Your battery needs to be recharged or replaced. 11.5v is not sufficient to start most tractors. Full charge is 12.4-12.6v. Have the battery charged and then have it load tested. If it comes up to full charge and will sustain an adequate load it should start, assuming everything else is good.

After you get the NEW battery connected correctly--Positive cable to Positive (+) post, and negative/ground cable connected to the (-) post of the battery, try the starter, to make sure the engine will turn when you turn the key to START position. You must check the oil in the engine, making sure it is at the correct mark on the dip-stick. To be right on this procedure, you must pull out the dip-stick, wipe it off, then re-insert it, and pull it out again to get the correct reading!
Then, after doing the preceding, remove the flywheel shrouding, and look at the magnets on/in the flywheel, and the legs of the ignition coil. they are probably rusty! Sand the magnetic area on the flywheel, and try to sand the legs of the ignition coil. If you can't get to them, then tap the bolts that hold the coil on, then remove the coil, using a midget socket set, or a small 1/4 inch socket, or wrench. Sand the coil legs where they sit opposit the flywheel, using 80 grit sand paper. Clean both legs and flywheel. Rebolt the coil, and use a business card as a guage to set the gap from the coil to the flywheel. Tighten the little bolts, assemble everything, and squirt some carb cleaner into the carburetor, and try it. By this time, surely you installed some new gasoline in the gas tank.
Try to start it. Might surprise you.
If it does start and run, then get a new spark plug. And reinstall the flywheel shroud. Everything else is rather simple.Clean out any mouse nests under the flywheel shroud, and make sure the mousies haven't chewed the insulation off the spark plug wire. If so, use a piece of rubber hose to make new insulation for the plug wire,

First thing you need to do is post the model number of the engine, that MAY point to something about the particular engine. Solenoid may be bad, I have a check for that too.

Above suggestions are good but IF you have a good set of jumper cables, before you get too involved in anything, connect a jumper directly from the positive battery post to the starter. IF starter turns engine, battery and starter are OK. IF starter does not run, connect the other side of the jumper cables directly from the battery negative post to a bare spot on the engine and try jumping the positive battery cable directly again. IF starter runs, start checking connections especially where the battery ground cable attachs to the frame.

IF the starter does not run, battery or starter are bad.

Still need that model number before doing anything drastic.

Walt Conner

Thanks. I'll give all that a try this weekend.

I had the battery checked and ended-up replacing it. It looks like that was the problem. It runs and cuts now! Thanks again.