Key switch not cranking motor

[Willy21]

Yes when I turn the keyswitch to the start position I get power to both small terminals on the solenoid, should one those terminals be grounded and where it's grounded be a weak or bad ground?

 

[bakerg]

Yes when I turn the keyswitch to the start position I get power to both small terminals on the solenoid, should one those terminals be grounded and where it's grounded be a weak or bad ground?

If I am thinking this right you should actually have 4 terminals on your soleniod, 2 big & 2 small. 1 big has 12v and the other goes to your starter. I f you then have 2 small terminals, 1 should come from the key switch and the other should go to ground. You may have a safety switch open on the ground side which would cause you to have an open ground at the soleniod. If you have a jumper you can bypass the safety switches to see if thats the problem.

 

[J_J]

Does the solenoid even click. If not, reverse the input cables. The start wire shoulld go to the solenoid terminal marked "S"

If there is a forth terminal, it the "I" terminal for ign. It is not most of the time.

 

[bakerg]

Bill, nowthat you know what the problem is, check the saftey switches. 1 should be under the seat and 1 switch is to make sure your mower is off before you start the engine. Either the switches are not made or defective or the ground is off going to them.
Good luck:thumbsup:

 

[bozowise]

On my Kubota with hydro it has a finicky issue with the go pedal. There is a safety switch that will not allow you to start it with the go pedal in any position other than nuetral. The issue is that nuetral seems to be a very fine window. Sometimes I have to tap the pedal to get it to return exactly to the neutral position.

 

[bakerg]

Bill, nowthat you know what the problem is, check the saftey switches. 1 should be under the seat and 1 switch is to make sure your mower is off before you start the engine. Either the switches are not made or defective or the ground is off going to them.
Good luck:thumbsup:

There may also switches to not let it start if it is in gear or the brake is not on, depending on the year and style of your machine

 

[mostly_gas]

On your mower I would expect safety switches on the blade clutch, seat switch and parking brake. There is a ground wire that you can unplug to check for spark, bypasses all safety devices but you cannot turn off with the key switch. If no spark after finding and unplugging the ground wire your coil is likely bad, they are about $60 if I recall correctly.
On the solenoid have you tried applying 12V and ground and still no continuity across that two large posts?

 

[marty15068]

Here's your problem! You PTO safty switch is not working properly. In order to test this, hold you key on and ingage then disengage the PTO. Your mower should start. It may work for many months, or a couple of days, but you now know the problem!!!!

:drink:

Shouldn't you have 12volts across the 2 small terminals when the key is turned. 1 terminal should have a wire from the key switch and the other small terminal should go to ground. If I am understanding right if you are getting 12 volts on both small terminal, it sounds like there is a bad ground.