# starter not engaging on Ariens Deluxe 30"



## mpera (Dec 17, 2016)

I have an Ariens 30" deluxe 921032. I think my solenoidis sticking, push starter button it just spins but rarely can get to engage andif it does it seems to hold for a second.

Had her running yesterday from hand crank, but can't get herto fire. I think this is about 3-4 years old, wanted electric start for obviousreasons, the pull rope is short barely get a decent crank on it. 

I saw someone else with a previous post and a guy name Normput a couple of links for the parts diagrams but those links are no longervalid.

This looks like a difficult starter to remove as you can seea couple of screw that you can't get a driver on, wonder if anyone has done it,or has any ideas.

Wish I could post a picture to show how this is mounted andimbedded, can't believe I have to take to a repair man to get at a starterissue. Thanks for any info.


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## CO Snow (Dec 8, 2011)

You need a minimum number of posts (10?) before you can post photos.


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## mpera (Dec 17, 2016)

*Ariens 921032 Deluxe 30*



mpera said:


> I have an Ariens 30" deluxe 921032. I think my solenoidis sticking, push starter button it just spins but rarely can get to engage andif it does it seems to hold for a second.
> 
> Had her running yesterday from hand crank, but can't get herto fire. I think this is about 3-4 years old, wanted electric start for obviousreasons, the pull rope is short barely get a decent crank on it.
> 
> ...


Yesterday I decided to go ahead and start taking this apart despite the service tech at the home depot telling me it would be too difficult if I hadn't done it before. It required removing three shroud covers and the muffler cover, the last being the fly wheel cover. Once that was off I could see the bolts for the starter (who knows why they would put these inside requiring all these steps just to pull the starter off.) 


The Bendix didn't look bad teeth on flywheel and Bendix fine, so I took the Bendix cover off re-lubed the gears cleaned the shaft with brake cleaner, dried added graphite as a dry lubricant to the shaft and put the bendix back in attached the cover not necessarily in that order.


Word to the wise be careful taking the cover off so you don't spill small starter gear and washers and lose parts etc. Put it back together and installed gave it a couple of quick tests prior to re-attaching all the covers. It engaged each time I tested so it is completely back together now. 


Putting the flywheel cover back on and lining up the bolts may have been the most difficult part of this - not rocket science. I think I had more work hand shoveling the walkway from the barn into the shop and cleaning out an area so I could be near my woods stove and work in a nice 60-70 degree f environment. I didn't seem to have any burrs on the shaft but would use steel wool to clean it and what ever it would take to remove a burr.


Last Tip with electrically powered outside equipment. Always use a super heavy duty chord as short as needed for the job. 


I once had a small compressor that the motor would slow and start to slow, stop and hum at about 80-90 lbs when it needed to get to about 110 to auto turn off. Changing to a heavy duty extension it would then go right up to max pressure and turn off automatically rather than sitting there trying to burn out the motor. I have no idea whether a Bendix could spin at a lower rpm and not throw the gear out far enough to engage using a long light duty extension chord, but it was the first thing I tested b4 starting on this project. 


Found nothing on you tube or any forum to help me determine how to get to the starter- but now you know- not difficult just tedious due to lack of foresight by engineering. A small external cover for Bendix and external bolts could have made this so much faster and easier.


Easy to find operators manual for this unit online but no luck in finding any service manual. All the Best


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## bad69cat (Nov 30, 2015)

You shoulda made a video! Oh well, sounds like you have it whooped. Not a cheap starter to replace if you had to Ariens 921032 (000101 - 099999) Deluxe 30" Parts Diagram for Engine 08200909

Glad you were able to repair it without much trouble...... they did not make it easy to replace for sure. Good tip on using the heaviest cord you have. But the best tip on electric starters is to not run them for to long. They will burn up quickly if you crank on it to long. If it doesn't start withing a few seconds - stop, see what your doing wrong, and only try it in short bursts. If everything is set right it should start easily. If not - you need to have it looked at. Burning up a starter gets expensive....


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