craftsman mower, starter not engaging

Hi,
I have a 5 year old Craftsman lawn tractor, 21hp, 42" deck. I had it out the other day, no problem mowing the lawn. The next time I tried to start it up, nothing happened. I went through the usual, has new battery, all levers where they need to be, etc. So far I have installed a new sparkplug, then a new solenoid, and a new starter. When I try to turn on the tractor now, the starter gear turns and makes a buzzing sound but never rises up to catch the flywheel gear. If I try to engage the two gears, then start the tractor, it seems the starter gear still just drops down and spin uselessly. I followed all the directions for placing the new starter, as ordered from Sears. New starter looks exactly like the old one. Gears don't appear to be stripped. If I use my hand or a screwdriver, the flywheel gear does turn without too much trouble. Any suggestions?

 

Are you certain the battery isn't connected backwards? This will cause the starter to turn backwards and do as you describe.

 

I'll bet you purchased a standard battery when Craftsman's require a "reverse terminal" battery...positive and negative posts are opposite normal batteries.

 

I'll have to check... It isn't the first time I put a battery in this mower, but I'll admit I wasn't paying a whole lot of attention when I put the battery in.

 

Aha! So... Once I got the battery connected the right way, everything else worked like it is supposed to. Thanks!

 

Good news and thanks for the update.