PTO problems on Cub Cadet GT1554

[xb90]

Howdy Gang,

My PTO started acting up a couple of weeks ago where the PTO would randomly not engage. It has become progressively worse and it now does not work at all.

The switch seems to be fine as I have checked voltage on the two-wire terminal the connects to the PTO and I am seeing around 13 volts when the switch is on so I'm thinking the PTO itself has gone bad (but hoping its something else less expensive).

Any ideas for other things to check? If it is the PTO, can it possibly be repaired or will I need to buy a whole new one?

Thanks!

 

[xb90]

Replaced the PTO clutch and still not working. Looks like my voltage check to the clutch leads was not an adequate test.

Hmmmm.....

 

[CubUser]

How old is your battery?

 

[MBDiagMan]

Are you sure that the connector is making good contact?

 

[JTKub]

Oh crap! You went thru the expense of replacing the clutch and that didn't solve it? Well at least that points to something upstream of the clutch. Like said, the connectors can get cooked. Relays can get weak or burnt, wiring with insulation breaks, etc.. Low voltage will also cause the clutch to disengage or not engage at all.

Joel

 

[xb90]

Thanks for the responses!

I just rechecked voltage with the engine running.

At the battery, I'm seeing 14.1 volts
At the PTO connection I'm seeing a solid 13.9 volts

I carefully cleaned the contacts leading to the PTO and tried again - still nothing.

I'm stumped. Any ideas?

 

[xb90]

The contacts were kind of dirty - I'm going to try cleaning them more thoroughly with solvent and try again.

It seems like this has got to be the problem.

update: I made the contacts nice and shiny clean and even bent them a little bit so they make solid contact when slid into the PTO's connector.

No Change.

13.9 Volts to the PTO ought to do it right?

Also, the battery is fairly new - about 6 months old
Correction, the battery is a little over a year old - purchased in 07/09
I just pulled the battery and cleaned up the terminals (there was some very minor corrosion) - it's all clean now and put back together.

No Change.

Is there anything else I can check?
Could it be that my brand new PTO Clutch is bad?

I've been out of service now for a couple of weeks and the grass is getting taller - it grows fast out here in Hawaii (and all year round).

 

[GTSRider]

Sorry to jump on your thread.... but my PTO builds speed slowly, and once all is hot ...like 5 minutes or less.... the PTO is strong and solid for duration of
mowing for the day. At first thought it was belts and replaced belts with new...
but still, blades move slowly till all is hot.
Pete
2003 3000 series Cub Cadet 20hp V Kohler

 

[CubUser]

Sorry to jump on your thread.... but my PTO builds speed slowly

The 3000 series has a vacuum activated PTO - the rest of the lineup has a electro-magnetic clutch arrangement, it's either engaged or it's not, there's no half-way point like you have with the vacuum PTO.

 

[MBDiagMan]

Use an ohmmeter on the clutch coil to ensure that it is not open.

 

[MFRED]

Have you checked all the grounds? maybe you have a grounding issue.

 

[MBDiagMan]

Does this clutch coil have two terminals on the connector or just one? If it has two, are you measuring the Voltage ACROSS the coil or from ground to the hot terminal of the coil?

 

[MFRED]

Any news?

 

[xb90]

PROBLEM SOLVED

I finally gave up and took the mower into the shop. The guy there was stumped as well for quite a while but finally determined that it was a bad relay. The funny thing was that voltage to the PTO looked good (checking with voltmeter) but perhaps voltage dropped off to nothing when a load was put on it (PTO connected).

The quick PTO check that the shop did was to connect a 12 volt battery to the PTO and listen for a click. No click = PTO problem. Mine clicked just fine.

Anyway, I ended up buying PTO I didn't need (at least I have a backup now) and close to $200 troubleshooting to replace a $30 relay.

OUCH$$$$

 

[Syncro]

The original post is pretty old and the problem has been solved. That said, I had a similar problem. Turned out the wires on the PTO unit were broken right where they enter the main PTO housing. They looked alright physically, but the copper wires inside the insulation were broken. What caused this was inadvertently turning the PTO while removing the drive pulleys, gotta be careful not to let that happen when the PTO stop is removed, as when taking the deck off.

I was able to peel back the insulation and solder the wires, all is now well again. It taught me a lesson on being very careful not to let the PTO housing turn when removing the deck or blade drive belt (and the PTO locking bar is removed). It doesn't take much to break those wires, and if they do break it happens very close to the drive housing and not easy to repair

 

[bluegrass1]

Have you checked all the grounds? maybe you have a grounding issue.

yes

 

[bluegrass1]

checked grounds

 

[bluegrass1]

what would couse the pto to disengage as soon as it engages

 

[tomplum]

More than likely either the wire back at the reverse sensing switch, not enough power @ the clutch itself or a worn clutch.