Help....Suddenly stopped working and I am not sure why.

Hey everyone, first time here and I am looking for some help. I own a John Deere Z225 eztrack mower. It has been running great all summer but last week I went to go do the lawn and it started harder then usual. After letting it idle for a moment I went to engage drive and the engine stalled out. After that the engine would not even try to crank, I did a little poking around and I checked the electrical system and everything looked okay. The battery has over 12v and all of the saftey switches are working. After checking that out I poked around with the wiring to the carb, and suddenly the engine now tries to crank. It cranks once or twice and then its like the starter gives up. I checked the carb thinking that the engine wasn't getting gas and the carb is fine, the fuel filter is brand new, the spark plug is brand new, the engine has plenty of oil so the only thing that I can think of is that my starter solenoid is starting to give out, but I wanted some input before I went out and bought a new one. I have enclosed a video of what it's currently doing.....don't mind that it cuts off at the end I dropped the phone when I was working with the mower.....so if any one out there can give me some input I would really appreciate it.

OMM154566_A7 scroll down left column to troubleshooting engine & electrical.

Mark thank you for the help but that is actually the first thing that I went to when the mower first started having issues. I have since checked everything that they suggest being the cause of the problem but I have not been able to locate the source of the issue which is another reason why I think that the starter there in the video is on its way out but I'm not sure.

brian022687 said:

Mark thank you for the help but that is actually the first thing that I went to when the mower first started having issues. I have since checked everything that they suggest being the cause of the problem but I have not been able to locate the source of the issue which is another reason why I think that the starter there in the video is on its way out but I'm not sure.

Click to expand...

Post engine manufacturer, year & all numbers from engine. Try turning engine over by placing both hands on top of engine screen and rotating, if engine will not rotate remove spark plugs and give it a try, if engine rotates only after removing plugs, reinstall plugs and try starting engine. If your engine is B&S you need to adjust valves in order for compression release on camshaft to operate. You will need to adjust valves when engine is cold and per engine specs.

I am going out in a little bit to take another look at it so I will post the engine specs in a little while. I have rotated the screen by hand, both with and without the spark plug and it rotates the same with the plug in and out. After trying to start the engine if I rotate the engine, in either direction, then it will try to turn over again only to just have the starter just start clicking. The cylinder is not flooded neither is the carb, and without the engine turning over I can't test for spark, but I don't think that is the issue since it doesn't even get to a point where it can fire.

the engine is a Briggs & Stratton 33M777-2401