Correct wire gauge for k241

[Bowdoinham Dan 8]

I have a Raider 10 with a K241 engine that won't turn over.  It's totally dead.  Headlights won't even turn on.  I've got a brand new battery and new battery terminal wires, but the small wiring is old and this might be the problem:  a disconnection somewhere.  So I'm gonna rewire some parts with new wire.  

 

Does anyone know the correct wire gauge to buy?  I can't find it listed in the manual.  

[rmaynard 15,609]

It was originally a combination of 14 gauge and 16 gauge for everything but the battery cables. To simplify, I would just use 14 gauge.

[953 nut 55,815]

If your Raider has the ignition switch that powers the starter directly rather than using a solenoid the switch probably is the problem. Here are a couple wiring diagrams you may want to use to get away from the older style switch. One is for battery powered ignition with points and the other is for electronic. Raiders came both ways depending on the year.

 

[Bowdoinham Dan 8]

It's a K241S- -electric start with a 15 amp alternator.  There's a solenoid.  I'll start replacing old wires with 14 gauge and see what happens.  For what it's worth, the tractor made a buzz buzz buzz sound when I turned the key  before it quit.  A buddy of mine was not able to get it to turn over using jumper cable from the POS terminal to the solenoid.  He thinks it's the stator, but I'm going to try the simple solutions first.

 

It's annoying.  7 inches of fresh powder last night and I can't run my wh-powered snowblower!

[rmaynard 15,609]

Download the Kohler manual from the files section of this forum. In the electrical section is the procedure for testing the stator. The stator has nothing to do with starting the engine. However, if it is bad (which I doubt) you will not be able to maintain a charge to the battery, and a weak battery can cause a world of problems.

[rmaynard 15,609]

I'm going to venture a guess that your problem lies in this area:

 

The arrow points to the engine anti-vibration cradle. The cradle is isolated from the frame with rubber mounts. Therefore, it is not grounded to the frame or battery. So Wheel Horse added a separate ground wire from the cradle to the frame. Your starter ground is made through the bolts that connect the starter to the engine block. The block is grounded to the cradle through the mounting bolts, and the cradle is grounded to the frame via a 6 or 4 gauge cable. The battery connects to the frame and completes that ground circuit to the starter.

 

Check this ground path first. It is a common problem with all 1978 and later tractors with the cradle mount.

[JimmyJam 542]

Just throwing it out there: .... 953 nut  made an excellent point .... depending on the year of the Kohler.  I recently acquired a 1973 "No Name" 12.  Couldn't get to start. After some research, I found out that in that one year, 1973, Kohler used a Solid State breakerless ignition module. Mine was bad.  Just throwing it out there!

Edited December 26, 2017 by JimmyJam

[rmaynard 15,609]

Good point when it comes to an engine that won't start due to no ignition (spark), but in this case his engine won't turn over, which has nothing to do with ignition.

[953 nut 55,815]

6 hours ago, JimmyJam said:

Just throwing it out there: .... 953 nut  made an excellent point .... depending on the year of the Kohler.  I recently acquired a 1973 "No Name" 12.  Couldn't get to start. After some research, I found out that in that one year, 1973, Kohler used a Solid State breakerless ignition module. Mine was bad.  Just throwing it out there!

The only reason I included the two drawings is that we didn't know what year Raider 10 we were dealing with. With the additional information I am thinking that the first step should be to clean and tighten ALL electrical connections including grounds. I would also suggest moving the ground cable to the engine block.