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Hello, Let me introduce myself. I am Don Cook and I live in southeast Missouri. I have had my Cub Cadet riding lawn mower for about ten years. I have done oil and filter changes and other routine maintenance. I try to do all of the repairs needed around our house. I am having a problem with my lawn tractor that I need help with. My efforts to resolve the problem are listed below. I would appreciate any suggestion and help the members of the forum can provide.


I shut off the motor to my Cub Cadet 1525 the other day and found the starter still whinning. I turned the key to the on position and back to the off position and the whinning continued. I had to disconnect the battery to get the whinning to stop. I waited a few minutes and reconnected the battery and tried to start the motor. Nothing happended. I applied 12 volts to the solinoid coil lead and did not hear any click or get any continuity across the lagre poles. So, I replaced the solinoid assumming that the solinoid was the cause of the problem. Still had the problem.

I then searched on-line and found the Cub Cadet Service Manual for 1000/1500 Series Riding Tractors. I have found the section on checking the start-up safety components (seat switch, brake switch, and PTO switch). I have checked each of these switches and they pass continuity tests. I tested for voltage drop. The voltage I first got at the lead to the solinoid coil was between 6 and 7 volts. I continued the voltage drop testing and discovered the key switch was dropping the voltage roughly 6 volts. I replaced the key switch and still the solinoid will not kick in and start the motor.

I have checked the ground connection of the solinoid to the frame and it is good. I even ran an insulated 12 guage solid copper wire from the frame of the solinoid to the bateries ground post as second solid groud. Still will not startup.

I am able to turn the key to run position and then connect a battery jumper cable to the starter's post and then touch the other end of the battery jumper cable to the positive post of the battery and the motor will start and run until I shut the key off.


Here are the questions that I have:

1. Am I correct in my belief that my model 1525 is a part of the 1500 series? (I ask this because several of the pictures in the manual are different on my mower.)

2. Will the mower run with the "RMC" module removed?

3. On page 77 in paragraph 38.18, the manual speaks of an "OCR plug" what is the OCR plug and where is it located?

4. Is there a technique to wire around each of the safety switches one at a time to determine which one is bad?

5. Does anyone have other suggestions to determine what is preventing this mower from starting?


Thanks, Don

You can do this with the old solenoid that you took off, fix a wire onto the small connection to the solenoid, now connect the body of the solenoid (steel part) to a pole of the battery, it makes no difference's which one for now because you are just testing it, and the the small wire from the solenoid to the other pole of the battery, now do you hear a click, you should. if you don't then you have a bad solenoid, you can try this with the new one that is on the mower, just jump a wire from the battery + to the small connection on the solenoid, it should click and turn the engine over. remember to check all the interlock switches, give them some WD or the like.
Make sure that the battery is 100%

Dear EngineMan, This is my first time to use a forum. I hope that what I am typing will come your way. Thank you for your instruction as to how I can test the solenoid. I am understanding you to say that it is okay to spray WD40 into the plunger of the brake switch and into the body of the PTO switch. I will follow your suggestions. Thanks again.

EngineMan said:

You can do this with the old solenoid that you took off, fix a wire onto the small connection to the solenoid, now connect the body of the solenoid (steel part) to a pole of the battery, it makes no difference's which one for now because you are just testing it, and the the small wire from the solenoid to the other pole of the battery, now do you hear a click, you should. if you don't then you have a bad solenoid, you can try this with the new one that is on the mower, just jump a wire from the battery + to the small connection on the solenoid, it should click and turn the engine over. remember to check all the interlock switches, give them some WD or the like.
Make sure that the battery is 100%

Click to expand...

Dear Engineman and others who may be reading,

I am back from vacation with the grandkids. So, I am back to the lawn mower. Currently the mower will start when I am setting of the seat, have the PTO off, the brake peddle depressed, turn the switch to the start position and have the RMC Module removed.

The cutting deck/PTO will not engaged at this time.


Below are the steps I took to get to where I am currently.

I tried to complete the solinoid test and was not able to get the coil to pull in on the old or the new solenoid.

I then put the switch on "run" position and connected a 12 guage house wire from the solenoids coil input to the positive terminal of the bettery. The mower started. I concluded that the solenoid was okay.

I checked continuity from the coil input to the brake switch it was okay.

I removed the brake switch and checked the continuity across both sets of poles in open and closed switch positions all four test showed expected results.

I checked contiuity from the brake to the PTO and the wire test indicated the wire to be good.

I checked the continuity on the PTO off terminals and tester read 60 ohms rather than 0 to 0.3 ohms. Yeh!!! I thought I had it. I purchased a new PTO switch.

I replaced the PTO switch and expectred great things. Darn!! The mower still would not start.

I started checking voltages at different points. I discovered that with the switch in start position the solenoid coil input was 12 volts. I noticed that if I had the switch in "run" position the coil input was seeing a little over 6 volts. (What the heck, how can this be? I asked myself where else does any of the current go.) About this time my hand brushed against the RMC Module and I noticed that the RMC Module was very warm. I thought I had read in the Cub Cadet manual that mower would run with the MRC Module removed. I took the RMC Module out and the mower started up with the conditions listed at the top of this note. NOW, I discover that the PTO/cutting deck will not engage.

Does anyone know if the mower is suppose to be able to cut grass with the RMC Module removed? If the mower is suppose to be able to runand cut grass with the RMC Module removed then I need help as to what to do next. If someone knows that the mower will not run and cut grass without the RMC Module in place then I will purchase a module.

Any suggestion would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Don

Try this procedure and tell us know what you find.





Electrical* problems can be very easy or very difficult, depending on four things.
1. * How well you understand basic electricity.
2. *What tools you have and know how to use.
3. *How well you follow directions.
4. *You don't overlook or assume anything and verify everything.

Remember we cannot see what you are doing. *You are our eyes, ears and fingers in solving this problem. *You must be as accurate as you can when you report back. *The two basic tools we will ask you to use are a test light and a multi-meter. *If you have an assistant when going through these tests it would be very helpful. *These steps work the best when done in order, so please don't jump around. *Now let's solve this problem.

First, check the fuse(s), check battery connections for corrosion (clean if necessary) and *voltage - above 12.5 volts should be good.*

Second, check for power from the battery to one of the large terminals on the solenoid. *One of the wires is connected directly to the battery and has power all the time so one of the large terminals should light a test light or show 12 volts on a meter at all times.*

Third, *check for power at the small terminal of the solenoid while depressing the clutch/brake pedal and holding the key in the start position (you may need an assistant to sit in the seat to override the safety switch). If your solenoid is a four wire solenoid, check both small wire terminals as one is ground and the other is power from the ignition switch. *If your solenoid is a three wire solenoid, make sure the solenoid body is not corroded where it bolts to the chassis of the mower as this is your ground path back to the battery. *If in doubt, remove the solenoid and clean the mounting area down to bare metal. *If there is no power to the small terminal then your problem is most likely a safety switch, ignition switch or in the wiring.*

Fourth, check for power on the other large terminal of the solenoid while holding the key in the start position (you may need an assistant to sit in the seat to override the safety switch).*

Fifth, check for power at the starter while holding the key in the start position (assistant again).*

Sixth, check your ground circuit back to the battery.

After you have gone through each of the above steps, let us know what happened when you did each step. *At that point we will have great info to tell you how to proceed. *Remember you are our eyes, ears, and fingers, so please be as accurate as possible.

Be as specific as possible with voltage readings as this will help diagnose your problem quicker. *If you do not know how to perform the above checks, just ask and I will try to guide you through it. *Youtube also has some videos and as you know a picture is worth a thousand words.