What to Do If a Rented Machine Won't Start

The machine came off the trailer an hour ago, the job is laid out, and you climb into the seat, turn the key and get nothing. Or a single click. Or a dash full of lights and no crank. The first thought is that the owner delivered a broken machine, and the phone is already in your hand. Put it down for five minutes.

Rental equipment is built to refuse to start until it is satisfied the operator is seated, restrained, locked out and safe, and the owner turned several things off to transport it. Most no-start calls are the machine doing its job. Here is the checklist, in the order to work it, with the reasoning for each stage below.

The checklist

Work it top to bottom and try the key after each stage. Stop at the first thing that fixes it.

• Stage 1: Your position
  • Sit fully in the seat, not on the edge
  • Lap bar or armrests down (skid steers, mini skid steers)
  • Seat belt latched where the decal requires it
  • Every control in neutral: travel levers, direction lever, drive sticks
  • Parking brake set
  • Hydraulic lockout or pilot lever in the start position shown on the decal
  • Feet off the pedals
• Stage 2: Switches the owner turned off
  • Both emergency stops pulled out or twisted to reset (lifts have one at the platform and one at the ground)
  • Platform/ground selector key pointed at the station you are using (lifts)
  • Battery disconnect or master switch on (red key or lever near the battery)
  • Fuel shutoff valve open (small gas engines)
  • Choke set on a cold gas engine
  • Throttle where the decal says for cranking (try idle and partway up on a diesel)
  • Glow plugs preheated: key at the preheat position for a few seconds before start (diesels)
  • Tow/run or drive-enable switch in run (electric machines)
  • Charger unplugged (many electric lifts will not drive while charging)
• Stage 3: Fuel and battery
  • Look in the tank, not at the gauge, especially on a slope
  • Propane: cylinder valve open, cylinder seated on its locating pin, fuel in the tank, regulator not frosted
  • Click with no crank, or lights that dim when you turn the key: low battery
  • Electric machines and lifts: read the state-of-charge meter
  • Do not jump-start without the owner's approval
• Stage 4: Stop and call
  • List exhausted, or any smoke, fuel smell, grinding or warning code: stop
  • Call the owner through the platform with the exact symptom and a photo of the dash
  • Do not pull, tow, jump or open anything without approval

Why machines refuse to start

Every modern machine carries safety interlocks, and each one is a condition the engine or the drive system waits for. A skid steer will not start, or will start and refuse to move its arms, unless the operator is in the seat with the restraint bar down and, on many models, the seat belt latched. A mini excavator's hydraulics stay dead until the lockout lever is in its operating position. A forklift wants the seat switch loaded, the direction lever in neutral and often the parking brake set. A scissor or boom lift has emergency stop buttons at the platform and at the ground controls, and either one pushed in kills everything. None of that is a fault. It is the machine checking on you before it lets you work, and the checklist above runs from the seat outward because that is the order the machine checks in. It assumes you already walked around the machine once. Read more about what to inspect on any rented machine before you operate it.

Stage 1: Your position

Seat switches read weight, and a light operator perched on the front edge can fail one, so sit all the way back. The lap bar or armrests on a skid steer are the primary interlock; the machine will not acknowledge you until they are down, and on many models the arms stay locked until the belt is latched too. Neutral matters on every lever that can command motion, because a travel lever nudged off center on an excavator or a direction lever left in forward on a forklift blocks the start. The hydraulic lockout is the one that trips up renters most, because on some machines the start position is up and on others it is down, and the decal next to the lever is the only reliable guide. On a stand-on or walk-behind mini skid steer, the operator presence is a platform or a handle rather than a seat, and the hydraulics wake up only with your weight on the platform or your hands on the controls.

Stage 2: Switches the owner turned off

Owners turn things off to transport and store equipment, and the renter has to turn them back on. The emergency stops are first because a pushed-in button at the ground station stops the platform controls cold with no indication at the platform. The selector key on a lift routes power to one station or the other, and a key pointed at ground leaves the platform dead. The battery disconnect is pulled for nearly every trailer ride and lives near the battery compartment behind a cover. Small gas engines ride with the fuel valve closed so they do not flood.

