NH L223 Wont Start - Starter Not Engaging (also a fast clicking noise)

[skibum0607]

So I'll say upfront that I'm new to the forum, new to skid steers and have a basic to mid-level mechanical ability.... I bought a used 2013 NH L223 with 130 hours on it about a month ago. Was a great machine for the first few weeks, then it started having starting trouble. When I'd hit the key to start it, it would make a whirring noise (not sure how else to explain it), but usually on the second try it would start right up. I wasn't sure but it sounded like the noise might have been from the starter. Like maybe the starter motor was running but wasn't engaged with the flywheel. It's also making a really fast clicking sound when I first turn the key to the On position (before start), which I'm guessing is the fuel pump. I'm not 100% sure but I don't recall hearing that fast clicking when I first got the machine. Yesterday when I started it, same thing happened. Whirring sound on first try to start it, then it fired right up on the second. I used it for a hour or so and shut it down. Upon trying to start it again, all I got was the whirring sound - no start. Tried several times throughout the day, same thing - no start. I've had batteries crap out suddenly before, so I decided to rule that out and bought a new battery. No change. At one point while trying to start it it wouldn't do anything, including the whirring sound. Checked the fuses and had a blown Crank Fuse, so replaced that and now I'm back to the original problem of it just making the whirring noise but not starting. The starter is in a tough spot to access through the back and without starting it I'm not able to get the loader up to tilt the cab forward to access it from the front. So I'm concerned this could be a pain if it need to do something with the starter. Any help or suggestions from the much more knowledgeable people on this forum would be much appreciated.

 

[flyerdan]

The clicking is probably an electric fuel pump that will slow down and stop as a preset pressure is reached, so it will be most noticeable at the first start of the day when pressures have bled off.
The whirring is the starter bendix not engaging the flywheel, it's probably just gummed up. It should be pretty easy to fix, and while you're in there, clean the solenoid contacts and the plunger that contacts them. I've got a forklift that took forever to start, the square head copper bolts in the end of the solenoid cap had eroded on the half that the plunger disc contacted, I carefully tapped them out and reinstalled them 180 degrees so that the new part met the plunger. Works like new, something to consider while you've got it out anyway.
If you can't get it to start, perhaps you can raise the boom with an engine crane or something else to get it high enough to tip the cab. Don't know what you have to work with, I always think in terms of what I have available.