So my dad has this D170 ride on mower. It’s a V-twin. He’s never done any preventative maintenance and was all pikachu face this spring when we went to turn it over and nothing happened.
Here’s what I’ve done so far.
>new battery (last one was 5+ years old and left out in freezing winters)
>cleaned out the whole engine compartment which was full of mouse nesting.
>replaced spark plugs
>replaced the oil
>replaced the air filter
>replaced the starter motor
It still won’t turn over. Which is weird because it had been at least trying (I assumed it was the starter motor hence why I replaced it, but no joy) You hear the click of the solenoid when you turn the key, but nothing happens.
I’m buggered as to what’s going on. It’s almost as if there’s a kill switch or the mower PTO is engage (switch is off).
Any ideas? Because I’m out of them and the next option is to take it to the shop. Plz help.
Are the blades on, parking brake off, sensor to check if ur sitting on the thing nit working, etc
So the starter isn’t even spinning? Is the engine seized?
Try a jumper pack or jumper cables straight to the starter and see if turns over. I have seen remanned and/or aftermarket starters that are DOA.
Also find out what kind of safety switches are on there. Riding mowers often have safety cutouts under the seat and somewhere on the mower deck to make sure a rider is on it and the blade isn’t engaged with the deck down.
>jumper straight to the leads
Did this. Weirdly it would start with the old battery installed like this, but not with the new one (or with then removed and alligator clips straight on the leads). Still hear the click of the solenoid, but no start.
Parking brake off, butt in the seat, PTO switch off. All the right positions. If any of these are broken I’d have a bugger of a time finding out. Any ideas?
Do you have a multimeter? Most of the safety switches are just open or closed, so unplug the switch from whatever wiring, stick the multimeter leads into the plug going to the switch, set the meter to continuity or ohms, and it should go from open to closed (or the opposite) as you press the switch.
>starter would spin with the old battery
Stick that multimeter on the new battery and make sure the thing is charged
parking brake should be on to start on these machines...
No, the brake has to be fully depressed. The parking brake just locks it in that position. I also tried it both ways and still no joy.
Will give this a try. Thanks
Ditto
>brake has to be fully depressed
Sounds like another interlock to check
I just pull the plug at the engine to disconnect all the interlocks when troubleshooting, and on personal mowers I shitcan all those parts.
How does that work? Most of them are open when the safety interlock is engaged and closed when the interlock is disengaged, right? So troubleshooting is easy enough by just shorting between the pins on the connector.
If the seat sensor is unplugged or corroded it won't turn over, try shorting the wires going to the seat
the starting solenoid is bad on those mowers. the contacts get burnt up real bad, test if its letting all the current through to the starter.
Did you flush the fuel system completely by disconnecting the fuel line from the carburetor? You probably have fouled gas or particulates in the fuel line and the filter will need to be replaced as well.
You also will need to take the carburetor off and clean it. Check the idle jet for obstructions.
out the whole engine compartment which was full of mouse nesting.
All of the wiring has been chewed through in hard to find and weird places. You're going to have to do a LOT of tracing with the wiring diagram in hand to find fault sources, incomplete circuits, and potentially grounded connections that aren't supposed to be.
Why would you replace the spark plugs if the engine does not even turn over?
You are shit at troubleshooting
Get a flow chart and follow it
That’s boomer math. They replace the spark plugs, maybe spray some carb cleaner through the intake, and then waste a bottle of starter fluid until they give up on the shit and bring it to my garage or toss it.
These little spark testers are pretty good for determining spark if you don’t have somebody around to pull the cord while you try to ground the plug somewhere.
For one because they hadn’t been changed in six+ years of service. It was time for an overhaul.
>It's almost as if there's a kill switch
There is one, it's in the seat. From my limited experience, I can tell you that they can be kind of janky, especially after sitting outside for a while. Maybe check that out.
A couple people mentioned the solenoid, and the fact that it clicks but does nothing sounds like it's broken. It's like a $20 part, should be fairly easy to replace. I know it's obvious, but have you cleaned the wire connections to the battery?
Sheeeit if he replaced the stater motor but not solenoid, that’s definitely an option.
OP here. Surprised and gratified this thread is still up.
After digging out my multimeter, I confirmed the issue was the starter solenoid. Bought a replacement for $20, installed it and she started right away.
Thanks very much to everyone for your help. This was a good learning process and I picked up a lot more confidence getting under the hood with this thing.
She’s running a little weird - pulsing - but it comes and goes. Going to clean out the carb next weekend.
Cheers lads.