Welcome to our informative guide on starting a lawn mower with a bad starter! Dealing with a faulty starter can be frustrating, but fear not, as we’re here to provide you with practical solutions.
In this article, we’ll walk you through step-by-step instructions on how to get your lawn mower up and running, even with a problematic starter.
To start a lawn mower with a bad starter:
- Ensure the lawn mower is on a level surface and the cutting blades are disengaged for safety.
- Locate the flywheel on top of the engine and manually rotate it in the direction of the engine’s normal rotation. You may need to remove the spark plug and use a socket wrench or the mower’s pull cord to turn the flywheel.
- Once the flywheel is rotated, reattach the spark plug if it was removed.
- Pull the mower’s starter cord or engage the electric starter (if available) to attempt starting the engine.
- If the engine does not start, repeat the process of manually rotating the flywheel and attempting to start the engine until it successfully starts.
Please note that starting a lawn mower with a bad starter can be challenging and potentially dangerous. It is recommended to have a professional inspect and repair the starter to ensure safe and reliable operation of the lawn mower.
So, if you’re ready to take charge of your lawn care and bring your mower back to life, let’s dive right in and discover the secrets to starting a lawn mower with a bad starter.
What’s a Lawn Mower Starter?
A lawn mower starter refers to the component responsible for initiating the engine’s operation. It transfers electricity from the mower’s battery to the ignition system, thus allowing it to start. It is comprised of two key starter parts, starter solenoid and starter motor.
The solenoid transfers current from the battery to the motor. The later then links to the spark plugs and send the current to the engine itself. Evidently, these starters are interdependent but in case one fails, you can still turn the mower on.
So, if your lawn mower fails to start because of a bad starter, in addition to ensuring the starter system isn’t to blame, also check these.
Symptoms of a Bad Starter on Riding Mower
When a riding mower has a bad starter, common symptoms include clicking or grinding noises when trying to start, no response when turning the key, intermittent starting issues, slow or sluggish cranking, and in some cases, smoke or a burning smell. These signs indicate potential issues with the starter motor, solenoid, or other components.
Let’s explore some of the symptoms of a bad starter in more detail:
- Abnormal Solenoid Clicking
Once you push the ignition button, a mower’s solenoid transmits a spark that fires the starter motor. The motor then turns a little gear that consequently rotates the engine’s large gear thus jump starting the main engine.
Normally, it should produce a click followed by a whirring sound when the starter motor is engaging the main engine. So, when it’s the clicking sound only that occurs, all is not well with your starter.
- Whirring with No Catch
Some problems manifests as the starter engage. For instance, when the whirring sound is followed by a rumbling of the engine, it’s a sign that starter motor’s gear is damaged thus can’t catch the other larger gear on the motor. It could also be a sign of defective starter switch.
If the engine starts and stops, it means that some teeth could have broken off the starter motor’s gear, are dirty or that the motor brushes are worn and need replacement.
- Failure to respond to attempts to start despite a fully charged battery
- Failure in Solenoid to Click
This is a clear indication that the mower has loose connections to the solenoid. Therefore, fasten the connections to get your mower running.
How to Start a Lawn Mower with a Bad Starter?
A bad starter is normally a couple of electrical problems that can be easily diagnosed. Here are the common problems that cause mower’s bad starter and their solutions in order to get you mowing soonest possible.
1. Flat or Faulty Battery
This ought to be first thing to check when diagnosing bad starter problems. Without adequate electric current supply, the bad starter can’t be diagnosed. A faulty battery can be very frustrating while you want to mow your lawn.
Start by checking whether there are any leakages in the battery by charging it using a charger cable. If it becomes wet, then your mower’s battery may be having a leakage. Depending on the level of leakage, you can either seal it or replace the battery with a new one. Ensure you have your hand gloves and goggles on lest you get acidic burns.
If the battery has no signs of leakage, check its voltage using a multi-meter. Ideally, the battery’s voltage should be 12 volts and a voltmeter reading between 12.7 to 12.9 volts. If it displays that on the multi-meter display, it’s in the right condition. A voltage below 12.4 volts even after full charging is a sign of faulty battery. Replace it.
