Kohler Courage problems!!! Please help!

[ccoulby]

I inherited a Cub Cadet RZT 50 with the Kohler Courage SV720 (PS-SV720-0012) when my father passed away in October of 2014. When I got the mower it was slow to crank (turning over slowly), but once it started it ran great. Over the course of the past year it had slowly gotten worse. I replaced the battery (the one in it had some age) and it seemed to remedy the problem, at least temporarily. The other day I went to crank it and it was significantly slower. I tried jumping it off, as I have done plenty of times, to no avail. So I did a little research. I adjusted the valves and still no go. While the spark plugs were removed I tried turning the engine over by hand and it turned over quite easy. I also turned it over with the starter and as expected turned over quite fast.

So here I am wondering if it is the starter, maybe the starter solenoid, or even the compression release mechanism on the camshaft (as I understand).

I had never seen my dad use this mower so I don't know if this was typical behavior while he had it or not. He was not one to complain about much, just thankful for what he had.

Can someone please point me in the right direction? Suggestions and/or advice will be greatly appreciated!

 

[JRobyn]

Hey, welcome to the forum! :welcome:
For best response on Cub stuff, post it down in the Cub Cadet L&G sub-forum.

I have read on the 'net about many of the Kohlers having problems with the compression release breaking. Evidently they are a bit poorly designed and prone to failure. Not sure if your particular engine is affected or not without digging into the s/n. It was impossible to tell on mine if it even HAD the compression release feature or not, even with the exact s/n.

All that said, corroded wiring/terminals and solenoids are also a common problem.

So in my case, I just keep the battery topped up good with a trickle charger, and went over all the starting circuit electrical connections thoroughly. Still turns over a little slow, but always starts!

- Jay

 

[Stimw]

I have had several of the Cub Cadets with the Courage engines. I have a GT-1554 now.
I have had good luck jumping right to the terminal on the starter to get them to spin faster. I think the wiring is too small from the battery.
I got a deal on a RZT 50 and had trouble getting it to start the first time.
I removed one spark plug and got it to turn over and start with either.
I finally found that someone had put diesel fuel in the tank!!!!
I cleaned it out and it ran great.

 

[banjodunn]

G'day check all wiring connections are clean ( i.e remove them and clean up with some emery ) and make sure they are tight as said above try jumping direct to starter ( careful though as it will crank when you touch the lead to it ) . Hard starting can be caused by a broken compression release but it will normally crank at full speed til it hits compression the only other things are as you said a bad contact in the solenoid or possibly a bad starter motor.

Jon

 

[Dave M7040]

In my experience there are two common sources of starting problems with garden tractor engines. One is that the CCA amps of the battery are too low. People often buy a battery based upon price where they should be spending another $10 and get a battery with much higher cranking amps. As the motor ages, what was a an adequate battery specification becomes too low.
Second, the starter solenoid can be doing a poor job of sending battery power to the starter. Don't buy a replacement solenoid for a garden tractor but rather one for a car. Buy it from an independent starter/alternator shop and they will help you get the correct number of terminals. Some solenoids are grounded thru the metal body while others have a ground wire all depending upon the design of your machine.

Dave M7040

 

[rurban52]

I have a Troybilt Mustang, with an Sv590-0024. It was doing the same thing, with a new battery. It's about 8 years old. I replaced the starter and it works fine.