jimbob200521
Forum Newbie
- Joined
- May 14, 2013
- Threads
- 1
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- 5
Hello everyone, I'm new to the forums although I've lurked around them for a bit, reading and learning what I could.
Anywho, I recently picked up my first riding mower, an 80's John Deere 111H for $150 that was owned by a well off gentleman locally that kept it at his summer home, so it didn't see much use he said. Fully equipped with a flat rear tire and bad spindle bearing on one of the deck pulleys, I figured $60 in parts and an afternoons work and I'd be set for a while. After a new tire was put on and the spindle bearings were replaced, I was off. I did all the usual stuff I do to a new motor in my garage; changed the oil, spark plug (which, btw, the one I pulled out looked as clean as a brand new one so I stuck it back in), and gave her a once over. The next day, I mowed the yard, trouble free except when I stopped and turned the deck off to move a branch. I got back on, flipped the switch and nothing until about a minute later, then the deck fired back up. Figuring it was a fluke, I cleaned all the easily accessible electrical connections the next day. Fast forward a couple days and she won't start; dead battery. I was told the battery was about a year old when I bought it so I pulled out the multi meter and it read 12.xx volts. Cranked it and it dropped to almost nothing. Seeing as I had seen a new mower battery on Craigslist only a day before, I went and picked up a (new) used battery, had it tested at O'Reilly's and installed it. Tractor started up. Put the multimeter on the posts and am reading 12.49 volts which means she's not charging. I pulled everything apart and took a few pictures, posted below.
One thing I neglected to mention is the guy apparently lost the key, so his son (or some shade tree mechanic) "fixed" the issue by replacing the need for a key with a push button switch to start the tractor so he must have bypassed a few things.
So finally to my point; I want to make sure everything that is on the tractor is wired up correctly before I invest in a new starter. Anything else I should check? Or anything else I can do before purchasing a new starter?
^^^^^^Are those posts supposed to be shorted out like that?
If there's any pictures anyone wants, let me know. Otherwise, thank you for reading this and for any help anyone can offer, I appreciated it in advance!!
PS - be kind, I know she's dirty, I haven't gotten to the cleaning stage yet haha
Anywho, I recently picked up my first riding mower, an 80's John Deere 111H for $150 that was owned by a well off gentleman locally that kept it at his summer home, so it didn't see much use he said. Fully equipped with a flat rear tire and bad spindle bearing on one of the deck pulleys, I figured $60 in parts and an afternoons work and I'd be set for a while. After a new tire was put on and the spindle bearings were replaced, I was off. I did all the usual stuff I do to a new motor in my garage; changed the oil, spark plug (which, btw, the one I pulled out looked as clean as a brand new one so I stuck it back in), and gave her a once over. The next day, I mowed the yard, trouble free except when I stopped and turned the deck off to move a branch. I got back on, flipped the switch and nothing until about a minute later, then the deck fired back up. Figuring it was a fluke, I cleaned all the easily accessible electrical connections the next day. Fast forward a couple days and she won't start; dead battery. I was told the battery was about a year old when I bought it so I pulled out the multi meter and it read 12.xx volts. Cranked it and it dropped to almost nothing. Seeing as I had seen a new mower battery on Craigslist only a day before, I went and picked up a (new) used battery, had it tested at O'Reilly's and installed it. Tractor started up. Put the multimeter on the posts and am reading 12.49 volts which means she's not charging. I pulled everything apart and took a few pictures, posted below.
One thing I neglected to mention is the guy apparently lost the key, so his son (or some shade tree mechanic) "fixed" the issue by replacing the need for a key with a push button switch to start the tractor so he must have bypassed a few things.
So finally to my point; I want to make sure everything that is on the tractor is wired up correctly before I invest in a new starter. Anything else I should check? Or anything else I can do before purchasing a new starter?
^^^^^^Are those posts supposed to be shorted out like that?
If there's any pictures anyone wants, let me know. Otherwise, thank you for reading this and for any help anyone can offer, I appreciated it in advance!!
PS - be kind, I know she's dirty, I haven't gotten to the cleaning stage yet haha
