(tools clattering)
- Hey guys, welcome back to my small engine repair channel.
Today, I'm going to show you guys how easy it is
to fix a lawn tractor that clicks, but won't start.
Now, what I mean by lawn tractor that clicks
and won't start is when you go to turn the key,
all you hear is click click, but the engine won't turn over.
Now, usually this happens
after you've had it stored all winter.
You take it out in the spring and nothing is happening,
except click click and the engine won't turn.
Now it just so happens that I have a lawn tractor here
in the shop with this exact same problem
and I'm going to show you exactly what I mean.
So now I'm going to try and start this tractor
and all you're going to hear is clicking noises.
(motor clicking)
Now this is the clicking noise I'm talking about.
(motor clicking)
Now, if you're having this exact same problem
that I just showed you now, what's going on
with your lawn tractor is either a bad battery
or a bad connection.
Now, usually the main culprit will be a bad battery.
This is what I encounter here in the shop most often times,
especially in the spring time
when people take their machines out
and all they can hear is that clicking noise.
So if you're having this issue, what you wanna do
is locate where the battery is on your lawn tractor.
Usually it's underneath the seat, you just pop it up,
there's the battery.
If you don't see the battery underneath the seat,
you will have to pop the hood up because sometimes it can be
behind the engine exactly where the fuel tank is.
So in this case, it's underneath the seat.
Now the first thing you want to look at
are the connections on the battery,
you wanna make sure they're clean.
If these connectors are dirty or corroded,
it may cause the clicking noise that is happening
that you just heard on the tractor.
If that's the case, just take them off,
clean them up with a wire brush and put them back on
and make sure that the connectors are on there tight.
If the connectors are loose on the battery terminals
you will get a clicking sound most of the time.
Now another thing you might want to locate
is the date of the battery.
This one here was put in, in 2017,
it's about three years old.
Most batteries on lawn tractors only last
about three to four years at the most.
So if you have an older battery, guys,
you can try to charge it first
but in most cases you will have to replace it
if it's over three years old.
Once you've charged it, if it keeps going dead
and it still keeps clicking when you try
to start the tractor, then just replace the battery.
Now, if you don't have time to charge up the battery,
you need the machine right away,
you can always use a battery booster here like this.
Once you get the machine running,
the battery will charge up itself with the engine.
Now, if you don't have a battery charger
and you don't want to wait to charge up the battery,
you can always use a battery booster like this,
hook it up, turn it on and it should start immediately.
That's what I'm going to do right now, just to show you
how quickly that clicking noise will go away.
(engine staggering)
And you can see the engine wants to go right away here.
You do have to hold the brake pedal in, guys.
(engine rumbling)
So I did this just to show you how quickly
you can get your machine started, even if it's clicking.
And if you get it started with the booster like I just did
that clearly indicates that the battery is bad.
It's either bad or just needs a good charge up.
Now, in addition to making sure
that the cables on the battery are nice and clean and tight,
you wanna make sure that the wires on the solenoid are
in good condition as well and nice and tight and clean.
And here's a closeup look at the solenoid.
Now the positive battery cables
or cable will connect to this solenoid here.
So you wanna make sure that these nuts are nice
and tight and that the cables are nice and clean
where it connects to the solenoid right here.
You also wanna make sure that the small wires
that connect to these tabs here are not corroded
and that they're making a good connection.
Now, in some cases, you also have to make sure
that the metal part of the solenoid is well grounded
on the body of the lawn tractor.
So what I'm talking about here is
where it bolts on to the frame.
You wanna make sure it's getting a good connection,
a good ground on the frame of the tractor.
Now, before replacing your battery,
you might want to test it.
If you have a load tester like this,
you can quickly test it.
Here in Canada, you can take your battery to Canadian Tire,
they'll test it for you for free.
And also some different auto parts stores
will test the battery for you for free as well.
And sometimes just putting a multimeter
and reading the volts will not give you a clear indication
as to whether the battery is good or not.
You may have 10 to 12 volts or more
but when the battery's under load, it does not stand up
to the cranking amps required by the starter.
So that's why it's good to test it
with an actual load tester battery tester
to give you a true reading
as to whether the battery is good or not.
And I'll just quickly show you guys here, how that works.
I'll just put the negative on the negative post here,
positive on positive.
So right away here, it's telling me
that the battery is somewhat good.
I'm going to put it under load here for about five seconds.
And it's indicating that it's bad.
So maybe once it's charged, it may not be so bad
but as soon as it goes under load, it's done.
Now, not everybody has a battery tester
or access to get the battery tested.
So the best thing I can tell you guys is charge up
your battery properly, give it a good, nice, long charge.
Then when you come to start your machine,
if it doesn't click and the machine turns over and runs
then the battery's still good.
It's that simple.
You don't need to do anything special
except check all the connections, charge the battery
and that's about it.
Also, if the battery is more than three years old,
you probably need to replace it.
Now, if you go to start the machine,
you've got a good battery, the connections are all good
and you hear nothing, you have no click,
no noise whatsoever,
it could be that you need to replace the solenoid.
Also, you wanna make sure that the safety switches are
in good working order.
And on most machines nowadays,
you have to be sitting on the tractor
and you do have to have your foot on the brake pedal
or the clutch pedal and have it pushed in all the way
for the safety features to work.
And you also have to make sure
that the deck is disengaged, not engaged.
And, because this machine has been sitting
for about three years, I'm going to give it a good charge,
I'm going to try it out.
If it keeps going, the battery's good.
If it doesn't wanna go, I'm just going to replace it.
So I've let the battery charge all night here.
You can see that the charger is reading a full charge,
the light's green.
The tractor does turn over and start with that battery,
however, it is weak.
And I'll put the tester on just to show you guys how, even
after charging a bad battery, it will go weak really quick.
So I've got the tester hooked on,
I'm going to put a load on for about five seconds.
You can see how quickly it goes down,
if I let go and go back.
It's pretty well in the red.
So this battery is pretty well in need of being replaced.
Now you could just charge it up every time
or leave a trickle charger on it.
It probably would still start your tractor every time
but if you don't have the trickle charger on,
you're going to go to use the machine
and a battery will be dead.
Okay, so I've just put a new battery in the tractor.
I'll start it up to show you that it cured the problem.
One quick tip guys, is if you get a new battery,
just throw it on a battery charger for a bit
just to top it up.
Sometimes when you buy them they're not fully charged.
And now we should have no issues whatsoever.
(engine rumbling)
So, again, this just shows
that if you have a clicking lawn tractor,
it's more than likely your battery or some connection.
So it's that simple guys.
I'm just going to reiterate what to check here.
If you go to start your machine
and it clicks like you did earlier in the video,
check your battery, check the connectors
and make sure that the battery is fully charged.
Because when you hear that clicking noise
it means that there's not enough power going
to the starter of the engine to turn it over.
So, if my video has helped you guys
to diagnose your machine that just clicks
and won't start, please like the video
and share it with your friends.
Also make sure you're following me
on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
and thanks again for watching and have a great day.
(tools clattering)