Since the voltage remains normal except under load, and the excess resistance seems to be isolated to whatever is going on under the engine cover, I am assuming that the problem lies there. I have not yet worked up the nerve to try cranking it. Same thing if I jump from the battery to the 20 amp fuse (just bypassing whatever is inside the engine housing). If I jump from the battery to the ignition, then the voltage reads normal when I turn on the ignition, and the horn even works. If I measure the voltage open circuit, I get 12.6 volts, but if I turn on the ignition, it drops to about 7 volts, and if I press the horn button, it drops to about 2 volts. The green wire passes through a 20 amp GM type fuse and then to the B terminal of the ignition switch. A green and a large red wire and some other wires then exit the housing through a separate connector and enter a harness. Two of the three wires from the large solenoid terminal in the original image enter the Kohler engine housing through an L-shaped flexible connector (the green wire directly and the large red wire via an inline fuse). I've been doing some more hunting for possible corroded connections. But I noticed that pressing the horn button would kill the engine. Can I safely just apply 12 volts to the terminal with the blue wire to test the solenoid itself? I have done some reading on solenoids tonight, including some interesting information on this forum about Kohler solenoids. But I sure would welcome any suggestions from anyone who has some ideas on where to begin. Or could the problem be the solenoid that is partially shorting out? I'll get back to this in the morning when I have better light. The decreased voltage when pressing the horn button seems to support this. I suspect that some corroded connection somewhere between the battery and the blue wire to the solenoid could be causing excessive resistance. The gradually increasing voltage I measured confused me. I think I recall that solenoids years ago simply used 12 volts at low current to energize an electromagnet to engage the pinion and connect the high current to run the starter motor. If I pressed the horn switch, the voltage would drop about in half, but not to zero. If I disengaged the emergency brake or engaged the PTO, the voltage immediately went to zero, so I assume the safety switches were not the problem. When I turned it to "start," the voltage went to about 20 millivolts and then gradually rose to about 60 to 70 millivolts and tapered off. With the key off or on the voltage was zero. A red alligator clip lead is on that terminal and is connected to my multimeter. A small blue wire from the wiring harness goes to what looks like a magenta connector. The attached image shows a closeup of the Delco solenoid and part of the starter, with the large red cable from the battery plus three other wires to the same terminal. As a teenager 50 years ago I used to jump the starter on my old rail job, but I hesitated trying that on modern equipment-especially since it was getting a little dark. The power deck lift moves up and down normally. I also noticed that the horn would not blow, but I never use it, and didn't know if it might be defective. Charging the battery and cleaning the battery connections did not help. My 2006 61" Gizmow ZTR with a Kohler Command Pro 27 engine would not start today.
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