Troy-Built Pony 42" 17.5 HP 7-speed nothing when key is turned

Mariner1

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  • / Troy-Built Pony 42" 17.5 HP 7-speed nothing when key is turned
Hello! Trying to fix up a cheap find rider so I can get out of push mowing. Mower looks great. Starter spins fine when hooked directly to a battery with jumper cables. Lights won't even turn on when jumpers are hooked to the battery connection, and switch is switched on. I'm using a car battery with jumpers to test. Don't want to put out $$ for a battery until it's running. I have tried disassembling the ignition switch and cleaning the contacts. No change. I have a meter, but not sure what to test? Any ideas or suggestions greatly appreciated. Thanks
 

ILENGINE

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  • / Troy-Built Pony 42" 17.5 HP 7-speed nothing when key is turned
Go through the following test procedures, and post your results, and it will narrow down the problem quickly in most cases.

Electrical* problems can be very easy or very difficult, depending on four things.
1. * How well you understand basic electricity.
2. *What tools you have and know how to use.
3. *How well you follow directions.
4. *You don't overlook or assume anything and verify everything.

Remember we cannot see what you are doing. *You are our eyes, ears and fingers in solving this problem. *You must be as accurate as you can when you report back. *The two basic tools we will ask you to use are a test light and a multi-meter. *If you have an assistant when going through these tests it would be very helpful. *These steps work the best when done in order, so please don't jump around. *Now let's solve this problem.

First, check the fuse(s), check battery connections for corrosion (clean if necessary) and *voltage - above 12.5 volts should be good.*

Second, check for power from the battery to one of the large terminals on the solenoid. *One of the wires is connected directly to the battery and has power all the time so one of the large terminals should light a test light or show 12 volts on a meter at all times.*

Third, *check for power at the small terminal of the solenoid while depressing the clutch/brake pedal and holding the key in the start position (you may need an assistant to sit in the seat to override the safety switch). If your solenoid is a four wire solenoid, check both small wire terminals as one is ground and the other is power from the ignition switch. *If your solenoid is a three wire solenoid, make sure the solenoid body is not corroded where it bolts to the chassis of the mower as this is your ground path back to the battery. *If in doubt, remove the solenoid and clean the mounting area down to bare metal. *If there is no power to the small terminal then your problem is most likely a safety switch, ignition switch or in the wiring.*

Fourth, check for power on the other large terminal of the solenoid while holding the key in the start position (you may need an assistant to sit in the seat to override the safety switch). *If you have power what is the voltage?

Fifth, check for power at the starter while holding the key in the start position (assistant again). *If you have power what is the voltage?

Sixth, check your ground circuit back to the battery.

After you have gone through each of the above steps, let us know what happened when you did each step. *At that point we will have great info to tell you how to proceed. *Remember you are our eyes, ears, and fingers, so please be as accurate as possible.

Be as specific as possible with voltage readings as this will help diagnose your problem quicker. *If you do not know how to perform the above checks, just ask and I will try to guide you through it. *Youtube also has some videos and as you know a picture is worth a thousand words.
 

Fish

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  • / Troy-Built Pony 42" 17.5 HP 7-speed nothing when key is turned
First thing to do is get a new key switch, as the one you took apart is junk, and may/will destroy your ignition module because
of all of those little springs/contacts sending stray voltage to it.
 

Mariner1

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  • / Troy-Built Pony 42" 17.5 HP 7-speed nothing when key is turned
Re: Troy-Built Pony 42" 17.5 HP 7-speed starter turns not cranking

Thanks for the tips. I re-did the jumper cable connections to the battery leads and at the full size 12v battery I'm using to test with, and pulled the two small connectors from the solenoid and plugged them back in. Starter spins great now. The ignition switch is one of the plastic 4 position 7 prong types, and is easy to disassemble and the springs are totally isolated from the contacts. It may still have a problem, as the head lights still do not come on. The arc is orange from spark plug wire to screwdriver to block, didn't have time to check spark color on plug before dark. New gas and I know it's getting to the carb, because the carb started leaking until I tapped on the electric plunger thing it has on the bottom of the bowl with a small wrench. I sprayed a bit of gas into the air intake side, in an effort to prime and maybe get the engine to try to crank as I'm turning the starter over, but it's not firing. Will check out youtube again and see what I can find on it. Thanks again for any suggestions.
 
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