285 wont start

[smashfoot]

I bought a 285 lawn tractor at a auction . Started mowing worked fine, then it stopped running. It will turn over but wont start. Went to the dealer and asked questions. IT has no spark ,He told me it was the pulser coils so i bought them and put them on. Before i put the rad back on i turned the key and it started .problem solved, wrong!!!!! I shut it off put the rad on put antifeeze in and fired it up. Ran a few minutes and quit. I havent called the dealer yet. Any ideas out there??? HELP

 

[ZDB]

Does it have spark?
Is it getting fuel?
Compression?
Air filter plugged?

I have a 285 and am very familiar with them. do the above diagnostics and repost and I'll do my best to help you.

How many hours on the machine? Cam gear failures are well documented on these machines, but lets get thru the simple checks first.

 

[smashfoot]

It does not have spark. filters good getting gas,dont have a compression tester.

 

[ZDB]

Do you have no spark at either cylinder?
If so check the ignition relay it should be a pink wire from the ignition relay to the PTo relay and then a yellow/white wire to the ignition moduel.
It has a white wire coming from the key switch to the ignition relay.
All of these wires should show 12 volts with the key in the on position.

 

[smashfoot]

I'll have to check this out when i get home I'm out of townat my daughters. Can i get back to you when i get home?? It doesn't have spark to either cylinder

 

[ZDB]

There is a safety circuit for the ignition relay to energize.
You must either have the seat safety switch engaged
or
have the PTO in off, and the transmission in neutral.

I'll keep my eye on this thread for a while and try to answer any questions you have.

 

[smashfoot]

Back from my daughters, I just checked the voltage I get 12 volts on the yellow/black only. nothing from the pink or nothing from the white

 

[tuckertom]

Back from my daughters, I just checked the voltage I get 12 volts on the yellow/black only. nothing from the pink or nothing from the white

Hi, I have a 285 John Deere 1140 hrs. second engine, first had 600 hrs. on it.
I have had lots of trouble with the no starting and replaced a few parts etc.
I checked the seat safety switch conection several times and was satisfied that it was ok. I put a jumper wire from new to get rid of this stopping every time I bent forward to miss a branch etc the engine would stop. After checking everything twice I went back to the jumper wire and secured it with drilling a hole and used a double hole folding clip and screwed the wires to the seat mount that is bolted to the tractor deck so it could not move anymore. I have not had a single problem since and it has been about 150 hours back. This little wire caused about seven hours of **** checking all kinds of things as it would quit when you were mowing or just not start when you had lots of cutting grass or snow blowing to do on the coldest day !!!

 

[smashfoot]

I just went out and pulled a seat switch off of my 240 and put it on the 285 still won't start. I had put a jumper wire on the seat switch before to by pass it.But after you said you had problems with it ithought well i' ll switch it simple things first, but no luck. Any other ideas??

 

[tuckertom]

I just went out and pulled a seat switch off of my 240 and put it on the 285 still won't start. I had put a jumper wire on the seat switch before to by pass it.But after you said you had problems with it ithought well i' ll switch it simple things first, but no luck. Any other ideas??

Well worth the try, remember there are other safety switches as well. Under the deck where the mower adjustment is, left side & i beleve it is for the left foot peddle you push when you go to start the tractor. Put a jumper in place of the switch and see what happens. Also the electric clutch make sure its in the off position plus i have had one fail for me, worth the investagation. Other wireing that have given problems is under the hood on the starter side there is a black fuse holder with a 10 amp or 15 amp fuse in it, i have moved these wires plus what ever other wires there are in this general area and it started after that. I put a plastic pull tie over the holder and thru that steel plate its fastend to and pulled it tight. That seemed to tighten it up so there is no movement Give these simple things a look at and see what happens. Good luck !!!