Mowing Kubota ZD21 Operator Presence Switch Question

[tomkauff]

I have a ZD21 with about 425 hours on it and love it and have very few problems. Recently while cutting a field, I set the brake, locked the handle controls and disengaged the PTO in order to dismount to remove an obstacle from the cutting path. I have done this countless times without issue. However this time as soon as I stood up from the seat, the engine started to shutdown. I immediately sat down and completed the mowing and returned to the garage without incident. When I went to use the mower again everything worked well. Today, however, I experienced the same problem, and when I started to get up from the seat, the engine would start to shut down. Similar to the last experience, I finished the mowing and returned the mower to the garage and shut it down. I then tried to re-start it, but to no avail. It acts as though the operator presence control is not making contact and thus preventing the machine from starting. I checked all the fuses and all are operable. Does anyone know how to remedy this situation or trouble shoot it?

I look forward to getting some input.

Regards

TomK

 

[milkman]

I put an aftermarket seat on my ZD21 and had to bypass the seat switch. I unplugged the old seat and then made a jumper with a short piece of wire and two spade terminals and plugged that into the female plug. Of course that is defeating a safety feature so proceed cautiously.

 

[WVUNUT1985]

I had a similar issue on my ZD21 and after checking everything i could think of, I checked for operator interference. Not to sound sarcastic, but I was able to determine that I was moving the steering handle just a small amount when getting off the mower which caused the engine to quit. As soon as I sit down the first thing I did was grab the handles. Sounds simple, but after several test tries, I no longer have the issue. If the seat safety switch was at fault, it would also prohibit the ZD21 from starting, not just inhibit it from running. Maybe the handle switch is just out of adjustment enough that vibration is moving the handle enough to activate the "KILL" path. Just a thought.

 

[tomkauff]

Thanks again. After reading your post, I went out and more forcefully opened the handles. I then, tried to start the mower, and it fired right up. Again, many, many thanks for you feedback.

TractorbyNet does work.

Thanks again