Is my starter theory correct?

[paw's49]

As long as:

A. The battery is charged, and showing at least 6v
B. The battery cables are tight
C. The starter motor is good

Shouldn't the engine be turning over? Or is there something else that could be preventing this from happening? I'm not too concerned about getting it running right now....I mean, I got to get some kind of response from the starter first.
Thanks guys.
Craig

[Cecil]

Is the starter motor turning at all. If not even though all the connections are tight you could still have a bad connection. If you have a volt meter check for voltage at the starter. Do this by putting one lead on the positive terminal of the battery and the other on the cable at the starter. If voltage is good move the ground lead from the battery to the frame of the tractor. If you lose voltage you have a bad ground. This is assuming that you are using a positive ground. I would also make sure that all connections are free from corrosion. Tightening a cable on a corroded terminal will not give good conduction.

[Bigdog]

Check the heavy duty contact on the starter switch. It may be pitted and burned. Have you done any work on your starter or have you removed it for painting etc.? Make sure the starter housing itself has a good ground contact. One other thing you can try is using jumper cables to parallel the connections to help eliminate your wiring as a source of the problem.

[Cecil]

Sorry but let me add more. Got interupted. It's a pain trying to do this from work on lunch. Check voltage at the battery on the posts. Then proceed as in the previous. My problem is that I did this for years when I worked in the telephone industry and at time make assumtions on what is known about the basic. If you need help we can get you there.

[paw's49]

Thanks yall....

Naw, it ain't turning at all....ain't even grunting a little bit.

I did take the starter motor off a few months back, then put it back on.

I got 6v at the battery posts with the voltmeter - then hooked the battery up to the tractor. Pulled the switch, pulled the starter rod - nothing. Did that several times. Unhooked battery - checked voltage at posts again - read 5v.

Yes it is positive ground. I'll see what v I get at the starter. Thanks again fellers. I knew this was gonna be too complicated for such a shallow mind

Craig

[artc]

getting 5 volts on your second test after putting current to the starter (presumeably) indicates a dead or defective battery. remember, even a dead battery will read 6 volts with no load. put a booster battery on it, and give it another go.

[Bigdog]

Amen to what Art said. If you're only reading 5 volts you likely have a dead or dying cell in your battery. If that's the case, your battery will not be able to produce enough current for the starter to even budge.

[bobburke]

You should always check your voltage with the starter engaged to check for bad connections. Even the worst connection will give a reading equal to battery voltage with no load. I would pull the starter out to see if it will spin.

[Eugene]

Concur with other's recommendations. One other thought. Starter's over running clutch (bendix) is hung up in in the flywheel.

Eugene

[kinelbor]

Mine didn't work either until I took the starter button off and turned the contact on the starter around. It was worn down and I just turned it half turn out and that made it work great.