Battery is weak in the G1800, so I have to jump-start it every time. When the two batteries are hooked up, it usually takes a while for the G1800 battery to take on enough charge to crank the starter. I've started it a dozen times that way this season with no problem. Need to load test the bitch, see if it's half-dead yet. And, test the alternator. Tomorrow, always tomorrow.
When I bought the tractor, 4 years ago, PO had rigged a piece of baling wire from the solenoid lever, to be able to pull the fuel off from the driver's seat to shut the engine down. I only had to use that one time (in the distant past) to shut it down.
This time, a few seconds after it started, I got a fireworks show where that pull-off wire is in contact with the dash metal. Weird! I had the hood tipped up, and I could also see sparking at the other end of the wire, where it was wrapped around the solenoid lever. Tractor stuttered during that, then died. Dashboard dark. The 10A fuse was blown. I cut and removed the pull-off wire, changed the fuse, and it started right up (again, on a jump). Solenoid seemed to be behaving normally. Said, "OK, time to MOW!" Mowed about 100 feet, and engine died again. Again, 10A fuse was blown. Again, replaced fuse and got all the electrics back. Gave up, because I didn't have enough battery to crank the motor, and I can't reach the jump vehicle.
Next step is to trace the wires from the 10A fuse. Must be a bare wire in there somewhere, shorting on the rad/dash support.
Always good to 'sleep on' wiring problems, for my sanity.
Checked the wiring diagram this morning and noticed that seat pan switch is on that 10A fuse. Hmmm.
Hey, I 'bypassed' that switch last year! I was going to cut the pigtail off and then just twist the two cut ends together. I thought better of that idea. I carefully strippede the insulation off about 1/2" of each wire, upstream of the plug end, and just twisted the plug end to twist those two bare wires together VOILA!
I did not attempt to isolate that splice, thinking they were probably both just ground wires. Cuz, that's the way *I* would have wired it... Nope, they're both hot when you're sitting on the seat.
Why'd they DO that?!?
The bare spot was shorting against the fender pan, and blowing the 10A fuse! It was finding ground at that pull-off wire for the starter solenoid and making the fireworks there...
-Paul
When I bought the tractor, 4 years ago, PO had rigged a piece of baling wire from the solenoid lever, to be able to pull the fuel off from the driver's seat to shut the engine down. I only had to use that one time (in the distant past) to shut it down.
This time, a few seconds after it started, I got a fireworks show where that pull-off wire is in contact with the dash metal. Weird! I had the hood tipped up, and I could also see sparking at the other end of the wire, where it was wrapped around the solenoid lever. Tractor stuttered during that, then died. Dashboard dark. The 10A fuse was blown. I cut and removed the pull-off wire, changed the fuse, and it started right up (again, on a jump). Solenoid seemed to be behaving normally. Said, "OK, time to MOW!" Mowed about 100 feet, and engine died again. Again, 10A fuse was blown. Again, replaced fuse and got all the electrics back. Gave up, because I didn't have enough battery to crank the motor, and I can't reach the jump vehicle.
Next step is to trace the wires from the 10A fuse. Must be a bare wire in there somewhere, shorting on the rad/dash support.
Always good to 'sleep on' wiring problems, for my sanity.
Checked the wiring diagram this morning and noticed that seat pan switch is on that 10A fuse. Hmmm.
Hey, I 'bypassed' that switch last year! I was going to cut the pigtail off and then just twist the two cut ends together. I thought better of that idea. I carefully strippede the insulation off about 1/2" of each wire, upstream of the plug end, and just twisted the plug end to twist those two bare wires together VOILA!
I did not attempt to isolate that splice, thinking they were probably both just ground wires. Cuz, that's the way *I* would have wired it... Nope, they're both hot when you're sitting on the seat.
Why'd they DO that?!?
The bare spot was shorting against the fender pan, and blowing the 10A fuse! It was finding ground at that pull-off wire for the starter solenoid and making the fireworks there...
-Paul
