Craftsman LT1000 mower starting problems
2we...@gmail.com
i mean no clicking whatsoever, prior to my current condition, the
mower would click, click, click, then turn over to start, the starter
didnt sound like it lagged, it just sounded like the power to the
starter wasnt connecting good. the starter would turn over maybe just
a little, then i'd have to click click click until it turned over
again. but now it wont click at all. another note is: the last few
times i got it to start, i had to fully depress the clutch instead of
having it in the locked position. this is what ive done so far to
check the cause. First i read the voltage coming from the solenoid to
the starter when i turned the key, it read zero. i then read the
voltage coming from the battery ( 2 year old battery, still full of
water, has never been run down), it read a little over 12v, i then
hooked the battery up to a charger (not the best charger, kinda old)
and the meter only showed to be pulling 2~3 volts and was slowly
reaching zero, so i assumed that the battery was good. Ive confirmed
that i have 12v coming in to the battery terminal on the solenoid,
upon turning the key to start, i have confirmed that i do not have 12v
leaving the solenoid via starter cable. sooooo i then checked the hot
wire that leads off the + battery terminal on the solenoid, it makes a
stop at a 20a fuse (which is good), it then stops at the dc meter
(which doesnt register the amps, but does have a charge on the +
paddle connector), and finally makes a stop at the ignition switch. I
then checked the two paddle terminals (one single white wire, and the
other is a double black wire) on the solenoid for current when i turn
the key to start, when i turn the key to start, i get 5 or 6 volts on
each paddle connector, but when i reconnect them and read the battery
terminal upon turning the key, i get nothing, so that lead me to
believe that the solenoid was out, so i replaced it. well i hooked it
up and i get the same results, so now i assume that my method of
testing is all wrong to begin with. and now im lost like an easter
egg. im at work now, but when i get home im gonna try and jump all
the saftey switches at once, to see if one or more is out. cause if
the clutch switch is out, will i be getting partial? or no voltage on
the white and double black wires connecting to the solenoid? if ive
left anything out please let me know, sorry this is the first time ive
posted a question about small engines, im by no means a mechanic at
all. but i do have a small supply of common sense, but it seems im
out of that too. model number is 310707, type 0137-E1. OHV 17hp.
Pop`
hte battery will power it for a few minutes and that the light stays nice
and bright the whole time; no light output change. If the light dims at all
over a short period of time, then the battery has gone kaput.
Bad batteries WILL appear to charge.
When you turn the key to Start, what voltage is shown across the battery?
If the starter doesn't turn, it should remain a 12, 13, maybe up to 15V for
a fully charged battery. A freshly charged battery will often show over 14V
at full charge.
If the voltage drops to about 9V at the most, no lower, then either the
battery is bad or something is pulling excessive current in your system.
BTW, battery chargers do not indicate volts: They indidate AMPs. Starting
at 2-3 Amps and slowly going toward 0 while you watch it isn't normal
either, especially on a good battery that's fairly new.
If it measured Volts, which some of the good ones do, the number had
better be in the range of 12-15 Volts at the end of the charge cycle.
2we...@gmail.com wrote:
...
> that i have 12v coming in to the battery terminal on the solenoid,
> upon turning the key to start, i have confirmed that i do not have 12v
> leaving the solenoid via starter cable. sooooo i then checked the hot
> wire that leads off the + battery terminal on the solenoid, it makes a
> stop at a 20a fuse (which is good), it then stops at the dc meter
> (which doesnt register the amps, but does have a charge on the +
> paddle connector), and finally makes a stop at the ignition switch. I
> then checked the two paddle terminals (one single white wire, and the
> other is a double black wire) on the solenoid for current when i turn
> the key to start, when i turn the key to start, i get 5 or 6 volts on
> each paddle connector, but when i reconnect them and read the battery
That's not normal, although I can't follow your logic completely. The
voltage during starter operation should not go below 9 Volts. If the
starter isn't spinning, and it's free to turn otherwise, then what's the
voltage AT THE BATTERY during this same time? If it's 12V AT THIS SAME
TIME, you have bad wiring someplace which is dropping voltage on you. If
it's the same 6V, then again the battery is likely kaput.
