When I push the start button, it clicks at the solenoid. I have replaced the solenoid, the starter relay, and the starter itself. I also charged the battery. The pull start works fine, but my kids are not strong enough to pull it. The green neutral light comes on as it should, and when I try to jump the solenoid with a screwdriver I get nothing but a few sparks. I am at a loss here, can anyone help me out before I give in and pay a shop to do it? I would really appreciate it. Thank you.

 

If you short across the solenoid you are cutting out everything except the starter and battery. So if the battery is OK, it has to be the starter, or one of the main wires to it. Check battery terminals, earths and that you fitted the leads onto the solenoid and starter correctly. If everything else is right, you may have got a dud new starter.

 

The battery is only a year old, and I did charge it. It seems to be fine. And there's only 1 wire to the starter. I cleaned the terminals with a wire brush. Still clicking. I tried switching the wires around on the solenoid and that didnt work. This is starting to get frustrating.

 

They can be veey frustrating, that is why you need to slow down and be thorough with each step. Never assumeanything is OK...instead check it out to be sure it is ok or not ok!

 

So I jumped the starter directly from my car battery and it fired right up. So the starter is good. The switch itself is working or it wouldn't make the solenoid click when I push the button. Does this mean the wire is bad that goes from the solenoid to the starter?

 

Car battery has much more power than any atv battery...so mabey a poor connection, wire bad with break or internal corrosion, could still be a bad starter that needs lots of extra power to turn over. Check all wires to see if resistance is high and might have to have starter checked out for high resistance. Bad wires and connections can require a lot more amps to work.

 

Ok. Thank you. I will check the wiring out in the next few days and try to get to the bottom of it. If I ever figure out how to fix this issue, I will post it. Hopefully it will help others having the same issue. I've seen lots of people having this issue, but no luck finding out what the problem actually was. I appreciate the advice.

 

Foregoing a bad connection, it really sounds like you have a bad battery (especially since you jumped it with a good one). A bad battery will easily read 12 volts after charging, then still collapse when the load of the starter is put on it. If you have a DC voltmeter, put one lead to the input of the starter solenoid and the other to ground. Hit the start and see if the voltage stays around 10 or 12 volts, or if it falls way off. If the voltage drops off, your battery is probably shot.
If it says up but still just clicks, then put the leads on each side of the solenoid lugs. It should read 12 volts with the key off and drop to zero when the contacts close. If it doesn't, your solenoid is suspect.

 

When I try to jump it from the battery it still clicks. If I jump the starter directly, it starts.

 

I don't have a voltmeter, but I guess I have to go buy one and check out what you're telling me. Thanks.