Thanks to rScotty and all who tried to help me. Thanks for the info. I didn't have enough room to try the use open ended wrench, so I hooked the the positive charger cable to the positive battery terminal and touched the other end to the connection with the only terminal that I I could see on the starter solenoid where it has a red wire attached. I got a spark but didn't hear a click. The starter didn't make any sound as far as I could tell. If I have followed the instructions correctly, does that mean the starter is bad or the solenoid is bad or something else?
I am in my 80s and definitely not a mechanic, but hoped that this would be something that I would be able to repair with help.
Hmmmm..... I'm assuming that the battery is hooked up in the normal fashion with the negative terminal going to the frame. Better check that before we go any farther.
So I'm still assuming here that the battery is hooked up right with negative to frame (ground). It sure would help to see a photo of that solenoid and starter to decide where to touch it. But we can probaly figure it out. Glad you went with the cable instead of the wrench trick. That trick works and we all do it, but like a lot of quick and dirty old mechanic tricks there is a big chance of BIG sparks and melted metal the first time you try it.
Most piggyback solenoids have one (rarely two) small terminals, and two larger terminals.
The small terminal gets the signal from the starter button to activate the solenoid. If you put power in the form of a cable from the battery + to that terminal, then the solenoid should makes a "clacking" sound as it becomes an electromagnet and moves contacts inside the solenoid.
Of the two larger heavy battery cable sized terminals on the solenoid, one goes back to the positive of the battery, and the other goes to the starter.
Normally when the solenoid is activated what is happening as it clacks is it is simply throwing a copper bar across those those two heavy terminals where they stick inside the case. It is shorting them together. Those are the same heavy battery cable size terminals that someone said you can access to short with a wrench to make the starter turn. Basically that is what the solenoid does. It shorts those terminals inside a can to protect you from the spartks. Or - more safely - you could jump directly from the battery with the positive battery cable like you did. Touching one of those terminals shouldn't change anything, touching the other should make the starter turn.
The common problem with the solenoid is that that copper bar that is getting thrown by the solenoid to short those two terminals gets old and corroded so it won't carry the current to turn the starter anymore. But even if the copper bar needs cleaning the solenoid normally will make an "clack" sound.
Since yours didn't, we don't know what is wrong, but it is getting close to time to disconnect the starter, remove it, and take it to an auto electric shop to for one or two simple tests - but that's only if you have an auto electric shop with a guy who knows what he is doing. The new all-purpose shops just try to sell you things. ... but you know that.
Alternately if we can dig up a photo or picture of a Cub Cadet RZT50 starter/solenoid combo so I can be more definite about which terminals to touch and a couple of more simple tests to do.
Has anyone got a good drawing or photo of that Cub Cadet RZT50 starter & solenoid?
luck,
rScotty
