19 hp . kaw. wont turn over only clicks

[ant]

only clicks when i turn the key. if i tap on the solenoid arera it sometimes turns over.
could it be the solenoid?

[PTP]

Does it turn over really strong when you tap the solenoid? If so, then that is probably your problem. If it is still kind of weak, most likely a battery problem. A weak battery will give the exact same symptoms that you were describing.

[viper00085]

is the solenoid built into the starter or a serperate one? If its serperate, follow the red lead to the starter motor and check the voltage with a meter getting to the starter when the key is on the crank position. if you getting approx 10-12 volts to it, its maybe a bad starter or something wrong with the engine that is making it tight and hard to turn over. If you can manually grab the flywheel screen or something and feel how easy or hard it is to physically rotate the motor by hand. If its difficult, maybe an electric clutch bearing going bad and locking the motor down or something internal of the engine itself.

If your not getting the voltage to the starter motor, it maybe the solenoid itself or other safety/electrical issues that tell the solenoid what to do.

If its a solenoid shift starter where the solenoid is built into the side of the starter motor, there is usually one blue wire (flat spade, slip on connection). that is the one that tells the solenoid when to allow the starter to crank, check that your getting power to it when the key is in crank position. if voltage is there, unit side is okay, something wrong with either starter motor itself or the shift solenoid. There are about 3-5 test for these style motors, but the best thing to do, is repl the whole starter and forget about repairing it and get back to making money.

[LarryF]

Check your battery first. There's a good chance that it's nothing more than a battery terminal that has turned black from corrosion. Remove the + cable, scrape the battery terminal and the clamp on the cable and see if that helps. It takes a lot of current to start an engine, and even a little bit of corrosion can cause the problem you described.