As described in the other post, make sure it is not jambed, and the terminals and connectors are shiny and tight.
The tool of choice for this job is cheap. It is a starter draw meter. It is a hand held swinging needle device with no wires (costs ~10-15 bucks or less in the non-pro category. The simple meter is held up against any battery cable (thick main cable). There are usually guide grooves on the back of the meter to align the wire. Then press the starter button (in Neutral of course) while watching the meter. If it does almost nothing, the system is open, no complete circuit. If it reads hundreds of amps (possibly 600 or more!!!) the starter needs to be rebuilt. It is either draging from bad bearings, or shorted.
If it is Open (no reading) the heavy current switch may be bad. I think you said it was discolored. To check this, with the tractor in neutral, take the battery cable off of the ground side of the battery, and make sure it can't accidently move back and touch the post. Remove the big battery cable attached to the starter switch and put a leather glove with no holes over the end of the wire to keep it from accidental contact. Place the wire/glove so it is stable and reconnect the ground cable on the battery temporarily. With care(remember it is a live wire, and will cause massive sparks if touched to ground), remove the glove from the bat wire, and touch it briefly to the other switch post which is connected to the big lead going into the starter. There will be either sparks and the starter motor trying to start/spin, or nothing. Replace the glove on the loose cable end for safety, and remove the ground cable again as above.If you got sparks and spin, replace switch. If nothing the starter is open, and needs to be rebuilt (probably brushes, or a broken wire)
I hope this helps, do be careful with the battery cable when it is disconnected, it is not without risk. Good luck Jim Nicholson
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