MT125, no power after starter swap.

[TBringman]

Starter went out on my MT125. After installing the new starter I get nothing on the dash. I've checked all the fuses, even found the main 40a fuse, and traced all of the wiring the best I can.
Gave up for a time and tried to find a mechanic that could come work on it where it sits. Can't seem to find someone to commit on that. LS dealer wants me to bring it in to their shop. Like I can just load it up.
Spent today taking the starter off to retrace my steps. With the starter off I used a battery charger to verify that the starter works. It does. With it loose I wired it up the way it should be and hooked up the battery charger to test it while loose. I get nothing when connecting positive to the main battery terminal. I move the positive clamp to the terminal that should be the power coming back from the switch. I got a buzzing up in the engine and was able to turn the switch on and my instrument panel lights up. Turned the switch over to start and the starter bumped but did not rotate. I disconnected quickly so not to burn anything up. I know that buzzing was not supposed to be continuous. This kinda tells us what works. So when it's hooked up correctly, what could I be missing?

 

[gengine]

Hooking it up loose means that the starter isn't grounded, so it won't work. I am not familiar with LS tractors, but most starters are grounded through the housing. Even setting the starter against the engine may give it ground, but possibly not enough. I feel you have a wire in the wrong place, or possibly a wire got pushed aside and forgotten. Believe me, I've made those mistakes before.

 

[zzvyb6]

Fuse ? Battery cables reversed ?

 

[grsthegreat]

Are you sure battery cables are tight. Grab teem with your gloved hand and twist. There should be NO movement

 

[GS650GL]

Make sure you didn't miss any wires when connecting them to the new starter, it happens. Check where the negative battery cable grounds to the tractor. Make sure there is no rust or paint and the bolt is tight. There is also a braided ground cable at the back of the engine that grounds the engine to the frame in the middle of the tractor. There is a service bulletin about poor connections on that cable because of paint or rust. The battery cable clamps are poor and known to have issues also. Make sure the battery is good too. I had one that started fine and a minute later the battery failed completely and had zero volts.