Cub Cadet 3204 Starter Relay

   / Cub Cadet 3204 Starter Relay #1  

kemary

Bronze Member
Joined
Apr 2, 2007
Messages
71
Location
NE, Ohio
Tractor
Kioti CK35, Cub Cadet 3204
Does anyone have a wiring diagram for a 3000 series cub with the Kohler engine. I have a problem with the starter relay I think! The starter will turn over when cold but if I shut it off, it usually will not turn over while it is still hot. I can hear a click from somewhere under the battery but I am not getting 12 volts to the starter solenoid. I can jump a hot wire from the battery to the solenoid coil and it turns right over and starts no problem. After it is running, everything is normal. At first I thought the safety for the brake was the problem so I jumpered it out but I still have the same problem. Any suggestions?????? Thanks.
 
   / Cub Cadet 3204 Starter Relay #2  
http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/gg49/calfranch/3000_kohler_zps6ab08d46.jpg


3000_kohler.JPG
 
   / Cub Cadet 3204 Starter Relay
  • Thread Starter
#3  
Thanks for the print. It looks like the only things in the start circuit are the key, the brake switch (which I jumpered out), and the PTO switch. I wish it would just do it all the time and then it would be easier to troubleshoot. I'll let everyone know what the problem was when I figure it out.
 
   / Cub Cadet 3204 Starter Relay #4  
just gotta ask - are you in the habit of washing that machine down with either a garden hose or power washer?
 
   / Cub Cadet 3204 Starter Relay
  • Thread Starter
#5  
Actually I blow it off with a leaf blower after each time I use it but I have never sprayed water on it. I have kept the maintenance up on it but I don't wash and wax it. I think I bought it in 04 or 05, I'd have to pull the paperwork to see but it just turned 1000 hours last week. It has been troublefree until this.
 
   / Cub Cadet 3204 Starter Relay
  • Thread Starter
#6  
Little update, the cub is a 2003 model year. My how time flies!!! The clicking that I was hearing is a noise from the hour meter that you would never hear with the engine running. I untaped some of the wiring and there is what looks like a diode in the wire that leads from the output of the PTO switch to the starter solenoid???? The wiring is slightly different than the wiring diagram that OldMachinist posted. The wire from the start (S) pole of the ignition switch first leads to the brake switch (which I jumpered out) to the PTO switch then to the starter solenoid. The diode does not show in the wiring diagram unless that is what they were trying to represent where the wire attaches to the solenoid. Which is definitely not the designation for diode. To me it makes no sense why a diode would be in the circuit. This circuit is energized only when the key is held in the start position. I bought this tractor new, it was a demo unit and had 5 hours on it when I got it. The diode did not look like something that was added after the fact, it was attached to the factory connector and the tape didn't look like it had been redone. I'll have to get my wife out to the barn to hold the key on so I can test with a meter exactly where the failure point is. Updates to follow.....
 
   / Cub Cadet 3204 Starter Relay #7  
Little update, the cub is a 2003 model year. My how time flies!!! The clicking that I was hearing is a noise from the hour meter that you would never hear with the engine running. I untaped some of the wiring and there is what looks like a diode in the wire that leads from the output of the PTO switch to the starter solenoid???? The wiring is slightly different than the wiring diagram that OldMachinist posted. The wire from the start (S) pole of the ignition switch first leads to the brake switch (which I jumpered out) to the PTO switch then to the starter solenoid. The diode does not show in the wiring diagram unless that is what they were trying to represent where the wire attaches to the solenoid. Which is definitely not the designation for diode. To me it makes no sense why a diode would be in the circuit. This circuit is energized only when the key is held in the start position. I bought this tractor new, it was a demo unit and had 5 hours on it when I got it. The diode did not look like something that was added after the fact, it was attached to the factory connector and the tape didn't look like it had been redone. I'll have to get my wife out to the barn to hold the key on so I can test with a meter exactly where the failure point is. Updates to follow.....
If you are jumpering to the solenoid terminal & not the starter motor terminal, that would eliminate the solenoid as the problem. The PTO switch is still a possibility, the diode, and the ignition switch. I believe that is MTD's representation of the diode (definitely not industry standard) which are often connected across the coil terminals to prevent a voltage spike when the coil EMF collapses. That's not the way they have it connected so I don't know what the purpose is. Diodes usually open or short and don't fail only when hot but could be bypassed to make sure. A meter should show where the problem is. The starter on my 1-year-old walk-behind Toro mower suddenly quit working. Toro is not as free with their wiring diagrams as MTD & I couldn't find one anywhere. It's under warranty but I didn't want the hassle of loading it in the car plus I bought it online & would have to take it to a local dealer for service. I tried tracing the circuit and found a ground wire from the starter was attached to the gas tank mounting stud and was loose. A simple fix.

Bob B.
 
 
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