My ex has a 1983 John Deere 111 riding mower. It worked fine last year,
but wouldn't start this spring. The battery has been replaced. I
checked the circuits, and found the problem to be the solenoid. But
after replacing it, the mower turned over once only, then was again
dead. I suspect something is burning out the solenoids, but that is
where I need help. What would cause that?

TIA

Mike

Mike wrote:

My ex has a 1983 John Deere 111 riding mower. It worked fine last year,
but wouldn't start this spring. The battery has been replaced. I
checked the circuits, and found the problem to be the solenoid. But
after replacing it, the mower turned over once only, then was again
dead. I suspect something is burning out the solenoids, but that is
where I need help. What would cause that?

TIA

Mike

A solenoid is just a remote switch. It is made to handle the the full
starting amperage. I doubt the new one burned out unless it was
defective. There is nothing that I can think of that would cause a
new/good solenoid to burn out.

Start by checking the battery to be sure it is good. New does not equal
good. Compare the cca (cold cranking amps) of the new battery to the old
to be sure it is sized properly. A quick easy test is to turn the
headlights on and attempt to start the engine while someone is watching
the headlights (or you can point them at the garage wall so you can see
the brightness.) If the headlights dim down to just a dull orange glow
then you are not getting enough juice from the battery to the mower.
Suspect a bad battery or corroded/loose/bad connections. If the
headlights stay at full brightness then you are getting no voltage to
the starter and you should suspect a safety switch, bad starter switch,
bad solenoid, bad connection or bad starter. On a good working system
they should dim roughly 25-50% while the engine is turning over.

--
Art

"Mike" wrote in message
...

My ex has a 1983 John Deere 111 riding mower. It worked fine last year,
but wouldn't start this spring. The battery has been replaced. I checked
the circuits, and found the problem to be the solenoid. But after
replacing it, the mower turned over once only, then was again dead. I
suspect something is burning out the solenoids, but that is where I need
help. What would cause that?

TIA

Mike

Sounds like it wasn't the solenoid. I'm guessing a safety switch.

Safety switches cause a lot of problems. You might have an intermittent fault so your solenoid is no being switched on. Or loose connection.

You can bypass this: by wiring positive direct to motor and battery, negative to motor and just touch the negative wire on the negative battery terminal if it jumps into action the starter motor and battery are fine.

or

Bypass the solenoid by putting something conductive over the top of the solenoid terminials.

If you have success you now know its a switch, so each must be bypassed in turn.

!! battery current is dangerous & if you are in anyway unsure or worried with the above options please take it to your local dealer; a repair cost is never going to be as much as a new tractor & you can always just ask for a quote!!

P.S the replacement batttery must be a least the same Amp Hours as John deere recommends.

I would check/replace the battery cables. Cracked wiring and loose
grounds can cause very weird issues

Mike wrote:

My ex has a 1983 John Deere 111 riding mower. It worked fine last year,
but wouldn't start this spring. The battery has been replaced. I
checked the circuits, and found the problem to be the solenoid. But
after replacing it, the mower turned over once only, then was again
dead. I suspect something is burning out the solenoids, but that is
where I need help. What would cause that?

TIA

Mike

O.K. Problem solved. It was wierd because I tested resistance on the
whole ignition side of circuit with my VOM, and I could see it opening
and closing as it should have, but the starter wouldn't kick in. That's
why it looked like the solenoid to me.

Well, it turns out that the problem wasn't the solenoid, but a
connection to it. Apparently it was good enough to pass my resistance
test, but not good enough to get the voltage/amperage through that the
solenoid needed to activate the starter. Fortunately I was able to
slightly crimp the connector, and it kicked right over! I say
fortunately because a more significant problem in the wiring harness
would have required some hacking, as the JD people tell me it is an
obsolete part that is not made anymore.