to the battery. Removed, cleaned and refitted.

One other question. What is the black connector between the two red wires in the second picture below.

Thanks for your help and I look forward to your reply.

I should have looked at the schematic before posting my reply. I now see you have a starter mounted solenoid which changes step #3. When you do step three you should get 12VDC at the purple wire connection on the solenoid. If you don’t have voltage, either one of the safety switches is bad or one of the relays is bad.

You are checking with one meter lead grounded, Right?

The purple wire should only have power when the key is in the start position
When it gets power it should energise the solenoid and that sends power to the starter to crank the engine
So there are 2 problems at least .
1) purple wire circuit, most likely the relay
2) starter solenoid

The X numbers are plugs so locate the X3 plug and check for voltage on the purple wire on the input side .
If it show 12V in all positions then it is probably the ignition switch
If it only shows 12V in the start position then the relay is prime suspect

However as mentioned if there is 12V on the purple wire at the starter then that should trigger the shift solenoid to raise the starter gear & spin the starter motor
As this is not happening the solenoid is cactus and that usually means replacing the entire unit .

Thank you for your help so far...

I purchased a new volt meter. (I've wanted to do that for about 25 years.)

Thank you for the schematic and the advice on what to check and in what order. It all made sense after I spent a bit of time with it.

After randomly checking about 10-15 other items I bypassed the fusible link between the ignition switch and the starter. This is my problem. The dash lights came on and the engine turned over.

So I searched the web for solutions and found these two (connected) blogs:
https://www.greentractortalk.com/threads/lx277-no-start-no-lights.208847/
https://www.mytractorforum.com/threads/lx277-fusible-link-questions.1128409/

I called the local JD dealer. He offered a $112 part called a fusible link kit. There is no picture. They do not stock the kit. They haven't sold one in the past 3 years. He had no specification for the kit.

Does anyone know the specification(s)? Am I looking for a specific wire gauge and length? I'd prefer to install something that meets original specs before altering what I have.

mswestfall said:

Thank you for your help so far...

I purchased a new volt meter. (I've wanted to do that for about 25 years.)

Thank you for the schematic and the advice on what to check and in what order. It all made sense after I spent a bit of time with it.

After randomly checking about 10-15 other items I bypassed the fusible link between the ignition switch and the starter. This is my problem. The dash lights came on and the engine turned over.

So I searched the web for solutions and found these two (connected) blogs:
https://www.greentractortalk.com/threads/lx277-no-start-no-lights.208847/
https://www.mytractorforum.com/threads/lx277-fusible-link-questions.1128409/

I called the local JD dealer. He offered a $112 part called a fusible link kit. There is no picture. They do not stock the kit. They haven't sold one in the past 3 years. He had no specification for the kit.

Does anyone know the specification(s)? Am I looking for a specific wire gauge and length? I'd prefer to install something that meets original specs before altering what I have.

Click to expand...

I bypass it with a fuse .
In reality you should use a slow blow fuse but a simple blade seems to have worked in the past
The whole idea was to do away with the fuse by using a length of lighter wire.
They abandoned the idea and went back to a simple fuse and you should to .

Bert,

Thank you! Is a 20A slow blow the correct fuse?

Assuming this is the right JD part TY27113, I can do this for $5.45 + a connector that I have stuffed in a drawer somewhere. That is why I was asking for the wire gauge and length. In looking into it more, I'm not pretty sure that the line length doesn't matter.

This is going to be great. I haven't had to pay for the repair and got to put the money toward a nice volt meter.

Any other comments or concerns are welcome.

Personally I would install water proof fuse holder with a suitable sized ATC fuse. You don't need a slo blow fuse just a 20-30 amp fuse since the there are two 15A fuse in parallel. This way it would easier the replace if the fuse blows again while looking for a short circuit.