Mowing Finish Mower Not Working

[DHS]

Tim,

Have you tried the mower again since you used the tiller? The tiller may have worked because the PT and ignition switch cooled since the mower was used. Or, perhaps the hydraulic quick connects were not completely connected.

Before you fix something try the mower again. Make sure the hydraulic connections are fully seated. Let us know what happens.

Thanks

Dale

 

[MossRoad]

I used my finish mower yesterday and at first it work fine. I turned the PTO off to move from the back yard to the front yard. When I turned the PTO switch on again, the I could hear the PT425 engine under load but the mower blades did not spin. I turned the PTO switch on and off several times but the mower blades failed to spin. I turned off the PTO and spun the blades by hand and everything was free and loose. I switched the mower out with a tiller and everything worked fine when I switched on the PTO.

Does anyone have any idea why the mower (hydraulic motor) is not turning?

-tim

Some times I will have the machine at high throttle with the mower deck attached, and when I turn on the PTO switch, the hoses charge(you can see them move) but nothing happens. I turn off the PTO switch, throttle down to about 1/4 throttle and flip the PTO switch again. The hoses charge, the blades start turning, I let it spin for 5 or 10 seconds, then go to full throttle and mow. Give that a try next time you get a chance.

 

[Phils]

The next place I'd look is at the hydraulic connectors. I'm assuming you've connected/reconnected them a few times with the problem persisting. Could the check valve in one of them be malfunctioning? Other than a defective hose I can't think of what else it could be. I have seen hoses that've developed inside 'bubbles' that eventually formed little 'flaps' that restricted flow, but that was on OLD hoses and I wouldn't think it could be your problem. Easy enough to check: remove the hose from the motor, take off the quick disconnect and blow through it.

Phil

 

[ClintBlake]

Some times I will have the machine at high throttle with the mower deck attached, and when I turn on the PTO switch, the hoses charge(you can see them move) but nothing happens. I turn off the PTO switch, throttle down to about 1/4 throttle and flip the PTO switch again. The hoses charge, the blades start turning, I let it spin for 5 or 10 seconds, then go to full throttle and mow. Give that a try next time you get a chance.

When I picked up my PT in 99, they told me not to engage the PTO unless the engine was at an idle.

 

[J_J]

Sorry guys, but I have not had time to look at it yet. Since the PTO works fine with the tiller attached, I am confident it is either in the mower hydraulic lines or mower hydraulic motor. Not knowing squat about hydraulic motors, I was hoping someone had run into this and knew the answer.

The blades turn freely and easily by hand. The belt (around 3 pulleys and the hydraulic motor shaft) turns easily. The hydraulic motor shaft spins freely by hand. So what's left that could cause it to not work?

Is there another test I could do to narrow down the problem? Are there debris screens or filters inside the motor or hydraulic lines? Any help is appreciated.
-Tim

You did say that all the other implements work with the PTO.
When you activate the PTO switch, does the engine slow down, or do you hear the PTO relief valve operating. If you have the hoses connected correctly, and you flip the PTO switch on, you should get fluid flow through the PTO valve and lines to the hyd motor. You said the hyd motor turned freely, did you separate it from the spindle. I believe there is a coupler between the hyd motor and the spindle. If every thing checks out, it would seem that you have a blown hyd motor. Can you see if the hyd motor and spindle are turning at the same time, if not, the coupler is bad, The shaft key could be gone also. When you turn the blades by hand, is there rotation all the way back to the hydraulic motor?. If so, the motor is shot, that is assuming that you have hydraulic pressure out to the hyd motor. A pressure gage is worth every penny that you pay for it.

There is one other test I can think of. Without the hydraulic lines connected to anything, turn the blades by hand. They should be hard to turn with a good hydraulic motor. A good hydraulic motor, will try and act like a pump making it hard to turn unless something is broken. If the motor turns freely in this situation, take it to a hydraulic shop for testing, by now, you should already know the answer. Hydraulics are simple, When you pump fluid, that fluid is going somewhere, unless that pump is bad, which was the case in my situation. Pump had a lot of wear. With one of the tires off the ground, and you try to turn the tire by hand, it will be hard to turn. A good hydraulic motor will have lots of resistance.

 

[MossRoad]

When I picked up my PT in 99, they told me not to engage the PTO unless the engine was at an idle.

That's what I get for going mail order!

I have found that almost everyone that picks up their unit from the factory brings back a tip that I could have used. That is one of the pitfalls of not taking the factory training and the lack of documentation... fortunately, I was able to figure most things out and what I couldn't, you folks have helped me with.

 

[tlb]

Well, I tried the mower today and it worked fine. I engaged the PTO while the engine was idling then ran up the RPMs. So the conclusions are 1) either crude was stuck in the line and changing implements got rid of it, 2) the "hot" solenoid theory, or 3) "must engage PTO at low RPM" theory. The jury is still out to lunch!
-Tim

 

[Bob999]

Well, I tried the mower today and it worked fine. I engaged the PTO while the engine was idling then ran up the RPMs. So the conclusions are 1) either crude was stuck in the line and changing implements got rid of it, 2) the "hot" solenoid theory, or 3) "must engage PTO at low RPM" theory. The jury is still out to lunch!
-Tim

I suspect it was a solenoid problem--probably that the solenoid failed to pull in all the way.

 

[MossRoad]

Well, I tried the mower today and it worked fine. I engaged the PTO while the engine was idling then ran up the RPMs. So the conclusions are 1) either crude was stuck in the line and changing implements got rid of it, 2) the "hot" solenoid theory, or 3) "must engage PTO at low RPM" theory. The jury is still out to lunch!
-Tim

Great! Hopefully it will never happen again.