# Questions about an Ariens ST1236



## Joakim Halvarsson (Oct 10, 2017)

Hi!

I got an early 90:s Ariens ST1236 for free from a neighbour and it was in really clean condition and just needed some service.

The model is 924085 000592 and the engine is a OHSK120 222001D.

I cleaned the carb, adjusted the valve lash, changed the sparkplug, oils and lubed everything and now it runs great. I also had to weld and reinforce the handles cuse they were cracked.

I also did the impeller mod on 2 of the 6 blades, panted the impeller housing and inside of the shute with hammerite and installed led light so it should be a read snowthrowing monster this winter.

The engine does leak oil somewhere between the cylinder and head. My guess is that it comes from the o-rings that seal the tubes around the push rods. Is that likely and do you guys know if I need to lift the head to swap them?

The second question is about the electric start. The engine should start with the key but the blower does not have any mountings for a battery so I figured that it is a 220v starter (I live in Sweden) but when I look at the cables to the starter they are so thick and uninsulated at the mounting points that it leads me to believe it is a 12v starter. There is a connection for a cable but I have no clue what kind of cable that I am supposed to use. Could it be that these commercial snowblowers used an external 12v source for the starter?

Here are some picturers:


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## leonz (Dec 12, 2014)

Hello Joakim, welcome to the forum.

Can you take another picture of what appears to be the plug directly in front of it? It appears to be a 220 volt AC plug for the starter using European 220 volt AC power.

I would ask your neighbor if he still has the starter cord for it as it has to use a corresponding mating plug to start it with 220 volt power.

IF he does not have it you can probably buy one from your local Ariens dealer.


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## Joakim Halvarsson (Oct 10, 2017)

leonz said:


> Hello Joakim, welcome to the forum.
> 
> Can you take another picture of what appears to be the plug directly in front of it? It appears to be a 220 volt AC plug for the starter using European 220 volt AC power.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the quick reply.

The blower is at my dads house 200 miles away so I cant take another picture right now.

The plug has one male and one female connector so it is not a european 220v plug. I have never seen anything like it and unforunately the neighbour has never had the cable for it.


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## leonz (Dec 12, 2014)

Hello Joakim,

For what its worth you can always start it with the recoil as the electric starter will not interfere with it as the Pinion Gear is retracted and clear of the ring gear at all times. I am sure the starter cables are still available on your side of the pond if you wish to purchase one though. The sheilded part is the hot 200 and bare prong end it the neutral from what I remember of my European wiring. 

I would change the starter rope in any case since it is old. I have had the unpleasant experience breaking them and filling the swear jar with a lot of money.

The cooling fan housing should have 2 or 3 bolts on the bottom and three bolts on the top to hold it in place.

If you have time and there is small engine repair shop nearby its easier to let them do the repair and take the entire housing to the nearest small engine shop as you may need a new recoil spring due to its age and I am not sure if those engines have recoil springs sold separately. It would be a good Idea to make sure the recoils starter pawl is clean and releases to

All my experience is with Briggs engines that required a lot of work because they were used for hundreds of hours a year but I would assume the Tecumsehs manual recoil is just like the B&S engines.


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## unknown1 (Dec 13, 2015)

Parts and diagrams here: https://www.jackssmallengines.com/jacks-parts-lookup/manufacturer/ariens/sno-thros-and-brushes/924-series-sno-thro/924085-000101-001109-st1236-12hp-tec-36-blower 


EDIT: Under attachments... USA 120V starter kit here:
https://www.jackssmallengines.com/j...-120-volt-start-kit/120-volt-electric-starter

Maybe 220V-240V kits and possibly lower voltage kits also available by country/region.. just guessing

EDIT: your best answer will come from finding the model number of the actual starter motor itself and then google for that.
There's probably a label on the starter that your dad can look at or photograph. Preferably the latter.

Alternatively call a Dealer in Sweden and they'll probably know exactly what you mean and what it is.


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## DriverRider (Nov 20, 2016)

There is a starter relay and the one exposed starter wire lug would make it 12V. There appears to be a charging wire from engine to the relay also for the battery +. Likely modified.


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## YSHSfan (Jun 25, 2014)

The starter looks like a 12V to me because it has a solenoid.
My guess would be, if it is not some kind of 'standard' 12v set up, some one rigged it up to use it with a car, truck on any other rechargeable 12v set up maybe (kind of like a electric motors connectors for a plow).
It must have a turn key or a push-button electric start, judging by the wires that go towards the handle bars.....


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## 43128 (Feb 14, 2014)

first of all, i am amazed somebody would give away a blower that sells for around 1000 where im located. second of all that looks like a 12 volt starter. jump it off the positive terminal it wont hurt it to undervolt it. theres no way the positive terminal would be exposed like that on a 220 volt electric starter


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## unknown1 (Dec 13, 2015)

That big non-insulated terminal on top is the give-away that it can't possibly be high voltage for reasons of safety.
The EU would not allow anything like that. They even have specifications for the shape of bananas
The regulation states that *bananas* must be "free from malformation or abnormal curvature."

This is what mains power sockets look like in Sweden. There are 3 styles
_Electrical sockets (outlets) in Sweden (Konungariket Sverige) are one of the two European standard electrical socket types: The "Type C" Europlug and the "Type E" and "Type F" Schuko._

https://www.google.com/search?q=swe...wefWAhUX3YMKHT9BDAcQ_AUICygC&biw=1920&bih=950


I went to Sweden's google home page and searched for *starter motors.*
I found an image and followed it to this link on Amazon
It looks a lot like the one in the photo even if it's not identical
The one on Amazon is 12V

https://www.amazon.com/STARTER-MOTOR-BRIGGS-STRATTON-497596/dp/B007NNH1V8

If you do a similar search for "*voltage regulator*" you may find the part it is connected to
Here is an example

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M3O5WLD?psc=1

Here is what* Starter Solenoids* can look like
https://www.google.com/search?q=sta...w-fWAhUI4IMKHatmBdYQ_AUICygC&biw=1920&bih=950



I could not make out what I was looking at in the photos and I have no experience of low-voltage starters but this kind of search may even find exactly what's on the machine
Do a search using these terms , look at images, click on the one that matches and work backwards from that.
*Starter Motor, Voltage Regulator, Starter Solenoid*

Eventually you may find wires and connectors that look exactly like the ones you are asking about.

I still think any local dealer or repair shop would know immediately what those things are and would even be familiar with the brands available in the EU and Sweden.


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## Shaw351 (Nov 15, 2016)

Hey Joakim, It is definitely low voltage dc current. I'm not sure if it's 12 or 24 depending on sweden normal batteries . What do your vehicles and tractors run on ... 12 or 24 volt batteries??

Makes sense the terminal jack is the way it is, the negative pin is exposed and it's other end is grounded / terminated to the block. 
The positive pin is protected, it then goes to the solenoid, then to starter.

The round starter with only one terminal makes it dc to me.

Another interesting thing in the picture is the add-on alternator / generator that is mounted on the pull / recoil setup. Don't know if engine had dc output and it broke, or they added it for the led light.

Follow that white wire from the side of relay, should go to a momentary key switch or push button for starting.


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## unknown1 (Dec 13, 2015)

FYI some starter motors have a jumper on them to convert between 12V and 24V. May want to look which voltage it is set to if it's multi-voltage.


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## Joakim Halvarsson (Oct 10, 2017)

Shaw351 said:


> Hey Joakim, It is definitely low voltage dc current. I'm not sure if it's 12 or 24 depending on sweden normal batteries . What do your vehicles and tractors run on ... 12 or 24 volt batteries??
> 
> Makes sense the terminal jack is the way it is, the negative pin is exposed and it's other end is grounded / terminated to the block.
> The positive pin is protected, it then goes to the solenoid, then to starter.
> ...



Thanks everybody for the massive response!

Pretty much all batteries are 12 volt here in Sweden. It's just big trucks that use 24 volt electrical systems so I guess we can conclude that it is a 12 volt starter. I'll try to jump is with a battery next time I'm visiting my dad.

I don't intend to use the electric start myself but since it's there I wan't to make sure it works i case my girlfriend needs to use the blower.

The blower has a turn key starter but I guess the whole thing might be modified and not factory mounted. The blower first belonged to a church that used it to clear the snow around the church. It seems like it was first sold in Norway cause all the writing on it is in Norwegian.

I'm not sure what you mean by the add-onn alternator? What part of it is not stock? I never checked if it has DC current cause I was so sure it would be AC and I used a bridge rectifier when I mounted the LED light but that is not visible in these pictures.

Here are a couple more pictures. The lighting makes the orange color look a bit strange.


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## Joakim Halvarsson (Oct 10, 2017)

I've done a lot of googeling now and I think I might have found the right cable.

It seems to be called a SAE plug.
https://www.google.se/search?safe=off&rlz=1C9BKJA_enSE669SE669&hl=sv&biw=768&bih=909&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=uXveWff2HYne6QS1ib3IDg&sjs=1&q=starter+cable+sae+plug&oq=starter+cable+sae+plug&gs_l=mobile-gws-img.3..30i10k1.322683.328932.0.329338.23.23.0.0.0.0.327.2841.6j14j1j1.22.0....0...1.1.64.mobile-gws-img..5.13.1709...41j0i19k1j0i30i19k1j0i5i30i19k1.0.enIv5X675qw


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## unknown1 (Dec 13, 2015)

Joakim Halvarsson said:


> I've done a lot of googeling now and I think I might have found the right cable.
> 
> It seems to be called a SAE plug.
> https://www.google.se/search?safe=o...41j0i19k1j0i30i19k1j0i5i30i19k1.0.enIv5X675qw


Bingo! Google searches and image matching are great! Just add the word "eBay" to that search and you're done. 
http://www.ebay.com/bhp/battery-tender-cable


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## Shaw351 (Nov 15, 2016)

Joakim Halvarsson said:


> Thanks everybody for the massive response!
> 
> Pretty much all batteries are 12 volt here in Sweden. It's just big trucks that use 24 volt electrical systems so I guess we can conclude that it is a 12 volt starter. I'll try to jump is with a battery next time I'm visiting my dad.
> 
> ...


In your first posting of pictures, third one... it looked like the black and yellow wires were coming out underneath the pull starter assembly from an add-on alternator. Your second posting of pictures gave a better shot of that area, it was my mistake about that, I apologize for the confusion. You must have a alternator circuit that came with the engine, one to three wires are probably coming out of the right side of the engine near the starter area. That will be from factory setup to run the light, possibly to charge a battery if that machine came with 12 volt system. 

Looks like a great machine, you can add a factory battery tray on the bucket and have onboard starting capabilities. Just 4 holes for 1/4 bolts need to be drilled into the bucket. Keep us posted as to your progress, any questions just ask and we will be able to assist.


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## Joakim Halvarsson (Oct 10, 2017)

I can now confirm that it is a 12 volt starter. I used a car battery and jumper cables and it started right up.


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## Shaw351 (Nov 15, 2016)

Joakim Halvarsson said:


> I can now confirm that it is a 12 volt starter. I used a car battery and jumper cables and it started right up.


Joakim that's great. If you can find an ariens used parts guy you should be able to buy the battery tray and mount it up for onboard starting. Just have to maintain the battery, possibly with a trickle charger.


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