Tractor keeps trying to start
 

Hi everyone,

I'm new to Cub Cadets and picked up a 129 to restore recently. The tractor ran great the few times that I used it but the other day I went to start it and the engine wouldn't stop cranking. After pulling the key out, it kept going and going until there was a ton of smoke coming from the charge indicator. I ended up disconnecting the battery to get it to shut down.

I'm going to need a new charging indicator, but I'm not quite sure what else I should look into to figure out what went wrong here. I'm not the most knowledgeable when it comes to electrical issues but any tips would be appreciated!

Could be in the voltage regulator.

Most likely one of two conditions. (A) The Voltage Regulator has some internal contacts Sticking or welded together, or (B) The Starter Solenoid has some internal contacts Sticking or welded together.

AS A TEST......Remove the Blue Wire from the "G" terminal on the V/R. Hook up your battery and tell us what you find.

I'll likely get around to testing this over the weekend. I'm assuming this test would also involve me trying to start the mower, correct?

I'm pretty new to small-engines in general so this may be a silly question. Is it possible that the engine starts, but the electrical system keeps trying to start it again and I do some damage to the engine?

As in next weekend??


No. Just disconnect the wire, then hook up the battery. If something is stuck in the VR, it will immediately try to start when you hook up the battery.


Yes. Only it won't damage the engine, but it will damage the S/G (starter/generator) and likely the V/R (voltage regulator), or both.

Might be a good idea to pull out the spark plug before testing so it cant start, you just want to see if it will still turn over without the G wire.

Brian:

You are reading way too much into this situation. I am trying to help you along by taking the check out procedure "one step at a time".

What I asked you to do would only take 5 minutes and was looking for the results.

Alright, I was able to get out by the tractor this morning and try this out. With the G wire detached and the battery hooked up, I was unable to get it to do anything.

With the G wire attached, it did attempt to start.

So, that would lead me to guess that there are probably no contacts sticking together in the V/R?

This did open my eyes into how dirty the V/R is on this tractor. It may not hurt for me to pull it off and open it up this weekend as an exercise.

What would be a good next step in diagnosing this?

IF...the engine did nothing with the Blue Wire at the "G" terminal of the V/R disconnected.....then replace the V/R.

Same Thing with my 108
 

Strange thing, I am having the exact same problem with my Model 108. I bought from a guy last year and it has run just fine. I am going to go into a story for a bit but just bear with me.

I was plowing snow a few weeks ago and the engine mounting bolts came out. I was coasting into the garage at the time since I had noticed something was wrong. After I got into the garage I turned the key off but the engine wouldn't stop. The fuel was turned down but it still sputtered along. Even after disconnecting the spark plug it still ran. I was finally able to stop it but I later realized it was the battery that ran out and the starter stopped.

After getting new mounting bolts installed I started looking at the starting problem. The engine would run even with the ignition disconnected and so I replaced the magnetic switch. Still have the same problem.

I am now looking at the voltage regulator. Is it possible to remove the voltage regulator and clean it if the contacts are sticking?

Thanks for the help. Kent