Won't start went to start mower yesterday turned over but would not start then it proceeded to start clicking. decided 2 yr old battery was bad and purchased a new one. put it in it still will not turn over. checked battery with meter it reads 13.56 volts so battery is good not sure what to check now whether ignition or starter?

Joel, Recheck battery to make sure it has good charge >12 v and all battery and starter wiring,plugs,connections are clean,tight and undamaged. If you remove spark plug and engine spins freely from the key, the engine compression release or valve clearance needs adjusted. It is probable the solenoid or starter is faulty, the starter Bendix/drive may be sticking. If you can, give the starter a couple sharp raps with a hammer or bar and then try to start.
Check the attached links,instruction and guides to help diagnose starting issue. Good luck
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http://troybilt.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/86/~/clicking-sound-while-attempting-to-key-start---riding-mower
What Are the Symptoms of Bad Starter Motor on Riding Mower Engine
My Bolens lawn tractor won start It just clicks when turn the key even...
Craftsman riding mower won start Just clicks the starter motor

It could be several things. First see if the safety switches work One switch should be under the seat. The second could be a bad solenoid which will not allow the current to go through the wire. Thirdly the battery connector could have a break in it. Electrical problems can be tricky to track down.

probably need to clean out carby and fuel tank

bypass the safety switches to test them while looking for the bad one the clutch/brake is the most common one

It could be anything from a carb issue to a spark plug or bad fuel.

they do go bad

The voltmeter should only go as high as 14-15 volts when the engine is running. I would check for a poor connection between the battery and starter.

brush's inside the starter are bad the brush's made poor contact with the armature inside the startermotor and are not getting full contact causing the armture to get hot causing the starter not to spin at rated speed to start motor you have 2 things you can do (1) take the motor off the lawn mower unit and have it rebuilt or buy a new unit and still have the old one rebuilt so you have a spair have them test it in front of you take and place it in a dry plastic bag so you have it ready for the next time it fails

try using the system restore option on Dell computer.........as you have vista,,,click on the start button and type system restore in start search box and follow the on screen instructions and select yesterday's date and proceed.......should help:)

Hi...my name is Keith..i would suspect the neutral safety switch went bad..but i dont know what kind of mower you have..it could have a bad seat safety switch or a blown fuse or the starter solenoid went bad..i hope this has helped..if not..write me back