QuestionQUESTION: I have a craftsman with a 15 horse kohler mower wont start i had a bad solenoid replaced still wont start tried to jump solenoid with a screw driver mower turns over but wont start there is no juice at the ignition i can also jump at starter and it turns over. but wont start pour a little gas in carb it turns over jumping it at the solenoid then shuts off.i also replaced ignition that didnt help either.As far as i can tell there is no juice going into the ignition.the safety switch under the seat is still there im wondering if this mite be the problem. please help!!!!!!! if you need any more info please email im stumped!!!!! thank you mike
ANSWER: Electrical problems can be very hard to diagnose, and the Craftsman/
Poulan/AYP mowers can even be trickier. This is my first question here at allexperts, and I am not sure if we have any followup
possibilities, so I will cover a lot of detail. Not having a
model number to work with, I will throw out even more ideas than that
may apply to your mower. If we do get chances at followup responses,
please give me the model number off of the tag under or behind the
seat, it should start with the prefix 917, followed by 5-6 numbers.
Most of the craftsman tractors have a 4 wire solenoid, as opposed
to the regular 3 wire versions. And crossing the two big wires doesn't prove much other than the starter and battery is ok.
Your mower likely has a fuel shutoff solenoid on the bottom of the carb, which is why it will run for a few seconds after you prime it.
The keyswitch sends 12 volts to that little solenoid when the
key is on the "on" position.
Some Craftsman Kohlers have a "SmartSpark" module in their ignition system, but we will ignore that until I know your model number, and you are getting the engine running with a shot of fuel.
But in general, there should be no voltage going to the "coil".
The rotation of the flywheel past the coil generates the spark,
and the little wire going to it only shuts it off by "grounding"
through the switch.
In general, your problem has likely been caused by damage to the
wiring, or a failure at a switch. Look at the wiring harness
around the exhaust and also the steering column, if you see any
damaged wiring, that is likely your trouble area. Be careful in your repairs though, if you should accidently send voltage to the coil through the "kill" wire, you will destroy an expensive ignition]
coil.
Get back to me with the model numbers{If possible} and I can look at the wiring schematic and give you more focused advice.
Hope this helps some
Fish
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: craftsman 917.3258543
AnswerThe model number you gave me is not working at Searspartsdirect,
it looks like the number you gave me has an extra digit.
You say you have replaced the switch and solenoid, did you make sure that they were the correct parts. The keyswitch can look the same, but be wired differently. There usually are letters on each of the prongs to go by.
Basically the starting system is like this.
Big cable from battery to one side of the solenoid.
Big battery cable from solenoid to starter.
Small wire from "hot" terminal/cable on the solenoid to keyswitch
Small wire from keyswitch to small prong on solenoid.
When the key is turned to the "crank" position, voltage is sent
to the small terminal on the solenoid, the solenoid is then
activated, connecting the battery to the starter.
That is how the system works on all of them, your mower may have two
small terminals on the solenoid, the extra terminal is for some of the safety switches to go to ground for the solenoid to work.
Also, there should be a fuse in the circuit going to the keyswitch, find and check that, test for voltage there, and then at the keyswitch, and follow the wires. Also you may have a small solenoid
on the bottom of the carb, that must have voltage to it to open
it to allow fuel to run.
Check these things and recheck that model number, and we will keep at it.
