Starter engages won't turn the motor

[Daemian Schulte 2]

Hello I have wheel horse 312-a that ran good. Turned the mower off now won't start. When you turn the key the starter will click and spin very slowly gor a second then stop. Replaced the starter still does the same thing. Hooked jumper cables to the battery still doing the same thing. So needless to say I'm at a loss

[Lee1977 6,209]

The switch is only grounded with two screws in the dash panel. If they are rusty you don't have a good ground and won't provide enough current to start the engine. I had similar trouble with my 312-8 when I got it, had to try starting a 3 or 4 time before it would start. The only way to test a battery is with a load test. most parts stores will test a battery for you.  Check all the electrical connection to see if they are clean and tight connections.

[pacer 3,159]

Sure sounds like a ground issue, whether switch or the other ground points. Check them all -- from battery post to ... where ever its grounded on the frame and the engines ground to the frame, that and the switch are prolly the most likely places for bad conx/ground........

[kpinnc 10,665]

Remove the spark plug and see if it improves. 

 

As has been said already, check all your connections too. 

 

One other possibility is the starter solenoid. That can be a source of a weak connection if it's sticky.

[953 nut 51,464]

There are a lot of things that could cause the starter to not turn from the key. Don't run right out and buy parts you don't need. Take a few minutes and do a step by step troubleshooting to find the actual problem.

Why won’t my starter turn over from the key switch?\

Lets take a logical step by step inspection of your starter problem.

Is your PTO in the ON position, a wheel horse will not start with the PTO on.

Have you had the battery load tested at an auto parts store?

Have you cleaned and tightened all electrical connections including grounds?

Are all fuses good and fuse holders cleaned?

If these have all been done, we can check components of the starting system as follows; don’t skip a step or you may miss the problem.

Be sure the transmission is in neutral and the parking brake is set.

Take a pair of automotive jumper cables and connect the black cable to your battery  "-" and a good clean spot on the engine. Now connect the other cable to the large post on the starter and touch the other end to the battery "+" terminal, does the starter turn over? If the starter turns over the battery and starter are good. If it didn't turn over try the same steps with the battery in your car/truck, if that cures the problem then the "good" battery wasn't so good.

Presuming the starter turned over move the jumper wire from the starter post to the other end of the wire going to the starter which is one of the large posts on the solenoid. If the starter turns over when the battery is touched by the jumper as before then that cable is good, if not you have found your problem.

Presuming the starter turned over move that jumper to the other terminal of the solenoid, connect the other end to the battery and use a small piece of wire to temporarily connect the battery "+" terminal to the small terminal on the solenoid, this should cause the solenoid to close and the starter to turn over. If not, the solenoid is probably the problem.

If this was successful remove the large jumper cable and use the small jumper wire to the small terminal of the solenoid, the solenoid should close and the starter turn over. If not the cable to the battery is the problem.

Presuming all of these have been successful remove the black jumper wire and repeat the small jumper to small terminal, if the starter turns over the ground is good.

If all of these components test good then remove your ignition switch, be sure the transmission is in neutral, parking brake on, clutch depressed and PTO off. Use a small jumper to connect the terminals that were connected to the “B” and “S” terminals of the ignition switch. If the starter turns over then the PTO switch and other safety switches are operating properly and your ignition switch may be bad