1999 John Deere 345 PTO stopping and engine shutting down

[jackson63]

My 345 on occasion the blades will shut down. If I reset the PTO switch it will work for a while then trip again. Also about half the time the engine will shut down as well. Thinking I had a faulty PTO switch on the dash I replaced it and still have the problem. I cut yesterday for two hours and it happened three times. Thanks

 

[mechanic mark]

John Deere Model 345 Lawn and Garden Tractor Parts

Raise seat & inspect seat switch for working condition. Inspect PTO clutch air gap at 3 windows making sure with feeler gauge they are .012"

 

[Deleted member 97405]

It could be the coil in your PTO clutch going out. When it shuts off, do a voltage test. If you still have voltage to the clutch, then replace the clutch. Don't mess with gap adjustment on these. These clutches weren't built for old-school serviceability. The gap is set at the factory and that's it. If the gap is out of spec, the clutch is bad. Adjusting is only a bandaid on these models. Trust me, I've been there and cut many of these clutches apart just to see the wear on the parts. Last time I encountered this problem, it was a relay going bad on the circuit board next to the battery. Make sure the backside of that board isn't corroded as well. Very common. Bad design for Deere to put that board next to the battery. When I replaced the boards, I always coated them with battery corrosion preventative spray. On a very rare case, I had a parking brake lever spring break off the orange/red lever and lodge between the circuit board and battery support. Weird. Only saw that once, but I look for it everytime since! The spring mounts close to the board, and I guess the tension shot the spring forward into the board when it broke off the brake lever.

 

[jackson63]

Thank you. I will report what I find.

 

[VRR.DYNDNS>BIZ]

It could be the coil in your PTO clutch going out. When it shuts off, do a voltage test. If you still have voltage to the clutch, then replace the clutch. Don't mess with gap adjustment on these. These clutches weren't built for old-school serviceability. The gap is set at the factory and that's it. If the gap is out of spec, the clutch is bad. Adjusting is only a bandaid on these models. Trust me, I've been there and cut many of these clutches apart just to see the wear on the parts. Last time I encountered this problem, it was a relay going bad on the circuit board next to the battery. Make sure the backside of that board isn't corroded as well. Very common. Bad design for Deere to put that board next to the battery. When I replaced the boards, I always coated them with battery corrosion preventative spray. On a very rare case, I had a parking brake lever spring break off the orange/red lever and lodge between the circuit board and battery support. Weird. Only saw that once, but I look for it everytime since! The spring mounts close to the board, and I guess the tension shot the spring forward into the board when it broke off the brake lever.

Wow, this is an experienced report.