# Cub Cadey



## shdybrady (Apr 17, 2012)

*Cub Cadet*

I have a cub cadet 2166 and went to start it and it wont. I put the battery charger on it and still nothing. I checked the fuses and one 25 am was out so I went and grabbed another one and still nothing. I grabbed a scrap piece of wire and tried to bypass the safety switch under the seat and still nothing. I was able to get the starter to turn when I jumped across it. But that's where I stand right now. Any ideas?


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## jhngardner367 (Apr 5, 2011)

Welcome to the forum! 
It sounds as though the solenoid may be bad.First,make sure all the cable connections for the battery are clean,and tight.
Second,make sure the battery is fully charged,and that the deck is not engaged.Check the connector on the ignition switch,to make sure it's clean,and tight.If it still doesn't turn over with the switch,replace the solenoid.


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## shdybrady (Apr 17, 2012)

just to verify you are talking about the solenoid on the starter right? Any idea on how much those run? Any way to test it with a multimeter


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## rocket (Apr 10, 2012)

It's not something silly like, brake pedal not pressed, PTO engaged etc?

Do the headlights come on? If not, your ignition switch might be suspect.

To check the solenoid, put a meter on the blue (small) wire and crank. See if you get any voltage. If you get voltage, then the solenoid is suspect. If you don't get voltage, then there is some other problem.

And you say you jumped across the solenoid. Did you jump to the big red cable, or to the little blue wire? If you jumped to the terminal with the blue wire, then your solenoid is ok.

And I assume you've rechecked the fuse you replaced.

Cheers


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## rocket (Apr 10, 2012)

There is another thread here with a blown 25 amp fuse. I wonder if you have the same problem?

http://www.tractorforum.com/f284/cub-doesnt-run-20421/

Cheers


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## shdybrady (Apr 17, 2012)

i will check out that thread. And I did make sure the pto was off and sat in the seat and engaged the break. I jumped across the safety switch on the seat with a piece of copper and heard something engage in the engine. It was a small clicking noise. I assumed that was it engaging. I didnt know there was one on the break So I can check that one as well. I will check the solenoid with a meter today.


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## shdybrady (Apr 17, 2012)

well yesterday I went out and whispered sweet nothings into her ear, held my tongue right and gave it one last try. Sure enough she cranked. I didnt do anything different this time as I did last. Pretty weird but it runs again,


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## shdybrady (Apr 17, 2012)

well new dilemma. My wife was mowing the grass and it ran out of gas. Easy enough, went up got some more gas and filled her up (the mower not the wife). And it wouldnt crank. So we thought it might of flooded. So we let it set for awhile and tried it again. No luck. I checked the spark plug and it definitely was worn so I went up got a new one and some starter fluid. Tried it several times and no luck. It tries to turn over and with the start fluid it will even start. Then it will die. Any ideas?


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## rocket (Apr 10, 2012)

A motor will still crank when flooded. It just won't start until the fuel/air ratio drops back below about 20% fuel. Even without a spark plug, or the spark plug lead connected, the motor will still crank, but again, won't start. Even without any fuel at all, a motor will still crank.

If the mower runs for a short period after you have previously run out of fuel, there's a chance the fuel filter has become clogged with all the crap that was in the bottom of the tank. You may need to change the fuel filter, and clean out the fuel lines back to the tank.

So not cranking has nothing to do with all of the above. See below for cranking issues.

Your solenoid, starter motor, ignition switch, one of the safety switches might be on the way out. Until it fails, you can't tell which one.

Next time it doesn't crank, get a jumper lead, and connect 12 volts to the solenoid terminal with the small blue wire (not the one with the big red cable, as that only checks the starter motor). If it clicks and cranks, then the starter motor and solenoid are fine. Put the blue wire back on and try again by key. If it still fails, take the blue wire back off and try the above again. If it cranks again, then there is definately a problem elsewhere. 

I'll post a photo of the terminal to put the jumper lead on, so that you know which one for sure, if you're still unsure.

If the starter and solenoid check out ok, we'll go through each of the safety devices and rule them out. For example, while holding the key on crank, pump the brake pedal up and down and see if anything happens. Also check the wires going to the switches on the brake pedal and the pto switch.

The seat terminal, if I remember correctly, springs together when you unplug it, stopping you from starting the mower. You need to put an ice cream stick or a bit of plastic in the plug to remove the short circuit that has been created when unplugging the wires to the seat.

See how you go with this. Based on what you find out with the above, we'll go to the next step if necessary.

Cheers


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## shdybrady (Apr 17, 2012)

I went out yesterday and pulled the hose off from the tank and nothing came out. It had be second guessiing it was even the right hose and not a vent hose. I took a small twig and shoved it through the orfice and sure enough here came gas. I drained the tank and filtered the gas. Blew out the hose and it ran great. I will probably replace the fuel filter just for good measures but it ran for about two hours. Im sure that had to be the problem. Thanks for the help


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## rocket (Apr 10, 2012)

That will be the problem for it running for only a short time after running out of fuel.

But as for not cranking, that will not be the reason. So there's still a gremlin in there somewhere. Fingers crossed your cranking problem won't surface again.

Cheers


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