How to Test a Lawn Mower Starter

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Last Updated: October 29, 2025

Riding lawnmowers are a very useful tool. Whether you’re just having fun or mowing the grass, everyone wants their lawnmower to start. Many lawnmowers stop starting, and a lot of the time that issue lies within your starter. These steps will show you how to test your starter and make sure it’s good before buying a new one.

Part 1

Part 1 of 3:

Removal

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1
Disconnect your battery. It is very important to disconnect your battery, as electricity is not something to mess around with. Disconnect the negative terminal on your battery (black wire) and set it off to the side. Make sure it is not making contact with your battery at all.
2
Locate the starter. The starter is usually located on the side of your engine. It is cylindrical with a gear on the top. There is usually a large red wire located on the bottom of it. If you are having trouble finding it, you can follow the red wire coming from the battery, which leads to where the starter wire is also connected.

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3
Disconnect the wire to the starter. The red wire on the bottom needs to be disconnected before removing the starter. It is connected by a singular nut which must be removed. After the nut is removed, the wire will come right off. Set that wire aside.
4
Remove your starter. The starter is held on with two bolts towards the top. The threads are very long, so they can take a while to come out. Once the bolts are removed, the starter should come right off. Be sure not to lose the bolts.

Part 2

Part 2 of 3:

Testing

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1
Locate a charged battery. Using a charged battery is critical. If you aren’t sure if your lawnmower battery is good, you can use the battery from your car. You can also test your lawn mower battery with a multimeter if you have one available Your battery should read around 12 volts.
2
Disconnect wires from the battery. Remove the wire that goes from your negative battery completely. It will be grounded somewhere and is very easy to trace. Trace your positive wire down until you find where you can remove it as well (as shown in pictures). It will be connected to solenoid, usually underneath the battery near the engine. Fish the wire out from the top of your lawnmower. Leave the wire connected to only the terminal on the battery.
3
Hook up the negative wire to the starter. If you haven’t already, reconnect your negative wire to only the terminal directly on the battery. Then, take the end that is disconnected and put it on the starter. It should be touched where the bolt holes are. Make sure it touches a clean surface, or the test will not work.
4
Hook up the positive battery to the starter. Beware that once the red wire touches the starter, it will go off. It will spark so be sure to wear safety glasses before attempting, as well as gloves. Also, keep your hands and whatever else you have around you away from the gear, because if the starter is good, it will move and spin the gear very fast. Once you are in a safe position, touch the disconnected end of the red wire to where you disconnected the initial wire from the starter itself.
If the starter gear shot up and spun, then your starter is good to go and can be reinstalled. If your starter gear did nothing or made a bad noise, then it is time to replace it.

Part 3

Part 3 of 3:

Reassembly

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1
Reattach your battery. Make sure to connect your positive battery wire first. I would suggest completely disconnecting the negative side first. If you reconnect the positive with the negative already connected, you can get shocked. Once the positive side is connected, leave the negative side disconnected until you reinstall your starter.
2
Inspect and clean the starter wire connection. The connection from the wire to starter can commonly get corroded, which can cause your starter to not work. Always inspect your wire, and sand it down with sandpaper. Even if it does not look corroded, it never hurts to sand it down. It is smart to do this with any wires you encounter that seem corroded.
Only if the starter is good, reinstall your starter. Start with the two bolts and tighten them in. Once they are tight, you can reinstall your red wire on the bottom. Once the wire is reinstalled, reconnect the negative wire to the battery.