ZD25 lawnmower

[cncfritz]

Hello everyone
I have a ZD25 lawnmower that I bought used and have been repairing certain parts. I now have a problem with it not starting. the battery checks out fine. I have used a screwdriver to cross the contacts on the starter and it fails to turn over. any info or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

thanks Cncfritz

 

[rjcorazza]

I went through problems with both my zd's earlier this year. For starters (hehe) check and clean battery connections and ground cable. The starter is grounded by its mount, so check that area also.
Once all connections are solid, test the starter. Connecting the starter posts will confirm the starter motor is good if the starter motor spins. Apply 12v to the solenoid and you should hear the solenoid click, and it should energize the starter motor and turn the engine over.
To isolate the mower connections, you can do these checks with a battery jumper box with the starter off the mower.
I'm not 100% certain what was wrong with my 2 mowers, but at one time a solenoid was bad, a starter motor was bad, and applying remote 12v to the bad solenoid would sometimes get it to start. In the end I wired a 12v relay to activate the starter solenoid with 12v directly off the battery, and installed a heat shield around the starter / solenoid.
After a lot of reading it appears most problems with starters are poor connections (also high resistance in the key switch which fires the solenoid) and heat damage over time. Best of luck!