How do I know if the solenoid is bad on my lawn tractor?
Look for the large terminal posts on the solenoid where the thick red wires connect to the solenoid. Touch the metal shaft of a screwdriver to both of the large terminals at the same time. If the engine turns over and starts, the solenoid is bad and should be replaced.
Are lawn tractor solenoids interchangeable?
All riding lawn mowers run on the same type of 12-volt circuit that an automobile runs on, and some of the parts are nearly interchangeable, such as the solenoid and starter. So exactly like an automobile, when the solenoid wears out or goes bad, it will not send any power to the starter.
What causes a mower solenoid to go bad?
It can be caused by instances where the ignition switch is left in the ‘start’ position for long. The soldering in the contacts melts, and they weld together. When that happens, the starter solenoid becomes damaged because you can no longer control its switching function.
Can you use any solenoid?
Why They Aren’t Interchangeable The continuous duty solenoid is not made to withstand the amount of power required in a vehicle’s starting system, and a starter solenoid isn’t able to tolerate the heat of running continuously. Using the wrong solenoid could cause it to burn out very quickly, causing you more repairs.
Can you start a lawn mower with a bad solenoid?
So, if you’ve done all the above check-ups and determined that only the starter solenoid is faulty, you can try to start the engine using the start motor only. Trying never killed, here’s how to bypass lawn mower starter solenoid. The solenoid has one or two wire connections from the battery/ignition switch.
Can a solenoid click and still be bad?
If you do hear clicking, the solenoid may be engaging, but not sufficiently. Hearing clicking without the starter motor moving means the solenoid is transferring the electricity, but it may not be enough. No clicking means the solenoid is not properly engaging, but this may also be due to a dead battery.
Can I bypass my starter solenoid?
Place the metal blade of an insulated screwdriver across both metal contacts. This bypasses the solenoid and creates a direct connection between the starter motor and the ignition switch.