FLtractor 188 #1 Posted Monday at 11:18 PM Evening, Made similar thread about this months ago.. so after better part of a year I got my 856 running driving… drove 4 minutes around yard.. decided to move the very loose Wheelhorse ignition from oversized aftermarket ignition hole previous owner used .. so I mowed ignition to other side with much better fitting hole… when did that I must of pulled the starter cable too hard and loosened something since after that it sounded very weak then as if a fart of a air nosie then nothing .. today I finished installing all new starter and battery cables since old were heavily corroded.. ground negative battery cable to fuel tank pan… made sure battery charged … checked all wiring .. turned key.. nothing no noise at all…! Wondering on the voltage regulator it had the 3 front terminals … and the under wire that goes from underneath.. could this under wire be just loose enough and the only reason the starter doesn’t make noise when key turned? Very puzzled. Yes I have looked at 856 Wiring diagram. Not sure what to do at all point. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
953 nut 67,816 #2 Posted Tuesday at 11:57 AM 12 hours ago, FLtractor said: ground negative battery cable to fuel tank pan… Move the ground cable to the engine block itself. You have a heavy duty cable from the battery to the ignition switch and another heavy duty cable from the ignition switch to the "A" terminal on the Starter / Generator. That is all there is to the starter system. Nothing else except the ground wire has anything to do with your starter. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ri702bill 12,614 #3 Posted Tuesday at 01:29 PM And that makes it an excellent candidate to add in a solenoid to remove the high amperage load from the poor keyswitch. I did the same on my 854 - easy to do. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FLtractor 188 #4 Posted 3 hours ago On 8/11/2026 at 7:57 AM, 953 nut said: Move the ground cable to the engine block itself. You have a heavy duty cable from the battery to the ignition switch and another heavy duty cable from the ignition switch to the "A" terminal on the Starter / Generator. That is all there is to the starter system. Nothing else except the ground wire has anything to do with your starter. Will have to do that. I need to take a file and very careful enlarge the negative ground cable hole the engine block screw goes into the engine block. Thank you for helpful info Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FLtractor 188 #5 Posted 3 hours ago On 8/11/2026 at 9:29 AM, ri702bill said: And that makes it an excellent candidate to add in a solenoid to remove the high amperage load from the poor keyswitch. I did the same on my 854 - easy to do. Do you have a link or picture of exactly what kind and strength of Solenoid i should put between inline? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ri702bill 12,614 #6 Posted 1 hour ago You can use either a WH solenoid like the ones on a C series tractor, or a 1970's Ford car version. If it has 3 terminals, it grounds thru the mount. If it has 4, one of the small terminals goes to ground. Either way, mount it where it fits best... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
adsm08 4,855 #7 Posted 1 hour ago 45 minutes ago, ri702bill said: If it has 3 terminals, it grounds thru the mount. If it has 4, one of the small terminals goes to ground. Either way, mount it where it fits best... I'm not sure that's correct. I know the 3-post ones are case-ground. I was always told the 4-post ones were also case-ground, and that the second small terminal was to run the ignition system at full voltage during cranking, while it only run between 8 and 10 volts after the engine is running to put less stress on the ignition coil. The small terminals on that should be labeled "S" and "I". 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Blaine 257 #8 Posted 41 minutes ago 51 minutes ago, ri702bill said: You can use either a WH solenoid like the ones on a C series tractor, or a 1970's Ford car version. If it has 3 terminals, it grounds thru the mount. If it has 4, one of the small terminals goes to ground. Either way, mount it where it fits best... if it’s a 4 terminal for a Ford, it grounds through the mount also. The small “S” terminal goes to the starter terminal of the ignition switch. The small “I” terminal would normally be wired to the positive side of the ignition coil and it outputs 12v when the relay is energized to bypass the ballast resistor to provide a hotter spark during cranking, so you wouldn’t want to ground that one either. 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
squonk 47,536 #9 Posted 34 minutes ago Yup. The small garden tractor 4 post solenoid grounds through the 4th terminal. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Blaine 257 #10 Posted 34 minutes ago 28 minutes ago, adsm08 said: I'm not sure that's correct. I know the 3-post ones are case-ground. I was always told the 4-post ones were also case-ground, and that the second small terminal was to run the ignition system at full voltage during cranking, while it only run between 8 and 10 volts after the engine is running to put less stress on the ignition coil. The small terminals on that should be labeled "S" and "I". lol. Beat me to it. They are technically just a high amperage relay, but i know many people call them solenoids. Probably them chevy guys started it. …lol Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ri702bill 12,614 #11 Posted 33 minutes ago Ah, the "hot" bypass wire to the points while the starter is engaged... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
