Christmasfarms

I have a Troy Bilt 17 hp lawn tractor 42" cut. I will not start. When it turns over it seems like it has to much compression. I can take the spark plug out and it spins freely. I have tried a different starter off of another 17 hp take cranks fine. I have tried using a larger battery but I still have the same problem. Can anyone help me?

mack1

Hi Christmasfarms and welcome to TSF,

It's not clear to me how that starter acted on the Troy Bilt. Was it draggy like the original, or did it work fine?

I'm going to assume it did not work well and make these suggestions.
Measure the voltage across the battery while cranking. Does the 12 volts drop to under 9 volts? (this would indicate that the starter is drawing a lot of current.) Since you've tried another starter and battery, I must assume the connections are good. Check the connections at the starter solenoid. Also, feel the solenoid and see if it gets hot while cranking. Check the ground connection at the frame or engine from the battery.

If you can get the the starter terminal easily, try using jumper cables straight from the battery to the starter with the ground jumper clamped on the engine and see if that will give it a faster spin.

Let us know what you find.

Very best regards,
Mack1