It -could- also be a problem with the starter itself having an internal or
unintentional short someplace. Got a spare battery around to test with?
You -could- use a car battery for testing, but NOT with the car hooked up to
it, NOT with the tractor battery connected, and NOT with the car running!
Wear eye protection while you're messing with the battery. Accidents
happen and batteries can explode if you misconnect things. Just be careul
and keep track of what you're doing. Never, EVER have more than one battery
at a time connected to more than one thing at a time and all should be fine
as long as you watch the polarities hwen you connect to the tractor.
Regards,
Pop`
2we...@gmail.com
solenoid dropping below 9v by trying to start it. So maybe i dont
even have enough juice to get a click? ill see if the battery will
take a charge, its never run down before. and its still got alot of
water in it. i got an old battery charger, its just got a 6v and 12v
setting. im not 100% what the measurement is on the gauge. i have
very little experience on this stuff, i didnt know the battery
shouldnt be dropping below 9v during full load. but im almost certain
that i remember it doing so. even with a dead battery should i get a
click or shouldnt the amp meter on the mower read something? even move
the needle a little?
Oren
I would only add that you check the battery ground cable on the frame
and make sure it is clean and tight. I've seen vehicles not start,
because of a poor ground. This can happen on the starter cable as
well.
Sounds very much like a dead cell in the battery also.
--
Oren
"The voices in my head may not be real, but they have some good ideas!"
David Martel
If I understand you correctly, you've been having difficulties for some
time with starting. I fear that you know very little about basic electricity
so I'm very uncomfortable making any plan based on your measurements.
Ok, let's clean the battery terminals and the battery cable clamps. Auto
stores sell a cheap brush for this purpose or you can use sand paper. Get
them nice and shiny. How do the cable clamps look? Everything clean and
tight? Now let's head to the solenoid. Take the wire and cables off and
clean the solenoid connectors and the cables. Put the cables and wire back
on. Find the cable at the starter. Take it off, do the cleaning thing, and
put it back on. Note here that your battery is still disconnected. Great
let's get the car and some jumper cables. Attach the + on the car battery to
the + cable of the mower. Attach the - on the car battery to the - cable of
the mower. Start your car. You now have plenty of juice so try to start your
mower. Remember to disconnect the - cables first and then the + cables.
Finally attach the + mower cable to the + battery terminal and then the -
connections. Hopefully this will get you going. If this doesn't get you
going things to suspect are bad cables, bad solenoid, or bad starter. If the
mower starts but won't in a week then the battery is losing charge.
Dave M.
2we...@gmail.com
well i just came back in from outside, its dark now...and i just now
read your post. when i got home at 5pm i checked the battery on the
volt meter, it registered ~12.5 volts, i then checked the voltage at
the + battery terminal on the solenoid when i tried to start it, it
went from said voltage, down to almost zero. i then wanted to see if
it was strong enough to power the lights, so i turned the key to the
light position....no lights, i then checked for a voltage reading on
the wires coming to the headlights...i got nothing. I then checked for
continuity on the headlight plug, it showed to be ok as i got an alarm
as i turned the headlight switch on/off. i charged the battery for
about an hour on quick charge, and i heard it boiling when i went out
to check on it, so i unhooked it, it was then reading ~14v. i then
rechecked everything just like i did up above and got the same
results. Its not the solenoid, because its brand new. Thats what i
thought was wrong with it to begin with, after some illogical volt
meter tests. I thought if i had 12v comin from the battery, turn the
switch to start....read roughly 12v total between the white and double
black wire paddle terminals on the solenoid, then i ought to see
voltage running through the starter wire, but as it turns out i was
wrong, because its doing the same thing with the new solenoid. last i
checked the ground wire on the battery, and its good, i just set the
meter to the continuity setting and touched one prong to the - battery
terminal, and the other one to the frame, and it sounded off (which on
mine means good continuity). the terminals are good, i cleaned them
first thing this spring. but right before it got dark, i found where
the wiring tube that threads behind the oil stem was melted on the oil
stem side, im gonna look at that tomorrow, i know for sure the
headlight wires go through there, so maybe i got a wire in there
grounding out.
