C101 Starter, bendix stuck on while running, stater dead now

[Reddart 207]

So I ran my C101 today for an hour straight mowing the lawn. Shut it down to clean it up before putting it away, and when attempting to start it, it did a click and very weak attempt to start (turned over slightly, sluggishly). 
 

looked at the starter and the bendix was stuck engaged…I likely ran it for an hour like that. Unstuck the bendix by pushing the tractor forward in gear. Starter clicked a couple times with a sluggish turn, and then now nothing, no click or anything. 
 

So I assume the starter needs to be replaced, but by the engine being run an hour with the bendix engaged, would there be anything else that could have been damaged?

[Rick3478 428]

No reason to assume it was running with the bendix engaged.  It's on spiral splines that kick it out when the engine speeds up.  More likely either the battery died or the charging system has quit working.

[oliver2-44 9,756]

Yep, the starter bendix probable stuck when you did that last start attempt with a low battery

[Gasaholic 224]

If it was a Kohler Starter, and bendix jammed - there's 2 things I'd note: 1) Surprised you couldn't hear / feel the difference (It'd have been making a racket, or should have, one that even I, being completely deaf, could actually feel the difference in how the engine runs - all the way through the frame to steering wheel- so I'd imagine it would have been very noisy.) and 2) If it ran that way with bendix stuck, you'd probably have overheated and worn out the bushings in the starter, and/or worse yet the magnets epoxied to the side of the starter case separated and/or broke, and/or wore out the brushes from all that spinning.  

 

If lucky, the magnets will still be solid (NEVER whack side of starter to get it to work again , it breaks the magnets rendering the starter jammed even worse) and you can rebuild starter with new bushings and brush set (Both still available in aftermarket and/or bearing supply, last I knew of) and of course probably a new bendix kit.   We had a few of those now and then, usually after someone got the bright idea to grease/oil the bendix spiral on the starter shaft and dirt /crud built up making it sticky (They also liked to stick in disengaged position and would never kick out to engage ring gear)  

 

If you are not so lucky, then most likely you need a new starter at the very least. But also diagnose the cause of why it stuck in case it was something that could cause new starter to fail too. (Ring gear problem, starter might need to be shimmed, or something wedged behind starter mounting causing it to go out of alignment, etc..) 

[wallfish 17,000]

I'm guessing dead battery and or maybe even a loose ground connection. The solenoid has nothing to do with the starter except supplying it with power to start. If the starter is bad or jammed it should still click unless there's an electrical issue. 

A low battery charge or resistance in that starter circuit can cause the bendix to stick in the ring gear and give sluggish start. Loose ground could stop it from charging, act as resistance simulating a dead battery, cause the solenoid not to click and cause that "sluggish" start. Not enough power getting there

Use a jump box or jumper cables and try to start it. If that works then check charging circuit, battery and cable connections for the cause of why the battery is low .  

 

A bad solenoid could cause some of your starting issues. Worn starter too but again the solenoid should still click. Possible multiple things???.

 

Edited August 22, 2023 by wallfish

[Reddart 207]

Well, you folks that applied Occam’s razor to the problem were correct. Looks like a charging issue. The battery is only a few months old, so I don’t think it is that. I checked the tractor today and it only had 11.5v on the battery , jumped it with my car and it fired right up. Runs after disconnecting the jumper, but is at 11.7v while running. I assume I should see 13ish volts if it were charging while running?

 

checked battery, ground, solenoid connects and all seems good. Haven’t checked the ammeter yet…I know that could be a point of poor charging should that be loose. Anything else to check? How does the charging system work on a Kohler 10hp C101?

[pfrederi 17,741]

Diagnostics

 

 

[oliver2-44 9,756]

Make sure your voltage regulator has a good ground.