Outdoor Power Equipment and Small Engines - Poulan Riding Mower Won't Start

Poulan Pro PR17H42STE Lawn tractor won't start. The motor spins but won't engage. If the solenoid is the problem how do I change it. Also, what other not starting problems, either fuel or electrical, that I could possibly cause the same problem.

Does it spin around good and fast?

Try a little starting fluid or gas down the carb....just a little and see if it'll fire off that, if no.... well replace the spark plug (gapped at .30) and hook it to the plug wire and ground the plug to the engine, turn the engine over and watch for a good strong spark. If you have no spark, take the engine shroud off and remove the kill wire off the coil. IF you get spark then, then its a kill switch. Still no spark, well I'd begin to think its a bad coil..... but clean it up and gap it. (.10 or buisness card, make sure it doesn't rub)
Now if it started off the gas right off the bat..... does it have a thing with a couple wires out of it, out of the bottom of the carb? Does it make that "click" noise when you turn the key? make sure gas is getting to the carb as well, take the fuel line off at the carb and let it go and watch for good flow.

If it has spark, won't start on the gas.... , make sure it has compression.... the engine should bounce back when you spin it backwards by hand.

The engine spins when I try to start it. It is almost like when you are starting a older car in the cold. It never catches. It also seems like my battery never stays charged. I bought a new battery and after 1 day of letting my son cut the yard (he restarts the mower a lot) it became hard to start, battery overheated and melted its negative terminal upon trying to restart. Also, noticed smoke coming from the cable connected to the soleniod. Replaced that battery and it started and then shut down. I haven't been able to get it started since. It doesn't click like a car with a low battery would, though after a few times trying to start it I did have to jump the newer battery. Sorry for being so long and discombobulated.

Is the engine turning fast enough when you try to start it? Did you try some starting fluid in the intake to help us determine if you have a fuel related problem or not?

It's almost one in the morning here and just found this site. Just prepping for the fixing it tomorrow, but start diagnosing fuel systems first?

If you want to do some checks now, at night without chancing it starting...pull the spark plug out, connect it to the plug wire, and crank the engine while the plug is touching metal away from the plug hole on the engine. Watch the plug to see if it is sparking. If so, put your finger over the plug hole and crank the engine. Does the pressure try to blow your finger off the plug hole?

My sir, what you propose is a two man operation. I am talking about the check for pressure part, but will do in the morning.
If it did not blow my finger away, what is next?


Another thing, the engine spins fast in response to a previous post.