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All of the sudden my kawasaki engined cubcadet wont start. It started , then stalled , now makes strangest noise ,but isn't kickin over. Has a new battery, fuel filter , oil , oil filter , spark plug this season. Has been years w/o issue. Not sure how to troubleshoot, guessing starter. The model is Kawasaki FH661V for rzt 50. Attached is a small video clip of the sound, any advice would be great, I'm fairly handy, but have no clue here, starter ? Coil ? Hoping the sound will be familiar to someone. Thanks in advance!!

No video

Hmm the attachment was removed... Here is a link to the video

I've heard that noise before, usually the starter solenoid was bad, or not getting enough voltage from the battery, could also be a bad connection/ground.

While it could be a bad solenoid, It sound to me too rapid fire fo that.
I feel it may be a seized engine causing the starter to ossolate.
To verify try to rotate the engine by hand, use a long spannar on the pulley bolt to see if you can turn the engine one full turn.
Normally you would turn the engine over by the debris screen but not with Kawasakis as the screen sits on a spider that is easily bent.
Hope for your case that Scrubbie is right but fear he is not.

OK removed the screen . Here is what I got when turning
If seized It shouldn't budge, no ?
The battery is maybe 2 months old and has been a champ. I also tried my portable jump starter ( for my car ) . Same result.
Thanks so much for the replies. Any other suggestions ?

Like Bert said - you need to turn it a FULL turn. You can get past compression by hand.
You can bypass the solenoid with jumper cables to the starter terminal and a ground.

dougand3 said:

Like Bert said - you need to turn it a FULL turn. You can get past compression by hand.
You can bypass the solenoid with jumper cables to the starter terminal and a ground.

Click to expand...

I 2nd the above.

I realized my video didn't show the full turn. So back to the shed.

While I know what a solenoid is and basically how it works. Not sure how to identify it or what would count as a good ground ( chassis ?) Or do I need a steak in the ground ? Thanks again !!

Okay, probably not seized up, first i would check that your battery cables are still tight,
Now, i think on this kawasaki, the solenoid is piggy backed on the starter. Check for any loose connections there. and if you have a multimeter, check if you have voltage to the solenoid from the battery

Scrubcadet10 said:

Okay, probably not seized up, first i would check that your battery cables are still tight,
Now, i think on this kawasaki, the solenoid is piggy backed on the starter. Check for any loose connections there. and if you have a multimeter, check if you have voltage to the solenoid from the battery

Click to expand...

Ok this will have to wait for part 2. I'll report back my findings or more likely more questions , many thanks for your help !!

Check your battery connections. Make sure it isn't hooked up backwards.

IF that was a normal adult male turning the flywheel then the compression release is no working it should not be that hard to rotate the engine.
Next step is to remove the spark plug & try again
IF the engine spins freely then time to adjust the valve lash
If not then as already advised check all of the connections of the battery cables, both the + & the -

Another thing I would check to see if when you turn the key to start, if the starter gear hops up and meshes with the flywheel gear

Scrubcadet10 said:

Another thing I would check to see if when you turn the key to start, if the starter gear hops up and meshes with the flywheel gear

Click to expand...

Doesn't appear to

A friend mentioned whack the starter with a hammer. Which required some disassembly. Found a mouse nest *sigh* . Vacummed that up and hit it a bunch I did , still no go but the noise was greatly diminished, so I assume it lacked juice. Put the jump on and and it started. So I thought problem solved. Re-assembled , when to try again, nope. Pulled back apart, starter doesn't appear to engage the flywheel.


Is it the solenoid that is responsible for that engagement ? I'm still not sure what it looks like or how to verify it. Saw some Youtube videos , but not sure what matches what I have.

Oh Yea , battery connections appear very tight. I would guess if that were the problem it would be completely dead not just partially dead.. Then again I find this stuff a bit mystical.

OK while looking for the solenoid ( which I still have no idea) I wiggled connections , moved the starter. Worked twice. Now not sure what to think. I know the second I put all back together it will stop. Any thoughts ?

Check wiring, battery condition, good + and - connections, good frame ground and so on. Those mice most likely chewed your wires up. Look for wires that now, don't go anywhere.

slomo

Looked all over , no signs of damaged wires. Thing was working fine this morning . Reassembled everything and now it's dead again. Not even making the noise.

When you say reassembled what all do you put back on? Just the cover?

Battery might not have enough current for turn over. Have the battery load tested at an auto parts store.

Your bendix isn't even pushing up the starter gear like ScrubCadet10 said. You admit to mice and we see your starter isn't working like normal.

evanwellens said:

OK while looking for the solenoid ( which I still have no idea) I wiggled connections , moved the starter. Worked twice. Now not sure what to think. I know the second I put all back together it will stop. Any thoughts ?

Click to expand...

evanwellens said:

OK while looking for the solenoid ( which I still have no idea) I wiggled connections , moved the starter. Worked twice. Now not sure what to think. I know the second I put all back together it will stop. Any thoughts ?

Click to expand...

Which tells me loose/poor/mice chewed wiring and or connectors/connections. Or when you jiggled the starter, the starter gear went up and contacted the flywheel momentarily.

slomo