2we...@gmail.com
was lose enough to not give all its juice. i checked it earlier, but i
just grabbed it and pulled on it to where it felt snug but i guess
that much movement was enough to prevent it from getting juice. It was
surprising to me how tight it seemed yet when i re-tightened it it
fired right up. or the only other thing i can think of is that when i
tried to charge it it built up some corrosion and blocked the
connection. i guess it still had enough connection to read at the
solenoid but not enough to give the power to turn it over. however
now i have a new problem, it surges alot when its running, and then
when i mow for a while it eventually dies, at first i thought it might
be a clogged gas cap, so i unscrewed it while it was attempting to die
but it still choked down. If i full choke the engine i can start it
right back up, and it sounds like its running great, but when you
start to put a load on it ( like engaging the mower) it dies again.
so full scenario was: i started the mower, mowed for about 10 minutes,
it started to die ( i disengaged the mower and full choked it to bring
it back), while it was still surging and sputtering some i unscrewed
the gas cap a little....got no improvements...then i unscrewed it
completely...still no improvements, then i left it full choke and
drove it back to where i was working on it. but during that10 minutes
it was running ok, it still surges when the mower isnt engaged, im
sure it really is, but i just cant hear it as well. i checked all the
gas lines, from the filter to the carb is brandnew line, from the gas
can to the filter is still very good line, i took the filter out and
blew it out earlier this spring, so it should be clean. from here i
dont know where to go to diagnose this mower.
Oren
(Oh cables. Never think you have a bad starter, until you check them.)
Starving for fuel ... pull the air filter and spray the carb with
starting fluid while it's surging. Does it pick up power and run
better?
Check the baffles in the carb throat to ensure they are not binding or
sticking. Check throttle linkage on the carb to see if it binding.
My money would be a minor fuel problems. How old is the fuel filter?
2we...@gmail.com
> On 22 Apr 2007 14:55:02 -0700, 2wee...@gmail.com wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> (Oh cables. Never think you have a bad starter, until you check them.)
>
> Starving for fuel ... pull the air filter and spray the carb with
> starting fluid while it's surging. Does it pick up power and run
> better?
>
> Check the baffles in the carb throat to ensure they are not binding or
> sticking. Check throttle linkage on the carb to see if it binding.
>
> My money would be a minor fuel problems. How old is the fuel filter?
>
> --
> Oren
>
the fuel filter is the original, bout 6 years maybe. also when you
say check the linkage, am i just checking that its moving the entire
length from zero throttle to full choke? the baffle your talking about
is the trap door that lets in the air right? also...when its
surging...its popping every now and again, like a backfire, and
sometimes if i dont throttle down before i turn it off, it WILL
backfire when i turn it off. i mowed with it today for a long time
before it died on me, it ran about an hour or so, but i did the same
thing at the end, started losing power. the only thing i did different
this time was to losen the has tank cap BEFORE i started mowing, and
it ran longer, instead of waiting til it runs outta air and then
loosen it.
Oren
>On Apr 22, 5:38 pm, Oren <O...@home.yes.us> wrote:
>> On 22 Apr 2007 14:55:02 -0700, 2wee...@gmail.com wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> (Oh cables. Never think you have a bad starter, until you check them.)
>>
>> Starving for fuel ... pull the air filter and spray the carb with
>> starting fluid while it's surging. Does it pick up power and run
>> better?
>>
>> Check the baffles in the carb throat to ensure they are not binding or
>> sticking. Check throttle linkage on the carb to see if it binding.
>>
>> My money would be a minor fuel problems. How old is the fuel filter?
