Parked PTO button

[jim76]

Anybody fit a Parked PTO Button on their B2650 like the new LX2610 has? I was wondering about the wiring. The button could probably be any single pole switch:confused2:

Jim

 

[OldPaint]

Pretty sure there's a little more logic than just the button, considering the button has to be held down for about 10 seconds to enable the empty seat bypass. Not sure what they used for a timer, or if it goes through the ECM, or what. Haven't looked that closely yet, but it's a lot better than trying to race the shutdown when you get out of the seat or engaging the PTO while standing beside the tractor. BTW, brake lock lever must be set (parking brakes on) and Neutral must be selected on the range selector for it to work.

 

[jim76]

Pretty sure there's a little more logic than just the button, considering the button has to be held down for about 10 seconds to enable the empty seat bypass. Not sure what they used for a timer, or if it goes through the ECM, or what. Haven't looked that closely yet, but it's a lot better than trying to race the shutdown when you get out of the seat or engaging the PTO while standing beside the tractor. BTW, brake lock lever must be set (parking brakes on) and Neutral must be selected on the range selector for it to work.

Thanks for the reply OldPaint. I'm running a chipper off of the PTO with a bag of cement on the seat, works ok but sure is a pain.

Jim

 

[Fallon]

On the economy Ls & Grand Ls without the air ride seat, likely others... if you tilt the seat forward so it's laying on the steering wheel it bypasses the operator presence switch. I'm sure the logic is if you can't sit in the seat & want the machine to run you are doing something static with the PTO. The air ride seat on the Grand Ls can't tilt forward so I'm out of luck. I'll need a sandbag, log or something to sit in the seat. Or to wire up a bypass switch. I have the electronic skills. But for the amount I'll need to run my PTO generator a lump of something heavy in the seat will be fine.

 

[OldPaint]

Did you make any progress on this @jim76?

I still haven't looked at the electrical diagram for my LX yet, but like I said, the button has to be held for about 10 seconds before a light comes on (in the button). Is your B2650 hydrostatic drive? Would it be possible to mount a seat bypass switch when the range selector is in neutral? Then, you still have the safety if you forget and leave the range selector in L, M, or H. The range selector in Neutral and the brakes locked guarantee it ain't gonna move but consider some wheel chocks and poke the edge of the bucket in the ground just in case. This might be the least invasive option.

It would be really nice to have the shop service manuals for the LX, but I haven't found 'em yet. I'm a DIY'er, but only if I have appropriate information, especially when it's so easy to hose up the electronics on vehicles these days.

 

[SDT]

Anybody fit a Parked PTO Button on their B2650 like the new LX2610 has? I was wondering about the wiring. The button could probably be any single pole switch:confused2:

Jim

One of the very first things that I do after taking delivery of a new tractor is to short out the OP switch.

Works great.

 

[OldPaint]

One of the very first things that I do after taking delivery of a new tractor is to short out the OP switch.

Works great.

To each his own, but I think I'd rather know that the tractor is going to shut down if I do something stupid like bump the treadle while standing beside the tractor. It isn't just about falling off the tractor, though that does happen. There is usually a bypass function for the OP Switch that allows operation of the PTO with a few safety conditions met (brakes locked, transmission/range selector in neutral, seat forward to prove there's no operator, etc). It can't hurt to know how exaclty how it works and keep the safeties functional by making the checks part of a monthly maintenance routine, certainly on every oil change. A defective safety switch has never been known to cause an injury, that I know of, but a bypassed one is flirting with disaster. Those that defeat safeties because they're confident they don't need them often wish they hadn't and are more often glad they actually lived to regret it. I've had a tractor turn over on me and pin me down. Fortunately, it was just a lawn tractor, but it's not a comfortable feeling to be pinned down by 400 pounds of riding mower with the blades still going because the engine hadn't shut off. Because I thought I didn't need the seat safety switch. The bad part was, the safety switch had NEVER given me an issue. EVER. I repaired it the next day while I was nursing some very minor wounds and counting my blessings that I was still on this side of the grass. Most of my wounds were sustained while reaching for the keyswitch to shut the engine off, and then straining to push the machine off me. I got a couple pretty nasty scrapes in that process, but it was that or let the tractor keep running upside down and no way to stop the blades because I couldn't reach the PTO lever. Not many live to regret mistakes like that, but the regret and embarrassment were good teachers. Interlocks are there for a reason.

I grew up with old tractors that didn't have them and was always confident I wouldn't make a mistake like I made. I put a FarmAll Cub on its left side more times than I care to remember and didn't realize just how lucky I was each time. I've run the 8N off in the creek many times because I had the brush cutter lifted while I was turning with the cutting brakes while the tractor with NO traction on the front. The tractor clutch really didn't matter because the slip clutch on the 'Hog' didn't work, and the PTO on an 8N would just keep pushin because it was driven by the same power shaft to the transmission. Too much confidence in the cutting brakes on an 8N will get you in trouble QUICK. With the riding mower, it only took one loose rock that I'd run over a thousand times to shift enough to make the mower slide off the edge and roll over. Yes, it was operator error getting too close to the ditch, but a seat switch would have shut the tractor down and turned a very dangerous event into some minor bruises and scrapes. I got real lucky that day that the tractor didn't keep rolling and put the mowing deck down on me. I always said, "I wouldn't do stupid things on a tractor, so an accident won't happen to me on a tractor", until that day. I learned how a very small mistake can get real big real fast. On top of the danger of that incident, I was home alone with no one to call 911 for me if the worst happened. Now I don't engage in dangerous activities when I'm alone. I've had two very narrow escapes meaning I've cheated death at least twice that I know about. I'm not swinging on the 3rd pitch. I'm pretty sure I can't push the LX off me, and I sure don't want wheels turning and implements churning if the worst happens.

But, you're absolutely correct, disabling the OP switch will certainly let you run the PTO without being in the seat.

 

[m1garand762]

I can’t speak for the lx but on the standard L I have enough slack to loop the wire over the switch to hold it down. I use it with my pto generator, and to use the cruise to creep forward when I am using the backhoe

 

[mcfarmall]

Wow Old Paint you're lucky to be alive! Safety interlocks were definitely put there with people like you in mind.

Consider these states and errors to help you be more safe:

Rushing
Frustration
Fatigue
Complacency
Eyes not on task
Mind not on task
Line of fire
Balance, traction, grip

Next, consider these critical error reduction techniques:

Look at others for the patterns that increase the risk of injury.

Analyze close calls and small errors.

Practice building habits

Self-trigger on your state or the amount of hazardous energy.

 

[mdhughes]

Anybody fit a Parked PTO Button on their B2650 like the new LX2610 has? I was wondering about the wiring. The button could probably be any single pole switch:confused2:

Jim

Jim,
Based on the owner's manual, if you set the parking brake you can get off the tractor while the PTO is running the tractor should stay running:

Stationary PTO
To park the tractor and use the PTO system (for shipper or pump, for example), start the PTO system in the following steps:

1. Apply the parking brake and place blocks at the tires.
2. Make sure the shift levers are in NEUTRAL, and start the engine.
3. Set the PTO select lever to rear only position [B2650/B3350 only]
4. Set the PTO clutch lever to engage "ON".
5. Set the engine speed to provide the recommended rear PTO speed.
6. Get off the tractor.

NOTE:

• If the PTO system is engaged and you stand up from the east and realease the parking brake, the engine stops automatically after standing up.