# yardman riding mower wont start



## CoolAsAFan

Ignorance is NOT bliss! My dumb friend left the key in "On" position which drained the battery, then my dumb ass went to charge it and connected the terminals backwards! 

I think I fried that car charger I was using (plugs into wall), as well as maybe the solenoid/starter on the tractor? I plugged it in and quickly unplugged it as I heard a loud crack and saw smoke. It appears that one of the clips from the charger actually melted off! It clicks once when I turn the key and that's it. Took the battery to auto zone and they charged it for free so I assume it's not the battery. So starter? solenoid? or something else? Thanks guys, peace.


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## jhngardner367

Welcome to the forum!I think you may have blown the fuse.Check near the solenoid,and by the ign.sw,to find it.Then,replace it,and try to start the engine.If it still just clicks,use jumper cable from battery +,to starter,with key off.If itturns over,normally,replace the solenoid.Let us know what happens.


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## CoolAsAFan

TY for reply kind sir! Okay, there was a 20 amp? fuse I found near the engine but it is not blown. Would there be any more than one? I'm gonna try and do what you said to the starter, but uhm, whats the starter look like lol? Sorry, I'm good with computers, nothing mechanical lol. I'm gonna assume it goes battery>solenoid>starter? Again TY!


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## farmertim

Welcome to the forum Coolasafan, can you post a picture of the tractor?


I have included a pic of a starter motor, you will not see the toothed wheel part because that is inside the casing on the engine, if you trace one of the heavy leads from the battery you will come to the cylindrical casing of the starter motor.
Cheers:beer:
:aussie:


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## jhngardner367

Once you trace the battery cable to the starter,connect one end of a jumper-cable to the + post on the battery.Then,toucn the other end to the terminal on the starter,and it should turn the engine.If it doesn't,the starter is probably shorted,and will need replacing.


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## CoolAsAFan

Okay I tried connecting pos battery to starter and nothing. I didn't take off the red wire or screw or anything, I just clipped on the screw/wire if that is okay? So this is 100% the starter? How difficult is it to replace? The motor is a 20 HP OHV Intek Twin. Is there a good site you guys recommend for parts or do you just normally go to a local tractor supply? Thanks so much guys, my grass is getting tall lol.

ps TY farmertim for that pic!


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## farmertim

RANDY'S ENGINE REPAIR items - Get great deals on PARTS FOR OBSOLETE VINTAGE CHAINSAW, HOMELITE items on eBay Stores!
I use this guy all the time, I don't know if he will have all you need but it is worth a try, you get to see pictures of all the stuff so you can compare.
Cheers:beer:
:aussie:


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## jhngardner367

Make sure you have the engine's model#,& code #.Depending on the year,it will either be stamped into the cooling shrouds,or on a plate,riveted to the fan shroud.


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## CoolAsAFan

So I'm pretty sure my model number is 14AU804H401, but I dont know what year and I cannot find a starter over at MTD. Should I just take off the starter and try and find the part # and search that way?


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## jhngardner367

That number,is the tractor's model#.The numbers you need,are on the engine.That engine should have a small tag riveted to the top of the engine shroud,and the tag will say :model 42e707,type 1234-e1.code 123456789,etc. These #s tell which engine it is,what bearings,starter,governor,carb,etc.it has.If it hasn't a plate.look on the valve covers,or the side covers of the engine.Let me know what you find.


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## CoolAsAFan

The only tag I found says "important engine info" and has "family" YBSXS.7242VF 274729 and some safety info on it, but not any of the stuff your talking about. Maybe its just dirty and I'm not seeing it, checking again thoroughly here in a minute.


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## jhngardner367

Can you post a picture of it?


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## jhngardner367

It SHOULD be a Briggs intek v-twin. If it is,it will have a starter that has either the 4&3/8" housing length,or the 3&5/8" housing length.The housing is measured from where the top plate touches it,to where the bottom plate touches it.The 4&3/8 starter is #498148 ($149.95) ,and the 3&5/8 starter is# 497596($79.95) The longer starter,can be used,it's the heavy duty one.