>>
>> --
>> Oren
>>
>
>the fuel filter is the original, bout 6 years maybe. also when you
>say check the linkage, am i just checking that its moving the entire
>length from zero throttle to full choke? the baffle your talking about
>is the trap door that lets in the air right? also...when its
A (failed) filter, that old.. they may look fine. Yes the travel on
the carb linkage should not bind. It might be referred to as a
"butterfly" in the throat of the carb(?).
>surging...its popping every now and again, like a backfire, and
>sometimes if i dont throttle down before i turn it off, it WILL
>backfire when i turn it off. i mowed with it today for a long time
>before it died on me, it ran about an hour or so, but i did the same
>thing at the end, started losing power. the only thing i did different
>this time was to losen the has tank cap BEFORE i started mowing, and
>it ran longer, instead of waiting til it runs outta air and then
>loosen it.
Punch a paper clip / wire through the gas cap vent hole and make SURE
the vent is clear. Also make sure the tank is full of gas (rule it
out). Is the plug clean of fouled carbon and gap fresh? I'm still on
it being a lack of fuel.
--
Oren
2we...@gmail.com
> On 22 Apr 2007 18:25:27 -0700, 2wee...@gmail.com wrote:
>
yeah ill check the spark plug tomorrow, also, i have a new plug but i
didnt put it in, i figured it needed gapped but i couldnt find any
documentation saying what the gap needed to be on that motor.
tomorrow ill try to rule out the gas tank/cap, plug, and butterfly on
the carb. then we'll take it from there. hey thanks by the way!!
Oren
The new plug "should" be "gapped" right out of the box. I'm known to
be wrong, though....
--
Oren
"I don't have anything against work. I just figure, why deprive somebody who really loves it."
2we...@gmail.com
>
> The new plug "should" be "gapped" right out of the box. I'm known to
> be wrong, though....
>
> --
> Oren
ill put the plug in after i try everything else. also, i noticed the
little hole on top of the gas cap doesnt go all the way through to the
other side. there are two tubes coming down on the underside of the
cap, but neither line up with the hole on top. are they suppose too?
at least one of them? if they are i guess its possible for the inside
part of the cap could have moved independently from the outer.
Oren
Can you blow air through the vent? Is so, it should be clear.
2we...@gmail.com
> Can you blow air through the vent? Is so, it should be clear.
>
> --
> Oren
yes i can blow air through it, like blowin air through a coffee straw,
maybe tougher.
Oren
Then the vent is cleared. Tighten the gas cap down (tank fuel full).
No kinked / cracked fuel lines, right? What's the progress? Start it
up. Did you spray a starter fluid in the carb?
I wonder why this thread is being ported to a web message board,
through Google.....
2we...@gmail.com
> Can you blow air through the vent? Is so, it should be clear.
>
> --
> Oren
yeah i can blow air through it, its about like blowing air through a
coffee straw, maybe a little harder.
ross.c...@hotmail.com
three different batteries, including the one from my car. The
headlights on the LT don't come on, and the Amp gauge doesn't move
when I turn the key. I'm thinking that one of the Safety Engine
Shutoffs is failing open - maybe a spider has made a webnest in just
the right place inside? Any ideas for easy ways to check? I'm thinking
I'm just going to have to bypass each one of them, and work it that
way.
I probably know just enough about engines and electrical system to
severely hurt myself. Programming computers was alot easier 25 years
ago. Engines used to be too, probably about the same time. I'm a whiz
with Excel, and not too shabby with Stocks, but I don't think my LT
cares much about those. (:
Any help would be appreciated - the half acre in the back where my 5
border collies and 2 shelties spend their days is starting to get a
little long. Dogs are fantastic for grass. If I could only afford
fencing in the 2 acres in the front...
Thanks!
2we...@gmail.com
ITS GONNA HAVE TO WAIT TIL TOMORROW OR THE NEXT, I HAD TO FINISH
SETTING 3 FENCE POSTS I COULDNT GET DONE SATURDAY, I RAN OUTA
CONCRETE. IM OUTA GAS TOO, ILL HAVE TO WAIT TIL EITHER THURS OR
FRIDAY. THEN ILL GIVE IT A FULL RUN DOWN.