105 starter solonoid removal ?
 

Any suggestions on how to remove the lower solonoid nut on a 105 ? It holds the solonoid to the bulkhead under the control panel. Miserable place to reach when it’s 5deg. F and wind @ 20mph. Thanks for any ideas. Steve

Are you replacing the Starter Solenoid or removing the solenoid for other reasons ??

:bigthink:

A little 1/4 drive socket wrench and some patience. If it is bad, just bend it back and forth unit the other mount snaps off.

105 starter solonoid removal
 

OK. Wil ltry some more patience with the socket before I bend it off. A question just occured to me, how to test the solonoid’s condition. Are they go/no go, or do they conduct less primary current with age, and use ? Thanks, Steve

WHY are you trying to remove the starter solenoid? Solenoid can " not work" or you can have poor starting issues such as slow to turn over. Whatever you problem may be, use a multimeter to diagnose. You can test without removing the solenoid before you remove it all for nothing.

A Solenoid is a Magnetic Switch. With no voltage to the small terminals (coil), the switch is open. With 12VDC to the small terminals, the coil is energized pulling up the contacts, allowing Starter Voltage to pass through contacts being closed.

Full disclosure: 105 has been increasingly difficult to start in below 20deg temps. Yesterday( 6 degrees) it turned over slowly and would not start. Drained the battery twice while the motor seduced me with a series of “almost” starts. Gone through the ignition system cleaning wiring connections. The solonoid connections are too difficult to clean in place, so I thought i’d take it out to clean them. I have a new replacement on hand, and if the old one doesn’t check out I can replace it. The old solenoid is the 105’s original. Thanks, Steve

You could do a voltage test on the big terminal going to the S/G during cranking to verify the full battery voltage is going through the solenoid. I have doubts the solenoid is to blame though, never had one cause what is happening.

What size is your battery? I have a 400 ca battery in my 680 and once it’s gets below 25 degrees; it’s still not enough. My 104 was hard to start today and that was with its battery, a car battery and 50 amps from the battery charger. Also, what weight oil are you running?

I generally have a 270/300 CCA battery in my tractors and they start in cold weather without any assist, sometimes sitting a month or more. If your starter/gen is in good working order, ignition system, plug, wire & connections, timing set properly, carb & fuel system free of any demons, it should fire and run pretty quickly. Usually the solenoid is not the issue with slow cranking. just my opinion ! good luck :beerchug:

PS if any of those systems are in marginal condition, they will rear their ugly head when the weather is the worst !

The tractor would not start, and was turning over very slowly. I checked, and cleaned all electrical connections except the solenoid, with no change.
I wanted to take the solenoid out to check and clean all of its’ connections. Once I had it out I decided ti replace it because I had one on hand . It turned over faster, and started on the 3rd revolution. The old solenoid was original to the tractor, and I don't think it has ever been removed. Plug wire, points, air filter, were all replaced this fall, and the oil (Amsoil 10/30-30w for small engines) was changed in Dec. Thanks for all the help!

Good deal !:beerchug: