782 How is Engine Block Grounded?
 

Still chasing down my slow crank issue seen here..http://onlycubcadets.net/forum/showthread.php?t=48739
I am trouble shooting it down to be likely the Starter but before the major job of pulling it I am exhausting all options. The wiring from key to Solenoid to starter is a few years old. I did it and all wire gauges were upgraded and all connectors were soldered and crimped. So the only wiring I can think of that I did not touch is a wire from the engine Block to the negative on the battery. Is the engine grounded to the Frame thru the Motor mounts or is there a specific grounding wire that might be strong enough to keep the engine running but not good enough for the return path of the Starter?

It's grounded through the engine mounts. No ground wires.

In the amount of time you have been trying to "exhaust all other options" you could have changed the starter. It's really not that big of a deal.

How are the battery cables? Ground to the frame? Battery condition? Battery size?

I try not to just throw parts at my mechanical possessions. Trouble shooting this is not nearly a full time effort. Cables all around are 3 years old. All heavy wires are 6 awg. They have been upgraded from stock. Not sure if CC ran a wire from the Neg of the battery to the Frame very close to the engine but I did. I just unbolted and cleaned those connections
Throwing a new starter in, from what I've been reading is not 'just throw a starter in it' Not to mention a kohler Starter is close to $200. Of course there are $50 Starters out there but I am leery of buying one of those that will fail in a month. Brushes range from $20 to $60. Again, no big deal to throw in a set of Brushes IF you can get the Starter out of this opposed twin. Grounding thru the Mounts.. That should be solid. I did run Jumper cables from Neg on battery to Intake manifold to insure good Return Path. Then I Jumped across the solenoid to eliminate Carboned up internal contacts. Didn't help anything. Tried a known good NAPA H-12 battery. My battery is a 3 month old U1R. At this point the Starter is left.

I put one of those 50 dollar starters on my 782 last winter when I did an engine swap. It's been working great, no problems at all. I think a lot of members on here have used them. Put one of them in, then rebuild your original at your leisure and you'll have a spare for next time.

I know how much a Kohler starter is. I'm pretty font of them as they last a very long time. I guess how long it takes to change a starter on an H twin depends on your perspective. I'd way rather change a starter on a Kohler than say a Cadillac. The North Star V8 starters are under the intake manifold.

Any work on a Northstar is impossible. No Maintenance for 100K miles BUT THEN... you can't get to anything. I've worked on them.

Thanks for the response. Now I know I can get some time off an aftermarket Starter. The machine is not used to work.. It is basically a 'get the small areas' when snow plowing and I hook a home made trailer on the back in the Summer for misc duties. The Starter wont be cycling 12 times a day and that is why it is tough to justify $200 for a free tractor that is more
my wife's toy then a worker