John Deere L118 seems backwards

[SgtDeadeye]

I have an L118, I think it's the 2004 model. It has a Briggs & Stratton 22hp engine in it with the manual PTO.

I have replaced the battery, the brake switch, the pto switch, and the seat switch.

I have read through over 100 posts in this forum.

I have cleaned the battery terminals and contacts and made sure it is producing 12.5 volts

Here is the problem.

If I stand next to the mower with the clutch engaged, I can turn the key and the LED and headlights will light up, but it will not crank. No click, no nothing.

If I sit on the mower while the lights are on, everything goes dark and turning the key does nothing.

It almost appears to be a fault in the failsafe system which is why I replaced all the switches, however, it appears to be almost backwards.. Why would the power go off when sitting on the seat. It makes no sense.

Does anyone have any ideas?

Thank you in advance.

 

[BATTY54]

You should be sitting in the seat, brake down, PTO off it should crank.

 

[SgtDeadeye]

Yes, I understand that I must be on the seat to engage the seat switch, and I understand that the PTO should be off, and I also understand the brake must be engaged to start the engine. I actually found the problem. It was a broken wire on the brake switch. Now my problem is how to fix it. I guess the proper way would be to replace the whole harness but that seems a bit extreme, but the wire is broken off from the connector. The harness may not be that expensive but trying to replace it could be a huge PITA.. any other suggestions? Is there a way to bypass this switch just to be sure I don't have another problem in the line somewhere?

 

[BATTY54]

You can find terminal removal tools at a parts place or radio shack. Off hand cannot picture what type connecors are on the L series.