hd6g struggles to turn over

These old HD6 are 24 volts and make sure your batteries are connect correctly for 24volts and you could removed the soneloil and clean the brace button it could help.

I already cleaned out the solenoid and all electrical contacts, I appreceate the advice and I will take it apart and double check my work. I will also check the push button for pitting and corrosion. the thing is, the solenoid activates the starter and it makes the engine turn over but it seems to struggle, barely turns over and pulls alot of amps. the starter seems to spin fine when i jump straight to the motor.

Edited by thestephenson - 30 Aug 2024 at 5:02pm

You want Two 12v Batteries in Series not Parallel. 24v Pos Ground.

Curious as to what you mean by 'pulling a lot of amps'. Are you judging this by the arc it throws when you jump across the solenoid? If the starter turns over good when you bypass the solenoid, then it's a solenoid problem, period. Do the cables get hot, or 'jump' when you engage the starter? That is the best indication of a shot starter that is partially shorted or has wasted bearings. On lubrication of cyls. with all the sitting time, the intake plenum is easy to remove and a handy place to add some lubricant to the cylinders. Pull the pan plug and check for water accumulation, and drain all the fuel out of the filters/fuel pump circuit. You don't want any 'black diesel' reaching that precious injector pump. As others have mentioned, turn the engine over with a bar several turns to make sure there are no hard spots that might damage piston rings. Once it gets oiled, it will hone itself out. If the fuel you drain from the filters/tank is really dark, the filters then go in the dumpster and ALL the fuel gets drained for use burning tree stumps or cleaning parts. Good luck.