QuestionI have a 2003 Craftsman LT2000 Lawn Tractor with a 17hp Kolher engine. Was working fine, but when I went to restart, turned the key and nothing happened. No starter, no lights. Battery was OK, no loose or broken wires. Fuses OK. Shift was in neutral and mower was disengaged. After 10 minutes I noticed the headlights were working. Turned the key and heard a buzzing sound from behind the dash every time I turned key to start position, but the starter would not spin. After a few tries turning the key, everything went dead again. Like a breaker opened. My guess it's the solenoid that's defective. What do you think?
AnswerIs the fuse blown? Did you disconnect and charge the battery? Have you had the battery load tested at you locak autoparts store to verify the battery is still good?
Make sure to clean the battery terminals and battery cable ends with a wirebrush before reconnecting the battery to ensure a good connection...I have fixed a lot of starting problems just by charging the battery and cleaning the connections.
Once the battery is verified to be working and the terminals and cables ends have been cleaned with a wirebrush, reconnect the battery. Next remove the spark plug and then see if the starter will turn the engine.
Solenoids do go bad once in a while but I usually find more bad batteries and poor connections.
Let me know what you find.
Eric
