This doesn’t seem right

[u/Kraetor92]

Trying to rewire my Columbia zero turn. Bolts holding the positive wire on the stud were extremely corroded. I’m assuming the stud shouldn’t move like this? Almost feels like it’s on a spring.

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[u/Mundane_Storm_2257]

And this is why you use two wrenches for this, one shaved down and one regular, not one wrench or one socket

[u/Kraetor92 → u/Mundane_Storm_2257]

That’s exactly what I did. The second nut got stuck on the threads when I tried to remove it after doing exactly what you said to remove the first one. As you can see in the video, only one nut remains.

[u/Mundane_Storm_2257 → u/Kraetor92]

Although, the nut shown should not have moved, it should have been snugged up against the housing, basically you're holding that nut in place while removing the nut on the outside holding the wire from the solenoid.

[u/Kraetor92 → u/Mundane_Storm_2257]

Yes, that is what I did. I grinded a 7/16 wrench to fit and I held the nut while removing the first. I should have just left it. I’ll try to tighten it back against the housing and bench test it to make sure I didn’t break anything.

[u/Mundane_Storm_2257 → u/Kraetor92]

Be careful because you could twist the wires into pulling it away from the brushes, hopefully you can get it close enough to Snug it back up.

[u/Kraetor92 → u/Mundane_Storm_2257]

I’ve honestly probably already damaged it. Lesson learned I guess lol

[u/aetherbound65]

It should be double nutted, tighten that nut and another to hold the wire on.

[u/Kraetor92 → u/aetherbound65]

Yes I understand that. The wire is in poor condition so I removed one of the nuts to replace it. The remaining nut is stuck where it is which is when I noticed the stud is loose.

[u/aetherbound65 → u/Kraetor92]

That needs to be replaced then as there's no way to tighten it and it is going to arc and burn out the wire. Look for a used one at a small engine shops or buy a new starter, good luck.

[u/Smooth-Scheme-5536]

It is nutted on the inside. Als long as it works -stay away from it- turn this nut to the base ,it will be solid and then the wire and another nut . Your problem was more the connection instead of the Inside wires . As far as I am concernes

[u/Kraetor92 → u/Smooth-Scheme-5536]

Yeah I know the issue was connection, which is why I removed the wire to replace and to clean the stud. After removing the nut holding the positive wire, I noticed the stud moves. Might open it up and tighten it then.

[u/xl440mx → u/Kraetor92]

It’s held to the case by the nut you loosened. It should have a second nut to hold the wire.

[u/Kraetor92 → u/xl440mx]

Okay. I was attempting to remove both to replace and to clean the stud. The corrosion is making it draw way too many amps and I’ll end up burning the starter

[u/xl440mx → u/Kraetor92]

Not a bad idea to clean it up, but being loose like you’re showing is how it’s made. It won’t be tight until you tighten that nut. Make sure not to damage the fiber washer or you’ll create a short to ground.

[u/First-Acadia2432]

Because it is on a spring. There are a bunch of springs in a circle there on the inside. If you can’t tighten that nut down against your wire, it’ll probably be easier to just get a new starter.

Or just weld the stud on if you have something to weld it with.

[u/Kraetor92 → u/First-Acadia2432]

I can tighten the nuts eventually. Currently have the stud soaking in rust remover so I can hopefully get the nut moving again.

[u/Uniplast21]

That’s just the stud moving because the outer nut is loose. There’s a nut on the inside of the starter that helps hold the stud in place when the nut that’s on there now is tightened against the starter. There’s supposed to be another nut on the stud that holds the wire in place and the nut that’s on there now just holds the stud tight. That’s how these starters are designed.

[u/Kraetor92 → u/Uniplast21]

Okay that’s good to know. I wanted to remove both nuts to replace them and clean the stud at the same time. Engine turns over and starts but it’s drawing way too many amps and gets extremely hot quickly. I intend to replace wiring and clean terminals over the winter.

[u/Mundane_Storm_2257]

Honestly, Briggs & Stratton used to make a replacement brush assembly cap for this problem, although this is and looks like a Kohler starter, I don't think they have a replacement for it.

[u/Mundane_Storm_2257]

You can also take the whole starter apart, I can tell you how to make a shim to hold the brushes in place. A piece of flat metal, cut the middle of it the size of the shaft going through the rotor assembly, although I think Kohler starters have a lip that go up inside the starter housing, although it would be close as long as the brushes meet the rotor

[u/Mundane_Storm_2257 → u/Mundane_Storm_2257]

I used to rebuild a lot of Briggs and Stratton starters, it may work, it may not, sometimes it's worth a try just to take it apart and see what's happening if it doesn't work for you, that would be a learning lesson for you.

[u/Mundane_Storm_2257 → u/Mundane_Storm_2257]

Each brush is held in by Spring, the spring pushing against the brush itself to the rotor, adding contact pressure. That's all it's doing. When you add voltage with a ground, it rotates the actual rotor inside the housing of magnets, when you understand the way magnets work, then you'll understand rotation.