How can I tell if my clutch switch and/or electric clutch is bad on my John Deere F510?
My mower slipped out of mowing mode over the weekend, so I stopped the mower and threw the switch again---it kinda sounded like it wanted to engage, but never did. After a few on/off attempts, it stopped sounding like anything electrical was happening when I tried to engage the switch. Nothing. No sounds. So, I stopped the mower and inspected everything---and found a ripped apart primary drive belt(a new one I had just put on). I know, this is not electrical, but it may have been a contributing factor/load to the electrical system, if it somehow got bound up or caught?
I removed the deck, and started inspecting everything. Perhaps I re-installed the deck wrong---but I found no wear points from the belt ripping apart. Bad belt? Perhaps it was twisted?
Anyway, I checked the clutch switch. If I understand it correctly, the two prongs on the one end of the switch are the feed(s), and while starting the mower, it runs through that, ensuring the mower deck is not engaged. Correct? Then, once it is started, it remains the hot loop going in, and when the deck is engaged, it goes across the switch. With that being my idea of how it works, I then tested the switch with it in the on position, with no luck on any of the three prongs on the other end of the switch.
Okay, so I think I have a bad clutch switch.
Next thing I checked was the electric clutch. Since it is grounded to the engine already, why does it have two electrical connectors going to it? I tried jumping some juice from the battery to each prong of the clutch, but heard nothing. Am I missing something?
Or does it sound like I have a bad switch and electric clutch?
Any tips or suggestions out there?
My mower slipped out of mowing mode over the weekend, so I stopped the mower and threw the switch again---it kinda sounded like it wanted to engage, but never did. After a few on/off attempts, it stopped sounding like anything electrical was happening when I tried to engage the switch. Nothing. No sounds. So, I stopped the mower and inspected everything---and found a ripped apart primary drive belt(a new one I had just put on). I know, this is not electrical, but it may have been a contributing factor/load to the electrical system, if it somehow got bound up or caught?
I removed the deck, and started inspecting everything. Perhaps I re-installed the deck wrong---but I found no wear points from the belt ripping apart. Bad belt? Perhaps it was twisted?
Anyway, I checked the clutch switch. If I understand it correctly, the two prongs on the one end of the switch are the feed(s), and while starting the mower, it runs through that, ensuring the mower deck is not engaged. Correct? Then, once it is started, it remains the hot loop going in, and when the deck is engaged, it goes across the switch. With that being my idea of how it works, I then tested the switch with it in the on position, with no luck on any of the three prongs on the other end of the switch.
Okay, so I think I have a bad clutch switch.
Next thing I checked was the electric clutch. Since it is grounded to the engine already, why does it have two electrical connectors going to it? I tried jumping some juice from the battery to each prong of the clutch, but heard nothing. Am I missing something?
Or does it sound like I have a bad switch and electric clutch?
Any tips or suggestions out there?
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