318 mowing deck won't engage.

[ren1pa]

I have a 1993 318 lawn tractor. The battery voltage light is on. When I attempt to engage the deck the light goes out, but the deck will not engage. Any ideas?

I had the same problem. After many, many hours of searching, I gave up and took it to my local JD Dealer.
Diagnosis: Shorted wires due to mice feasting on same.
Turned out to be a much less expensive fix than I originally planned on.
Hope this helps.

 

[jonsstihl]

If the clutch adjustment is the issue a good trick to get it going again is to jerk the hydostatic drive (bunny hop) with the switch engaged. That should get the clutch to grab. This should only be used if you really can't adjust the clutch. it is an easy job.

my dad used the trick almost half the summer before I noticed it and adjusted the clutch for him.

 

[Wayne_H]

The clutch on my 318 engages when cold, but after mowing for a while it won't re-engage after being turned off then switched back on. Should the clutch be adjusted when cold or hot, or do I have a different problem?

Yes, if it does not engage when hot, turn each of those nuts in 1/4 of a turn. Post the results here. If you really want to do it right, get your feeler gauge out and set the clearance at 0.018". It will fix it.

Regarding jerking the hydro to get it going.... Please don't offer to fix any of my stuff!!

When hot, the magnet does not seem quite as strong. This is a very common problem.

Wayne

 

[Wayne_H]

Any update on this?

Wayne

 

[Eric102]

Finally got a dry day here in the NW to try out the 318's clutch adjustment and it worked great! Always engaged at any RPM throughout the day and at any engine temperature.

It had been a few years since I had last checked it and was not surprised to have the .018 feeler gage slide easily into the slots. I adjusted the nuts about a 1/16 turn and found that to be to tight so I backed them off a hair and was just able to squeeze the gage in between the plates. So it didn't take much of an adjustment to make a big difference.

I had also installed a new battery (after 7 years) so the clutch might be getting more juice now, not sure if that was part of the fix.