Diesels add their own two steps. The throttle on a cold diesel often wants to be partway up to crank, and some machines refuse to crank unless it is at idle, so try both before deciding anything. Glow plugs need a few seconds at the preheat position before the key goes to start, and skipping that on a cold morning looks exactly like a dead engine. On electric machines, a tow/run or drive-enable switch left in tow after transport disables the drive, and a charger still plugged into a lift is a feature that locks out travel until you notice the cord.

Stage 3: Fuel and battery

A gauge that reads a quarter tank on a machine parked nose-down can be reading air, so check the tank. A diesel that ran dry needs to be primed and sometimes bled, and that is a call to the owner rather than a job for the renter. A propane forklift needs the cylinder valve open, the cylinder seated on its locating pin and fuel in it, and a regulator can frost over on a cold morning and mimic a dead engine until it thaws. A gasoline engine may simply want the choke.

A click with no crank, or dashboard lights that dim when you turn the key, means low battery voltage. A key left on overnight, a dome light, or a machine that sat for weeks in the cold will drain one. On electric machines and lifts, the state-of-charge meter tells the story; a lift at the bottom of its pack may light the dash and still refuse to lift or drive. Jump-starting a rented machine is a question for the owner before you try it, because some electronics do not tolerate it and the damage is on you. Read more about how to fuel and refuel rented equipment.

Quick list by machine type

Skid steer or compact track loader: seat fully, lap bar or armrests down, seat belt on, controls in neutral, hydraulic lockout in the start position, battery disconnect on. If it starts but the arms will not move, the bar or the belt is the usual answer.

Mini excavator: seat, lockout lever in the start position, both travel levers in neutral, throttle where the decal says, glow plugs preheated, battery disconnect on. If the engine runs and nothing moves, the lockout lever is still in the lock position.

Forklift: seat, direction lever in neutral, parking brake set, and on propane, cylinder valve open and cylinder seated; on electric, battery connected and charged. A frosty regulator on a cold morning is a wait, not a fault.

Scissor or boom lift: both emergency stops out, selector key to the station you are using, charger unplugged, machine on level ground so the tilt alarm is quiet, battery charged. If the ground controls work and the platform does not, the selector key is pointed the wrong way.

Mini skid steer: weight on the platform or hands on the operator-presence controls, lap bar down where fitted, hydraulic lock released, choke or glow plugs as the engine requires. Read more about how to operate a mini skid steer and how to operate a scissor lift for the controls on each.

Stage 4: Stop and call

If the list comes up empty, or if anything smells of fuel, smokes, grinds or throws a warning code, stop there. Call the owner through the platform before trying anything else, describe the exact symptom (a click, no click, lights or no lights, a code on the display) and send a photo of the dash. Do not jump it, pull it, tow it or open anything the owner has not approved. More often than not the owner knows the machine's quirk and talks you through it in a minute; if not, they swap the machine or treat it as a breakdown, and the clock and the cost are handled from there.

A renter who reports a no-start promptly is in a far better position on the rental clock and in any later dispute than one who spent half a day with a wrench. Read more about what happens if rented equipment breaks down mid-job, which is where this hands off, and about what happens if you damage rented equipment, which is the reason not to force it.

What about insurance and damage protection?

Before operating rented equipment, contact your insurance provider to ask whether your policy covers liability for heavy equipment operation on your property or job site.

Eligible rentals booked through Big Rentals also include Basic Rental Protection at checkout. This added protection can help limit your financial responsibility for certain damage or theft events during the rental period.

For full details on how Basic Rental Protection works, including deductibles, exclusions and renter responsibilities, review our FAQ and platform terms.

The Short Version

• Most no-starts are interlocks doing their job, not a broken machine
• Stage 1, your position: seat, bar, belt, neutral, brake, lockout
• Stage 2, switches: emergency stops, selector key, battery disconnect, fuel valve, glow plugs, charger
• Stage 3, fuel and battery: look in the tank, check the propane and the charge, ask before jump-starting
• Stage 4: still nothing, or smoke, smell or a code, stop and call the owner with the symptom and a photo

Browse equipment rentals near you.