Hello,

We've got a Craftsman rider (~15hp) and it won't start on it's own, but it will start with the help of a car battery. I've seen a lot of forums that talk about solenoids and relays, but I'm not sure if this is our problem, and if so, which part is bad. If the mower has been sitting for awhile and I try to start it without help from the car battery, there will be several clicks and it tries to turn over. As I keep trying to start it, it won't turn over, and eventually there won't be any clicks either. I touched the two terminals of the solenoid with a screwdriver and I hear the clicks. After another try or two, the clicks stop. What could my problem be? Should the engine have started when I jumped the solenoid? What is the purpose of the solenoid and relays?

Thanks,

Thomas

I think its as simple as your tractor battery is dead. You should be able to give it a slow trickle charge and bring it back to life. However, if that battery has been discharge for a long time it may never recover fully.

OK, sounds good. How do these batteries stay charged? For awhile I would charge it and it wouldn't stay charged. I thought the alternator was dead, but as far as I can tell the mower doesn't have one...