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## CoolAsAFan

Wow thank you so much kind sir! I'm getting ready to order, but before I do, I just wanna double check and make sure we know its the starter? Not doubting you at all, please don't take it that way, I just wanna be sure I don't mishandle what little money I have lol. Solenoid or whatever else should be fine given what has been discussed? Much appreciated!


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## jhngardner367

*caution*

At the price of these starters,I don't blame anyone for being cautious!So,a couple of Questions,first. When you tested the starter,did you use the battery in the tractor,or from a car,etc,?Try to jump from a different battery than the one in the tractor,if you can.Using jumper-cables,connect the red to the battery +,and the black to battery -.Then connect the other ends,as follows: the black jumper cable to the frame of the tractor(on a good ground),and then touch the red(+) jumper,to the terminal of the starter,with the key OFF.If you use a vehicle to do this,it doesn't need to have the engine running.If all thestarter does is spark,or does nothing,the starter is bad.If it spins the engine,quickly,it's good,and you can start testing other things,such as the solenoid.The main reason for connecting the red jumper to the starter itself,is to by-pass safety switches,and the solenoid.That way,if it doesn't spin the engine,the only thing it could be,is the starter.Try the test,and get back to me.


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## CoolAsAFan

Oh man am I glad we did the double check lol. Being the rookie that I am, I didn't ground the (-) the first time I tested the starter, but based on your last post, I woke up this morning and did and I got sparks and the engine was turning. I guess that means solenoid or failure of safety stuff, but most likely the solenoid? Do I need a multi meter or something like that to test the solenoid? 

Also, is it possible and/or advisable to start and run by using that starter trick? Reason I ask is to cut the grass while the part is being shipped. Thanks for any help, it's very much appreciated!


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## jhngardner367

Yes,you can start it this way.Just turn the key to the "on" position,then touch the starter as before,and roll it over,and it should start.As for the solenoid,there should be a smaller terminal ,on it,and if you connect a volt meter's red lead to it,and the black lead to ground,it should read full battery voltage,when you turn the key to the "start" position.OR,you can simply touch the + lead of your jumper cable to it,as you did with the starter,It should "click",and roll the engine over,if it's good.


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## CoolAsAFan

I just get a single click, no engine rolling, but I have a friend bringing over a multi meter around 4pm to test solenoid further. I think testing this way I can for sure know if its the solenoid or one of the safety switches (as per YouTube video), is this correct? In the video, he has me testing to make sure 12v coming in, and going out.

That's pretty awesome you can start it with that starter trick, because honestly who knows how long it will take me fix this and grass is getting tall lol. *Can I leave the battery out and unhooked after I get engine started?* As long as I can fix it before my dad gets back from overseas in a few weeks hopefully haha. Again, thank you sir(s) for sharing your wisdom!

PS. If I found the solenoid is good by some chance, would you guys then start testing the safety switches? If so, how?


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## CoolAsAFan

I couldn't get it started. The starter engages I believe, but just spins. Am I doing something wrong? Key is "on" or "start" position, neither worked just spinning. Does this help to diagnose the problem? Thanks.


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## CoolAsAFan

With the battery hooked up, I ran (+) to the small switch/pole on my 3 switch solenoid, it just clicked. Is this a bad solenoid? I tried it both with the little red wire plugged and unplugged and same results. I still don't understand why I cannot start it by jumping the starter though, so any insight to that would be awesome! Thanks!


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## CoolAsAFan

After doing a bunch of reading, it appears I may have a bad ignition coil, anyone know if this may be the case considering what happened?


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## CoolAsAFan

Just tested solenoid with a multi meter and it has 11v going out and 12v coming in, which according to a video I watched means the solenoid is good and so are the safety switches. (Although the video said I should have 12v both ways?) Read something about an ignition coil, but idk. Pending any further ideas from the pro's on here, I think I might just call the pro's in town and have them come pick it up because this is becoming quite the headache. Thanks for the help!


