[MidwestEd]

Our F911 just got a full service and had the electric PTO engage switch replaced. Mowing yesterday and the whole mower died and wouldn't start. I found the 25 amp fuse behind the seat blown. Replaced it and it started right up. It was dark out then so I didn't engage the rotors. This morning, wife started it up but the rotors wouldn't engage. I had her turn it off so I could check fuses, etc. The 3 fuses behind the seat are fine, but rotors still won't engage and NOW the mower won't even start.

We just spent $1000 getting this thing serviced and now we have a dead mower stuck right in the middle of our driveway. Any suggestions would be so greatly appreciated! Thanks so much!

p.s. If nobody can help with the primary problems, how the heck do you move these mowers? I see the "service latch" on the front, but no info about what that means.

 

[jthibodeau89]

There is a plate on the side of the hydrostat that can be set to bypass the motor. Atleast there is on my F1445.

When you say it won't start, do you mean it won't crank, or it won't fireup when cranking?

If you mean it won't crank, there is likely an interlock that is preventing cranking.

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[MidwestEd]

There is a plate on the side of the hydrostat that can be set to bypass the motor. Atleast there is on my F1445.

When you say it won't start, do you mean it won't crank, or it won't fireup when cranking?

If you mean it won't crank, there is likely an interlock that is preventing cranking.

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It won't crank. There is a light "ticking" sound in the engine area. Thanks for the response!

EDIT: The ticking starts in the middle position on the ignition switch. Nothing new happens in the start position.

 

[sennister]

Unfortunately it is hard to diag something like this over the internet. It was just worked on, you mentioned the PTO switch was replaced. I would start by looking for a pinched wire. If you have the TM for it, it would help.

The owners manual will probably tell you how to free wheel it. On the Z9xx they have a lever you pull on each drive but the F911 might be more like a tractor where there is a single lever you move as it is more like a tractor running backwards than a ZTR.

 

[jthibodeau89]

Ticking may be the fuel pump. If so, it is normal.

If the logic thinks the pto switch is engaged, cranking is inhibited. park brake must also be depressed on the 1445 to enable cranking. Your failure mode aound like a pinched wire that was fine at first, but wore through the insulation while mowing, thus blowing the fuse. Now it is shorted, disabling the starter circuit. But this is just a guess.....

The bypass plate on the 1445 has a pair of holes that allow a plunger valve to be pressed. When the plate is shifted and resecured, the plate keeps both plungers depressed, putting the hydrostat in tow mode.

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[MidwestEd]

Ticking may be the fuel pump. If so, it is normal.

If the logic thinks the pto switch is engaged, cranking is inhibited. park brake must also be depressed on the 1445 to enable cranking. Your failure mode aound like a pinched wire that was fine at first, but wore through the insulation while mowing, thus blowing the fuse. Now it is shorted, disabling the starter circuit. But this is just a guess.....

The bypass plate on the 1445 has a pair of holes that allow a plunger valve to be pressed. When the plate is shifted and resecured, the plate keeps both plungers depressed, putting the hydrostat in tow mode.

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The button on the new PTO switch feels soft and doesn't pop in and out easily. I'm wondering if it's a dud.

 

[jthibodeau89]

May have welded closed. Need to check with an ohm meter

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[jthibodeau89]

On 1445 the park brake pedal mechanically ensures hydrostat is in neutral before cranking. On our 4300 tractor, pedals have to be on neutral position, no linkage to park brake like the f1445. Sometime we need to jiggle pedals to get back to neutral.

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[sennister]

Keep in mind there are multiple circuits. Just because you hear something it just means the conditions for that to work is all present.

On my X585 a few months ago it was running and all of a sudden dead. It would crank but not fire. There were no blown fuses. I could tell that I couldn't hear the fuel pump prime when the ignition came on so it made sense that it was not firing because there is no fuel. However that fuse wasn't blown and tested good with ohm meter. Though I could tell that there was no power coming to that fuse holder. In that case I found a wire that got pinched between the starter and fuse holder. Since it was going to ground before the fuse the fuse never blew. I could test for 12V between the fuse holder and the starter so I knew it had to be in that wire somewhere. The TM showed a 6" fusible link where it connects to the starter. It turned out that was blown. With this knowledge I made a jumper wire to tap into the wires going to the 12V socket to power the fuel pump to get it running so I could get the Front End Loader off and drive the tractor over to the shop where it wouldn't be raining and fix it right. It turns out when I put the side maintenance panels on I must have pinched the wire.

The same machine a few years ago had some work done by the dealer where they had to pull the engine. They ran the harness wrong and a few months after getting it back I was plowing snow and hit a bump and the machine died. I blew the EFI fuse. That is strange, I replace it and it fires right up. Hit another bump and it was dead with the same fuse blown. I ended up having to strip the machine down and do a jiggle test shaking wires until it died when I wiggled the harness along the side of the engine. I closely inspected it and saw a bit of chafing where the wires were routed wrong and were touching one of the bolt on the valve cover. It had a ridge along the top of the bolt that wore through the electrical tape on the harness and the insulation on the wire to one of the fuel injectors. Every time I would hit a bump it would short out on the valve cover bolt. I repaired the insulation, taped it up and then wrapped the entire harness in that area in the plastic wire loom and routed it so it didn't touch anything.

The point is while anything can fail. Start with what works and what doesn't. You said it won't crank. So what conditions are needed to crank? Well every machine is different and while I have driven a F machine (my uncle had one and I would love cutting his grass when I was probably 12). I do recall it is more like a tractor than a zero turn. So on my X the PTO would have to be off. Parking brake on. Someone in the seat. This is assuming no one bypassed any of these safeties. Also it is fresh out of the shop. Focus on inspecting the areas they worked in. Sure a brake switch can fail at any time but if they didn't do work in this area, the odds are better it is something in one of the areas where they worked. In both cases above where I have had electrical issues they were related to other work done on the machine.

It is possible it is the new PTO switch but unless they subbed it with an incorrect part that would seem odd but not impossible. The fact that they worked in these areas that you now have an issue would have me looking there first.

 

[MidwestEd]

Thanks everyone for the help. I had to send it in for service. I will let you know what I find out.

 

[MidwestEd]

Well, they told me that the PTO clutch died and burned out the new PTO switch. They quoted me about $800 for the new clutch plus some labor so it's going to be another $1000+. My wife is kind of sick about it, but I'm not a mechanic. I need to find "a guy" (or gal) in my area that works on these. I found a 3rd party clutch for about $280.

 

[jthibodeau89]

Midwest is a little far from south central TN.

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