From what I've been reading, this seems to be a constantly recurring problem.
After I left my aviation maintenance career, I took on summer contract work for a busy yacht charter company. Working on sail & power boats that spent their entire lives in a harsh marine environment. In 9 years, I think I replaced one "ignition" switch.
Many marine diesel switches function in the same way these problematic Kioti switches do & it'd be a simple job to change them out. For about $30.00, it seems like we could save a lot of unnecessary grief.
It would be better if the manufacturer would step up & make a better switch, but it doesn't look like they are that interested.
My new DS4510 arrives on Saturday. (three more sleeps!) One of the first things I'm gonna do is look into replacing that switch!
I hope someone will chime in, if this issue has been addressed with the newer tractors. Or if anyone has tried this already. (Someone MUST have)
P.S. I posted previously that the model I bought was a DK45SE. Wrong... It seems I wrote down the wrong model number in my notes.
The DS has fewer bells & whistles, but as a true bush mechanic, I'm OK with that!
I'll formally join the "club" when I get the tractor home on Saturday.
Cheers. Dan