ELECTRICAL
6-3
Toro 30” Aerator Service Manual
6
How It Works
The solenoid has two primary parts. One, a coil wire
is wrapped around an iron core. Whenever 12 volts
is applied to the coil, it becomes a magnet. The other
part is a bar type switch. Because it has a large contact
area with contact terminals, it can easily handle the high
current loads required by the starter motor of the engine.
When 12 volts is applied to the coil, it becomes an elec-
tromagnet. This quickly pulls the contact bar toward the
contacts and closes the switch. When power is removed
from the coil, the spring loaded bar returns to its “normal
open” position. The solenoid closes and opens the
switch very quickly. This minimizes the “arcing” that can
damage other kinds of switches.
The ignition switch is protected because only a small
amount of current is needed to activate the coil.
Starter Solenoid
Purpose
The purpose of the solenoid is to connect the battery to
the starter motor on the engine when the ignition switch
is turned to “START”. The solenoid is used to protect the
ignition switch from the high current drawn from by the
starter motor (Fig. 226).
Fig. 226 IMG-1198a
Location
The solenoid is mounted on the right hand side of the
engine, from the operator position (Fig. 227).
Fig. 227 starter solenoid
Testing
1. Disconnect the solenoid from the wire harness.
2. With a multimeter set to the ‘ohms’ setting, ensure
terminals “C” and “D” are open (no continuity).
3. Apply +12 VDC to terminal “A” and ground terminal
“B”. Terminals “C” and “D” should now be closed
(continuity) (Fig. 228).
4. You should be able to hear the solenoid switch
“click” when you make the connection (Fig. 228).
Fig. 228 IMG-1198a
A & B Coil Terminals C & D Contact Terminals
C
A
D
B
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