so this is for a zero turn riding mower not a car, but bitogers are far more knowledgeable than the tractor forums.
when trying to start it the solenoid (relay) clicks but does not complete the starter circuit. the relay does not close. the coil + terminal does measure 12V when attempting to start. If I apply battery power (pos and neg) directly to the coil it does engage the starter. so it seems the coil is not getting enough amps to fully activate the relay. I measured DC current across the wires connected to the coil (while disconnected from the solenoid) and got varying results about 0.5A ~ 0.9A. I expected this to blow the 5A starter fuse, because it should be a short across the battery when the key is engaged, right? but only got
I also put in a new solenoid and it does the same thing. and both test out the same. so I put the old one back in.
since I'm getting 12V at the coil it must mean none of the safety switches are open. but I'm also not getting much amperage.... so what does this mean? could one of the safety switches be dirty/corroded causing extra resistance? I was able to meaure all but the seat switch and PTO, and they all measured
for now I can start the mower by shorting the solenoid contacts with a big wrench, but I'd rather use the key.
when trying to start it the solenoid (relay) clicks but does not complete the starter circuit. the relay does not close. the coil + terminal does measure 12V when attempting to start. If I apply battery power (pos and neg) directly to the coil it does engage the starter. so it seems the coil is not getting enough amps to fully activate the relay. I measured DC current across the wires connected to the coil (while disconnected from the solenoid) and got varying results about 0.5A ~ 0.9A. I expected this to blow the 5A starter fuse, because it should be a short across the battery when the key is engaged, right? but only got
I also put in a new solenoid and it does the same thing. and both test out the same. so I put the old one back in.
since I'm getting 12V at the coil it must mean none of the safety switches are open. but I'm also not getting much amperage.... so what does this mean? could one of the safety switches be dirty/corroded causing extra resistance? I was able to meaure all but the seat switch and PTO, and they all measured
for now I can start the mower by shorting the solenoid contacts with a big wrench, but I'd rather use the key.