Why Does the Solenoid Vibrate but My ATV Won’t Turn Over?

When both the starter motor and starter solenoid on an ATV have been tested and appear to be okay, and the solenoid even vibrates but the machine won’t turn over, what could be the problem?

Partzilla’s ATV expert John Talley hosts live motorcycle and ATV repair Q&A sessions on our YouTube channel every Friday at 3pm Eastern. In this session, John was asked why an ATV won’t turn over even after its starter motor and solenoids both tested well.

ATV starter solenoid testing

Starter Solenoid Vibrates But ATV Won’t Start Q&A

Watched your “ATV Won’t Start” video and it helped a lot, but I have tested the solenoid and it seems fine. However, when I turn the key the solenoid vibrates but the engine won’t turn over. I tested the starter and that seemed okay. Any suggestions?

John Talley: You said you tested the starter, but how did you do it that it seemed to be okay? Well, let’s get back to the solenoid. I think I discussed that in the video “Help! My ATV Won’t Start.” Sometimes, even though you can hear the solenoid engaging, that’s basically just a set of contact points in there. And if those are scored, sure it’s going to bring it up where it’s going to make the connection across the terminals to send battery voltage to the starter. However, if it’s burned on those two connections, it’s just going to sit there and vibrate and not let the current flow through. I’ve even seen some where you put a test light on there and it’ll light up, but it doesn’t really tell you the whole story. It could be that it’s sending voltage, but there isn’t enough current to back it up. The resistance is too high because you’ve got burned contactors on the inside of the solenoid itself. Just looking at it from the information you gave me, I would say go ahead and replace the solenoid and see what that does. I’m betting that’ll take care of the problem.