2. Faulty Ignition Switch
Occasionally, a faulty ignition switch may be responsible for a bad starter. Turn the keys on to identity any issue on the ignition switch.
Check all wires connected to the ignition switch and ensure there is no loose connection. Also, check if there is any corrosion on the back part of the ignition switch. If you identify any defect with the ignition switch, that could be the cause of your lawn mowers bad starter. To overcome this problem, replace the ignition switch.
3. Faulty Solenoid
Lawn Mower’s starter solenoid is a mounted switch that triggers the engine starter motor. It has three or four threaded electrical lugs connected to the ignition switch, battery, ground wires and engine starter.
Finding a solenoid is quite a hard task. Depending on the model of your lawn mower, try locating it by lifting the front hood up or near the rear wheel. Alternatively, follow the red cable of the battery.
Once you locate the solenoid, check the various terminals and screws attachments. In case of loose screws, tighten those using pliers or a wrench. Attach a jumper cable from the large lug where the engine starter cable and other lugs connect to the battery cable.
Finally, rotate the ignition keys of the lawn mower. If it just clicks without starting the lawn mower, you may need to replace the solenoid.
4. Test a Lawn Mower Starter
A Lawn Mower’s starter motor is bolted to the engine crankcase. It is normally easy to find. It turns the engine’s flywheel teeth and links them with the ones on the starter motor plunger thus starting the mower’s engine.
If the mower fails to start even after checking the battery, ignition switch, the solenoid, wiring and electrical connections, chances are the problem lies with the starter motor. A faulty starter mower is a major reason lawn mowers may fail to start.
So, how to test a lawn mower starter?
Here is the answer, to check it for any defects, simply use a jumper and connect it to the positive terminal of the battery while attaching a screwdriver on the negative terminal. Expect to see some sparks once you connect the screwdriver. Considering the battery carries only 12 volts, you don’t have to be afraid of any shock.
Also, the magnets, brushes and spring that connect with the wire winding inside the starter mower normally burn or get dirty thus causing start problems. Check and diagnose them appropriately.
After doing these connections, you expect the lawn mower to start. However, if it only produces clicking sounds without starting, it’s a sign of faulty starter motor.
You may need to replace or rebuild it to overcome the problem. However, rebuilding an electric motor should be done by a qualified electrician with motor repair experience.
5. Dirty Leads
The positive and negative cables that connect to the battery ought to be clean in order to have good electrical contact. Failure to this, the electric current won’t flow and the mower won’t start.
If they’re dirty or corroded by the acid, remove the battery and clean all its contacts with a wire brush with plastic or wooden handle.
6. Clean Spark Plugs
Worn and damaged spark plugs may be the cause bad starter issues. Disconnect all the wires from the spark plugs and check the contacts for signs of damage-oily or carbonized. Replace any damaged spark plugs and try to start the mower again.
Lawn Mower Starter Solenoid Bypass: 4 Easy Steps
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. It being the problem, place a metallic connection (in place of its wires) between the cables that link the battery to the starter motor.
- Try starting the mower.
- If it produces a whirring sound from the starter motor, it means you can do it.
- Continue starting the lawn mower until it begins operations.
Precaution Measures When Starting a Lawn Mower with a Bad Starter
- Read the user’s manual carefully. This makes your work easier.
- Wear personal protective equipment such as hand gloves for safety purposes.
- Handle screwdrivers and multi-meters with care.
- Ensure your children aren’t near while doing any kind of repair or maintenance on your lawn mower.
Bottom Line
Evidently, starting a lawn mower with a bad starter entails ensuring that various other parts of the lawn mower are working properly. Whenever you encounter a starter problem, try out the above diagnosis and chances are you’ll be good to go.
If you identify a problem with any of the above parts, the best solution is to replace it entirely or try to bypass the solenoid. We hope this post has equipped you with all the required information on how to start a lawn mower with a bad starter.
