I have a older Weedeater 12538 riding mover, with the 12.5 BS I/C motor.I pulled out the mower to complete some maintenance for the season. Put in battery, attempted to start, and starter would not turn. tried to charge battery, but would not hold charge, so thinking the battery was dying, I replaced it, now it still would not turn the starter.

I can hear a singular click that I think is the solenoid but nothing from the starter. I ran a jumper from the positive battery terminal to the starter with no results. I thought the starter was bad, so I took it to a shop, and they tested it and said that it was cooked, probably the armature, so i got a replacement.

Took it home installed it, connected the battery, and still nothing other than the solenoid clicking.

Are there any other fuses that I should check.

The motor turns by hand, with minimal effort.


Thanks in advance for your help.

I have tried downloading engine info from B and S's website, but keep getting error messages upon download.

And can't get any info from weedeater/poulan's website.

Thanks again

What is "Armature Air Gap"?

I was finally able to download the manuals from B&S's website, and when reading it I saw a listing for armature air gap being 0.010 to 0.014.

I still can't figure this out, and would really appreciate some feedback.

Thanks again.

Don't worry about armature air gap, That has nothing to do with the engine cranking over.

Sounds like a solenoid problem;

While pushing the brake/clutch pedal and holding the key in the start position smack the right hand side of steering console with a hammer just above your foot. If it starts cranking over replace the solenoid, If you have a automotive test light or multimeter you can check for voltage on both the large cables on top of the solenoid in the start position. If you don't have voltage on both replace the solenoid.


Good Luck

Thanks a bunch i'll try that in the morning.

About how much is a Solenoid?

Eighteen dollar range plus tax..... ;)

Thanks for the info, I replaced the solenoid this morning, and she runs like a top now.


Thanks again