What is the starting problem with my brigggs & stratton 14.5 hp lawn mower engine?

Question

So far I have changed the starter,battery, solenoid and positive cables.I get 12.5 volts to one side of the solenoid but when I turn the key 8.5 volts comes out the other side which isn't enough power to crank the motor over. I have also disabled the brake clutch switch because I have had problems with it before. Is this a ignition switch problem? Agway lawn tractor 42'' cut, 7 speed trans.

Answer 1

It oudns like to me your getting way out in the pocket here when it 's a simple trouble shoot and solution.
If you have a starter problem it is very easy to trouble shoot. I would concentrate soley on the starter itslef and notihg else right now.

I ran into a problem like that one time in my career and it about drove me nuts and in the end the starter was just bad and wouldn;t spin properly it was sluggish and made a grinding like noise like it was trying , but just coud'nt.

So let's take some jumper cables out and attach the negative side of it to your starter mount and then touch that positice to the nut there where the red cable is attach the other side to your car battery.

. If that starter spins like a bat out of hell, you must likely got a bad solonoid not grounded good or bad and in some cases I have seen brand new ones in the box be bad the odds are 100:1

Let me know what happens.

Answer 2

Without turning the key on. Look at your Solenoid. You have 12V in and 12V out and there another wire that come from the ignition. Make you something you can jump from the 12V battery side to that small wire from the ignition. This will engage the solenoid only (No ignition) see if the starter works then and check the 12V out voltage to see if it still drops to 8.5.
If, it not work and you have 8.5 remove the wire to the starter and do again to be sure the solenoid was not bad when you buy. If, it go to 12V then it the Starter. Sometimes when a Starter is used with a weak battery, over time it will burn up the starter as it not get the current it needs.
If, it the starter a repair shop may fix cheap, but, check the prices for a new too so you know all your options.
It may be you bought a bad starter or battery and can swap for another. May want to charge the battery for a few hours too.

Answer 3

Sounds more like a weak battery or starter. The engine can't have too much compression. Valve timing is set when the engine is put together and doesn't change unless you break the chain or a gear. Ignition timing will change if the flywheel key is sheared. Usually when this happens it will pop back through the carb or exhaust. I have taken starters apart and cleaned them and got more use out of them. The brushes can be replaced and they can also be a challenge to get back in but it is do-able. The soleniod is also a part that can cause cranking issues. They have a large copper contact that is held against the two leads, from the batter and to the starter. Those contacts can get burned and not provide a good path. I would take a battery and jumper cables, hook them up and ground it to the tractor, than touch the positive to the starter bolt. This will tell you if the soleniod is the problem. The plastic pinion gear on top of the starter can wear and bind. Easily replaced.

Answer 4

The solenoid is only providing "activation" power to the starter, not starting power. I would look at either ignition switch, or cable to the starter, and I would look at cable to starter first. That is where you need to get your 12.5 volts.

Answer 5

Check the coil and see if there is a wire that plugs into the coil near the 2 larger wires. If there is, unplug it and see if this allows the motor to turn over. It is the wire that feeds the safety switches. If this fails, check the ignition switch.

Answer 6

I would be looking at your starter motor there is a big voltage loss when you try to start it it may be stuck or misaligned~~