John Deere X300 Mower deck pto drops out

[guitarpicr]

Hello to all. I am new here to posting but I try to read some from tome to time. I bought my lawn tractor new in 2006, about 575 hours on her. Last year it started acting up. I can cut fine with no problem but if I disengage the mower deck for any reason it will not re engage. I found that if I wait about 30 minutes & let it cool down I can Start it back up & the pto will engage & cut fine again. I have checked wiring connections & also yesterday when it cut out I checked for 12 volts to clutch connector & nothing there. I had my wife come out & sit on the seat & went through the whole startup procedure. I have replaced the pto switch & the clutch last year ( which was a waste of time if I would have checked for power to the thing first I would have never bought it. Anywhoo, sorry for the long paragraph but any help would be greatly appreciated. The wife told me to just go buy a new one, but now it is a matter of principle to figure out what the problem is. How dumb can I be with a green light on a new mower, right ? TIA, Bill

 

[modaddysdotcom]

I have had the same clutch on my craftsman garden tractor for 20 years. The last several years it has been more difficult to engage at the beginning of the season but I always spray it with WD-40 and exercise it a few times. That solves the problem for the rest of the season.

 

[Dave M7040]

Hello to all. I am new here to posting but I try to read some from tome to time. I bought my lawn tractor new in 2006, about 575 hours on her. Last year it started acting up. I can cut fine with no problem but if I disengage the mower deck for any reason it will not re engage. I found that if I wait about 30 minutes & let it cool down I can Start it back up & the pto will engage & cut fine again. I have checked wiring connections & also yesterday when it cut out I checked for 12 volts to clutch connector & nothing there. I had my wife come out & sit on the seat & went through the whole startup procedure. I have replaced the pto switch & the clutch last year ( which was a waste of time if I would have checked for power to the thing first I would have never bought it. Anywhoo, sorry for the long paragraph but any help would be greatly appreciated. The wife told me to just go buy a new one, but now it is a matter of principle to figure out what the problem is. How dumb can I be with a green light on a new mower, right ? TIA, Bill

Trying to figure out the wiring on modern mowers is impossible without a workshop manual so buying one from your dealer will be a great long term investment.

Some circuits are completed by a switch to ground instead of power being switched on.

For various safety circuits, power is going through multiple switches and relays before a pto can engage or an engine start.

I have provided a Cub Cadet pto electrical schematic, not because it will relate to your John Deere, but rather to show you how complicated the circuits are. Trying to reverse engineer the wiring in the field will cost you your sanity.

Dave m7040

 

[guitarpicr]

Trying to figure out the wiring on modern mowers is impossible without a workshop manual so buying one from your dealer will be a great long term investment.

Some circuits are completed by a switch to ground instead of power being switched on.

For various safety circuits, power is going through multiple switches and relays before a pto can engage or an engine start.

I have provided a Cub Cadet pto electrical schematic, not because it will relate to your John Deere, but rather to show you how complicated the circuits are. Trying to reverse engineer the wiring in the field will cost you your sanity.

Dave m7040

Thanks for the diagram. Am I right in my thinking that it has to be in the safety circuit b4 the clutch though ? Seems like a wiring connection problem to me as it might be loose & heating up, strange thing is it will cut great for 2 hours straight but once I turn off the mower deck off it wont re engage . Keep the ideas coming guys. Anything can help me at this point.

 

[Dave M7040]

Thanks for the diagram. Am I right in my thinking that it has to be in the safety circuit b4 the clutch though ? Seems like a wiring connection problem to me as it might be loose & heating up, strange thing is it will cut great for 2 hours straight but once I turn off the mower deck off it wont re engage . Keep the ideas coming guys. Anything can help me at this point.

You are trying to make it too simple. In the cub Cadet example, all the safety controls are on the ground side of the coil for the pto clutch.

I repeat myself by saying, invest in a WSM. Otherwise pay your dealer to use his.

Dave M7040

 

[guitarpicr]

You are trying to make it too simple. In the cub Cadet example, all the safety controls are on the ground side of the coil for the pto clutch.

I repeat myself by saying, invest in a WSM. Otherwise pay your dealer to use his.

Dave M7040

Dave - Will the workshop manual take me through step by step troubleshooting ? I am not the best at reading diagrams but I do know how to use a vom & basic wiring. Thanks for your help

 

[Dave M7040]

Dave - Will the workshop manual take me through step by step troubleshooting ? I am not the best at reading diagrams but I do know how to use a vom & basic wiring. Thanks for your help

What I can tell you is that I help people with many different brands and models of tractors from new Chinese ones, Kubota's, Kioti's, old British ones like Nuffield and Leyland, of all these brands the JD manuals have been head and shoulders above everyone else when it comes to colored images, explanations and details.

If you get an electronic pdf file then you can share it with people like me who can help you through this problem.

Before you do that let me try my old source of JD stuff just in case he has something.

I should know what he has by the end of Sat.

Dave M7040

 

[Dave M7040]

I got the info I was hoping for.
Send me a PM with your email address.

Dave M7040

 

[Dave M7040]

Send me your tractor serial number as there is a change during production

Dave M7040

 

[tomplum]

On occasion the ECU will do strange things as it warms. It is located at the top underside of the dash. When it warms, tap the back of the ECU and see if you can get it to fail.