ZD 21 Solenoid problem

[James M. Perdue]

I’ve been having to start my old ZD 21 with a screwdriver for some time. So I ordered a new starter solenoid and installed it yesterday.
But when I went to connect the battery, the new solenoid immediately
made a “whirring” sound and the battery cable SPARKED.....not allowing me to reconnect the battery cable.
Soooo, I took the new solenoid off and put the old one back on so I could at least start the mower with a screwdriver again. NOPE.same thing happened with the old solenoid now....that Is, upon placing the battery cable back on I got the same “whirring” noise when the cable hit the post.....and sparks.

any help appreciated.

I had same experience when installed new solenoid. When I put ground cable on battery, sparks flew and got the same whirring noise. Went to old time electric rewind shop and was told what I had done wrong. The starter must be removed to replace the solenoid. The starter has a yoke into which the shaft of the solenoid must fit. This was a chore for a novice, but it worked. I was assured that if the solenoid shaft was fitted into the shaft, I would not get the sparking and whirring, and I did not get this the second time around. I had wired the new solenoid exactly as the old one was wired. I even put the old solenoid back on and got the same sparking and whirring. This was because I had not removed the starter and placed the solenoid shaft correctly into the yoke on the starter. Hope you don't need to do this again, but if you do, remove the starter along with the old solenoid and fit the solenoid shaft into the yoke inside the starter. My ZD 21 is 17 years old and this is the first problem I had. Oh yes, my Kubota dealership charged me $186 for the new solenoid. Wish I had known that John Deere uses the same solenoid and charges $40 for theirs.