I have a murray riding lawn mower and for some reason the solenoid keeps going bad. I maybe get one or two mowing jobs done before I have to replace it. Does anyone know what could be causing this? Thanks Kim

Probably not going bad. The switch is an electromagnetic coil. What that means is when 12-V DC is applied to the right spot or terminal it energizes a coil and makes a strong magnetic pull. This brings to possts together and engages the starter. The reason for using this is the amperage required for a starter would burn almost all switches.

When a solenoid fails it is almost allways corrosion on the large posts, you will hear the "clicking" as the posts come together but the corrosion won't allow contact. So as you can see unlikley you have switches corroding imediatley, You may however have low voltage. This will cause the same symptoms and over time burn a solenoid.

Don