Hey there. Just bought this starter second hand off a farmer seller/salvage yard guy, really inexpensive because of one issue. Works perfect...however the prior owner sawed off the ground plug off...my electrician father did this often back in the day.

Anyway, I linked two images. The first is the switch opened up showing the ground plug (green wire)...soldered on, round base. The second image is of a replacement plug I have.

First off, do I really need to replace this? My thinking is I probably should. The problem is I don't believe one can simply buy this style of prong (let alone a standalone prong by itself) any more. Or can I? Maybe all round ground prongs are this type of base? I do have a couple old extension cords that have this style prong.

So...let's say I cannot simply buy/find the correct style base prong - so I then try this. Using a Dremel, cut off the replacement to length. Use the same Dremel cutting disc to then hog out two notches on the starter housing so the replacement u-shaped design fits snugly in the plug housing.

Then solder the replacement to the stub. Looks like the replacement is brass, the stub steel...any issues with two different metals? Also, would this be strong enough? My thinking is I need that base style of the original to fit inside there snugly in the mold top and bottom of the housing, maybe grind off a tad off the top outside edge of the stub per the thickness of the replacement, then solder it up.


Would this all work? Or is it truly necessary?

Thanks for any help/suggestions. I'm fine leaving it be...right up to the point where I get shocked if you know what I mean

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Ground plugs are only as good as the electrical outlet is grounded. Because it's a 3 prong plug outlet does mean it's grounded properly. New code today, double grounding plus two grounding rods.

That plug looks wired wrong to me, even as bootleg grounds go.

Richard

A couple thoughts. I would be a bit concerned if all your soldering/welding would hold correctly. I would be concerned if it broke it would break when shoving a live electrical lead into it.

However I do salute and commend your MacGyver skills on trying to fix it yourself with what you have.

Here are a couple options on eBay:

The first is possibly the same starter/switch combination. You could replace the entire setup. Or, remove the switch and resell the starter without the switch (it will sell, there are plenty of people that have the good switch and broken starter).

The second is a different switch you could splice into the wires.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/USED-Tecums...frcectupt=true

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Tecumseh-El...frcectupt=true

What you might also do is eliminate the switch all together and simply splice in a 3 prong male plug like where you took that ground from. When you plug it in, it starts. Or, put a switch on the extension cord that you plug into it so you can control it.

Some food for thought.

Yeah, had a night to sleep on it. Not sure how I'm gonna do this. I simply wish it was possible to go to a hardware store and buy the prong - I kinda find it hard to believe that isn't possible somehow. I simply want to keep this as "original as humanly possible" if I can.

My father was an electrician, and was MacGyvering up stuff around the house all the time. I guess I learned some of that "skill" from him after all.

I've thought of finding a screw/bolt of some sort that's the same OD, and take a nut approximately the same size as the ring of this prong's base - then grind down the threads. Drill a small hole at the other end to thread the ground wire through, cut off the bolt head - then solder it up.

But I like that suggestion though. I could take a grounded extension cord with a toggle switch. Remove this switch box and wire in a male plug end. Plug it in, hit the toggle. When she fires, flip the toggle off.

That actually sounds like it would indeed work and would be the easiest fix of all.

Grey hot wire to one side of push button starter switch.
Black wire from switch out to starter.
White neutral to starter.
Green wire still attached to ground prong which has been cut off.


Appears to be correct.

It's probably plated brass . . . I can't say that I have ever run into steel in electrical connectors, and steel would rapidly rust. Considering the environment, they likely plated the brass to avoid oxidation.

From what I can see, the old one is just round with the ring on it to hold it in place, right? If so, find someone with a lathe and make one up . . . I can't say that I have seen many parts that would be more trivial to make . . . simply turning down a piece of rod to the correct diameter, and leaving the ring is all it would take . . . maybe drill a hole across the inside end to solder the wire to and done . . .

Yep. I got a nephew who is an electrician and I should see him Thanksgiving, I'm gonna see if he knows a way or maybe knows where to find it.

But now...this is on the back burner. Thanks to all for their suggestions, eventually it will get fixed up.

UNFORTUNATELY (barely capable of holding back anger at this moment), our first plowable (barely) snow of the year occurred overnight. I figured I can at least take my 3 snowblowers that "I worked on all in some fashion the entire last two months in my spare time" and see how they actually plow snow.

I'm fairly certain the auger gearcase is fried. I have no clue friggin' how cause the blades spun last week.

Impeller spins when clutch engaged and helicon pinion shaft is too. Shear pins newly installed a month ago and are both intact, end nuts spinning, both blades spinning in unison. I changed the gear case out in October, it WAS darn near empty. My father was funny that way. I filled it with roughly 5 oz just like the manual states with L3 and it doesn't leak.

I will admit, the gear case was very, very noisy - which worried me. And quite frankly, it always was like that.

With the clutch engaged, no auger blade movement. Shut it down, left clutch engaged...blades spin. I've already got the attachment off the tractor. I always wanted to learn how to refurb the gear case, guess now is my chance.

The "good news" is both other machines performed flawlessly.

VERY VERY LONG SIGH.

Aren't the polarity of the hot and neutral prongs reversed? Assuming that the missing ground prong was in the semicircular recess in the picture, I'm thinking the neutral (white wire) should be on the top prong in the picture (the left in the receptacle with the ground prong down).

Richard

I thought this myself. "White right" - knowing the switch is upside down, this means they're backwards.

It's on older switch obviously. Not polarized. The replacement plug I have here, silver screw (white wire) is on the right.