18.5hp Briggs & Stratton won't crank

The motor on my Craftsman riding mower won't crank. Initially it would struggle to crank over once. Now it won't crank over at all. I have a new battery, a new starter, a new solenoid and a new ignition switch. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Hello Stephen... & WELCOME to LMF...

It is much more economical to find out what is bad and replace That single part than start replacing things until you happen across the defective piece...

But it sounds as if you have a lot of new pieces so I do hope you kept the parts you removes because it's likely they are good & there are Times that New parts are bad, or with electrical parts, not the correct internal layout... so you really need to find whats not working...

When you attempt to start it is there any sound at all?
Can you carefully turn the engine over by hand?
Is there anything preventing the engine turning over, like belt(s) on the pulley(s) binding up?
When you hold to start for a couple seconds, is anything getting warm OR Hot?
Please post back with your findings on the above 4 things and I bet someone gives you a quick response... :smile:KennyV

Thanks Kenny. Actually, when I turn the key it makes a clicking sound which I thought was a dead battery, but that's not the case. I can turn the motor by hand so I know it's not locked up, hopefully. Nothing seems to be binding the engine that I can see. And yes, when I keep the key in the start position for a couple of seconds things begin to get hot such as the positive cable running to the starter and the starter, as well. I hope this clarifies some things and maybe someone has a solution. Thanks again.

After you turn the engine by hand and hit the ignition again, does it spin or does it still just click. If it spins after that, you may need to check your adjustment on the valves. Something else we have experienced is if you get a battery, say from wal-mart, the cranking amps may not be what you need for your mower. The ones we sell for mowers have 330 cca. That is the standard battery though, there are other mowers that will take special batteries.

It is odd that you are getting a click with all those new parts, but if it is clicking as you say we should be able to rule out the safety switches.

I have a 90's GT6000 with a 20 HP onan - says on a printed tag on the battery cable "No less then 500CCA battery"- then again that has a electric deck clutch and linear actuator to lift the deck - i prefer bigger CCA batteries anyway- they last a whole lot longer then smaller ones.

Thanks for the tips. I will try charging the battery to see if I drained trying to start it.

If it's a OHV engine, I can almost guarantee you that you just need to adjust the valves. It is a very simple process, and it only takes about 10 minutes. You can see how to do it online. I was having the same problem you had, and my engine started right up after I adjusted the valves. Just a suggestion...