Trouble Shooting Lawn Tractor Starter Engine

Question

I own a Craftsmen 917.270930 and I am having a difficult time getting it to start.

When I turn the key, The fly wheel spins a few rotations and stops ( No clicking noises ).

The battery sits at 12.5ish volts. When I turn the key, the battery drops to 9.5ish volts.

With the red volt meter wire to the red wire coming to the starter from the solenoid and the black volt meter wire to the mower chassis I read 9.5ish volts when I turn the key.

I suspect the culprit is the starter motor.

Are there any other troubleshooting procedures I should take before purchasing a new starter motor?

Thanks.

Answer 1

It does sound like the starter motor, it possibly just needs some new brushes. It could also be a fault in the starter solenoid, the large conductors that switch power to the starter could be worn. I would first try using a length of wire to connect the thin control wire on the solenoid directly to the battery positive to bypass the ignition switch. If the starter still has the same problem then the fault is not in any of the wiring prior to the solenoid.

A solenoid often has two large connectors, with one thick wire going to the battery and one going to the starter motor. If you use an old screwdriver or wrench to short these two connections together, then the starter should turn for as long as the connection is made. If it does, the starter is ok and the solenoid is at fault.