I have a John Deere lawn tractor that has a problem with the starter. Anyone interested in making a few bucks working on it, email me at carlilek@umr.edu
FYI: It will start if I jump it but it only clicks without the jumper cables.
I am by no means a mechanic, especially when it comes to lawn mowers, but it sounds like your battery is dead. At least that's what would happen in a car with a dead battery.
thanks for the responses. The battery is new. I can hear the starter trying to engage the flywheel but it never does. I take that back-occasionally, it will hit and start.
Joined: Wed 02-01-2006 4:43PM Posts: 41 Location: my room
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Unhook the positive battery cable from the battery and the starter and clean up all the terminals with a wire brush. I've had this exact same problem with a John Deere.
Joined: Fri 09-05-2003 10:24AM Posts: 3589 Location: Oklahoma! Where the wind comes sweeping down the p l a i n s !
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make sure you got the right voltage of battery. I am not sure how common they are anymore, but I know that a few lawnmowers used 6V batteries, and because of that, they are still available on the market. Problem is that they look pretty identical to the 12V batteries. Make sure that the battery is the correct voltage, and even then it could still be bad.
Not every battery rolls off the assembly line in perfect shape. This one may be a lemon.
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Joined: Sun 08-24-2003 3:47PM Posts: 1049 Location: Behind YOU!
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Our 318 had a similar problem and it turned out to be a problem with the starter. The starter tended to stop a the same spot when it was done spinning and the contacts on the rotor eventually wore out.
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Joined: Fri 09-05-2003 10:24AM Posts: 3589 Location: Oklahoma! Where the wind comes sweeping down the p l a i n s !
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The only reason I don't think it is the starter or even the motor is because he said it successfully starts with a jump from a car. That means the battery already installed either isn't putting out enough voltage and/or amps to get things moving, or is just the wrong type all together.
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Joined: Mon 09-06-2004 7:51PM Posts: 1916 Location: The B Barn
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ShadowCat38 wrote:
The only reason I don't think it is the starter or even the motor is because he said it successfully starts with a jump from a car. That means the battery already installed either isn't putting out enough voltage and/or amps to get things moving, or is just the wrong type all together.
That is exactly the same reason I suggested the battery. I didn't even think about it being the wrong voltage although its very plausible that you have a 6V battery. A number of boats also use 6V. If you have a good battery it is likely a faulty battery if the starter works when it is connected to another battery (a.k.a. jump). This is a real simple test, any autoparts shop should do the test for free. Assuming the battery is good, like the person before said, it is possible your contacts are corroded. A wire brush and some Coca-Coloa should clean it up.
This is of course if it consistently works when it is connected to another battery and consistently does not work when connected to the current battery.
Joined: Sun 08-24-2003 3:47PM Posts: 1049 Location: Behind YOU!
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The damaged contacts made it much more difficult to get enough power to flow through the starter. It started out by merely needing to put a battery changer on the tractor about an hour before we wanted to use it, then we needed a bigger battery, then jumping off of cars (note: an even bigger battery).
By all means, test the battery first since it is much easier and likely cheaper overall to replace. If that isn't the problem though, look to the starter.
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