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## jhngardner367

You should always have the battery in it,when running it! Look at the bottom of the carburator,and see if there's a wire going to it.If there is,that's why it won't start. It's a fuel solenoid,and won't let fuel through,ifthere's no power to it,from the battery,when the key is on.Install the battery,dribble a bitof fuel into the carb,and turn the key to "on". jump it,and it should fire.Yes,it sounds as though the starter solenoid is bad.Try replacing it.


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## jhngardner367

Pull the sparkplugs,and check for spark. If no spark,with key on,check the small black wire tha plugs onto the tab on the coil.Unhook it,and try to see if there's spark,then.If there's still no spark,replace the coil.If ther IS spark,it could be a bad ign switch.


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## TractorWrangler

Hooking up the charger backwards will in most cases engage a thermal couple in the charger and shut the charger off. Most are designed to reset after they cool off. I suspect minimal damage is done to your battery. This of course is not the case in a automotive type jump start where polarity is a significant issue. In most cases however, if the charger is hooked directly to the battery terminals this will not effect the fuses in the tractor. That being said, if the fuse is blown for another reason.. the tractors ignition switch will of course, not engage the starter.

Here is a good general trouble shooting practice to follow for starter issues:


Clean your connections.
You need to have a CHARGED battery, or have the battery jumped from your car, or another good battery to test the starter. (For proper power supply)
Once the battery is charged or jumped properly...disengage the deck, put the trans in neutral, sit on the seat, and try turning the key. (Safety switches)
Failing that, test the safety switches by jumping the solenoid with an old screwdriver, top post to top post. (The 2 large connections normally on top)That should send power directly to the starter. If this fails to engage the starter, the starter is most likely bad. To test it: 
Hook a jumper cable to a clean ground on the tractor and the other end to your car 12 V battery -neg terminal(black)
 Hook the other to your car battery +positive terminal (red)
Tap the other end of the +red jumper cable to the power lead of the starter. If the starter tries to turn the engine over your starter is working. and it's probably a connection between the solenoid and the starter.

If the starter spins up but does not engage the engine,( a whining sound you have a bad Bendix drive on the starter.
If when you jumped the solenoid the tractor tried to start.. you need to check your safety switches with an ohm meter or a volt meter which ever you have on hand. (If you find a bad one you have solved your starting issue.)
 Failing to find a bad safety switch,.. it's time to check the solenoid.
Start by removing all the wires one connection at a time from the Solenoid and cleaning them.
Battery positive and the switch positive are both on the same large terminal.
Starter positive on the other large terminal
Ignition switch and inline safety switches on the lone small terminal.
The solenoid must be properly grounded to the frame with the mounting screws.
The ground wire for the switch which is on a ring terminal under the solenoid mounting bolt, must also be clean.

After making sure all connections are very clean, sit on the seat with the deck disengaged and the trans in neutral and try turn the ignition switch. If it starts you're done, if not, keep going.
Apply power to the small wire post on the side of the solenoid to bypass the ignition switch. If this works you have a ignition switch or ignition switch connectivity problems.

This leaves only the Ignition switch. Sometimes these get rusty and corroded terminals. If this is the case, they can be cleaned with sandpaper, ect.(IMPORTANT!-Take a picture of the back of the switch before you remove any wires so you don't put them back on incorrectly) If the failure is internal, I would suggest getting a new switch as some of them can be opened and cleaned, most of those kind of repairs don't last very long because the contacts simply wear out.







Note: If you can hear the starter motor engage but the engine does not turn at all, try turning the engine by hand by putting the palm of your hand on the cool air intake screen of the flywheel housing and see if it turns at all. If it does not the engine could have issues.

I hope this helps you get your starting issues sorted out


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## CoolAsAFan

Local tractor repair picked it up today, started becoming much more of a headache than I had thought it would be. Thanks for all the help though, I still learned quite a bit from the experience. I will update with problem and maybe fix when it is returned just for future reference I guess. Again, thanks for all the help guys!


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## TractorWrangler

It will be interesting to hear the results.


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## BrownThumb

Now I don't know a great deal about this mower, but other Yardman mowers require that the mower blade be in the off position.... that someone be in the seat to close that interlock and that the clutch pedal be fully depressed (breaking) before the engine will start.
Best wis;hes
Brownthumb


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