Leaves Cub Cadet 2518

[rlarvin]

Today I was mulching leaves with my Cub Cadet model 2518 that I have had since 2002. I smelled leaves burning and noticed a few sparks blowing out of the front below the engine. I shut down the mower, jumped off, raised the hood, and saw a small fire at the bottom of the engine. I grabbed a bucket of water and splashed the fire out in less than a minute.

After clearing and blowing leaves and debris out, I restarted the mower and engaged the blades to see if there was any damage. I was concerned as much about splashing water over the engine as I was the burning leaves. I drove around for a minute or so mulching some more leaves and suddenly the engine died. I tried to start it back - wouldn't start. I checked the gas tank - still plenty of gas. Again I tried to start it, the starter works fine, the engine turns but still it would not start up.

Strangely, I was on a small incline when it quit, and while I was off the mower checking things out, it began to roll a few feet. It has never done that before, even when I have stopped on a steeper incline. It just suddenly went "free wheel". I jumped back on it and set the park brake. Later, when I saw that it was not going to start, I got my neighbor to help push it back to my workshop.

The failure to start and the "free wheeling" has me baffled. Need some advice. Thanks!

 

[RDA.Lawns]

I doubt the fire has anything to do with the free wheel. But I suspect it did cause it to die. Check for a blown fuse. Chances are its blown. The fire could easily burnt the insulation of a wire. When you started mowing again it grounded out blowing the fuse. Check the wires in the area of the fire closely . Also when mulching leaves make sure they don't accumulate in front of the deck in front of the exhaust. Might want to check into a spark arrester for the muffler.

 

[bertsmobile1]

As the engine is cranking I doubt you will have a blown fuse however there is a better than average chance you have either water in the fuel or the insulation on the kill wire has burned through and the kill wire is shorting to ground.
Remove the spark plug and the wire to the fuel shut off solenoid crank the engine while watching for a spark.
No spark, check for a grounding kill wire.
Spark, check for water in the fuel.

 

[rlarvin]

As the engine is cranking I doubt you will have a blown fuse however there is a better than average chance you have either water in the fuel or the insulation on the kill wire has burned through and the kill wire is shorting to ground.
Remove the spark plug and the wire to the fuel shut off solenoid crank the engine while watching for a spark.
No spark, check for a grounding kill wire.
Spark, check for water in the fuel.

This jogged my memory. After I restarted the mower, but before it ultimately quit, I set the park brake to get off while it was still running. As soon as I raised from the seat, the engine started to shut down. I checked the engage/disengage lever and it was pushed in. I tried to raise up again - same thing - the engine started to shut down. So, I turned the key off. It did restart and that's when I mowed for a minute more. And then it quit for good. It does indicate that the kill switch was compromised. Would this also cause the "free wheel"?

 

[bertsmobile1]

Get it running and worry about the free wheeling latter on.
The brake works on the gearbox layshaft, not the wheels nor axle .
It locks the diff so one wheel turns backwards and the other turns forwards.
This is by the way the same way the P position on an auto gearbox works.
Thus if one wheel can slide, the other will rotate.

The parking brake in under the turret and is a SOB to remove.
It is a flanged switch with a pair of barbs that stop it falling out and you really need to be triple jointed to get it out in one piece.
AFAIK it is just about unique to Cub & Bolens ( pre MTD )
You will not be able to pull the wires off with it in place and to get it out you really have to remove the rear body panel which is 2 man job because it is a big lump of metal & awkward to handle.
Good news is it is only held in by 6 bolts , 4 in the foot boards under the rubber mat and 1 each side of the seat which comes off if you are doing it by yourself or can stay on if there are two of you .
One bolt for each for brake & forward pedals, reverse stays where it is.
The wiring to the seat switch is well protected but the wiring to the brake switch in not,
Follow the thick wiring loom down from the top of the turret & you will see 2 sets of wires branching off at the bottom & going back into the bottom of the turret.
These are the reverse lock out ( green & white ) & brake ( yellow ) switch wires

 

[rlarvin]

Get it running and worry about the free wheeling latter on.
The brake works on the gearbox layshaft, not the wheels nor axle .
It locks the diff so one wheel turns backwards and the other turns forwards.
This is by the way the same way the P position on an auto gearbox works.
Thus if one wheel can slide, the other will rotate.

The parking brake in under the turret and is a SOB to remove.
It is a flanged switch with a pair of barbs that stop it falling out and you really need to be triple jointed to get it out in one piece.
AFAIK it is just about unique to Cub & Bolens ( pre MTD )
You will not be able to pull the wires off with it in place and to get it out you really have to remove the rear body panel which is 2 man job because it is a big lump of metal & awkward to handle.
Good news is it is only held in by 6 bolts , 4 in the foot boards under the rubber mat and 1 each side of the seat which comes off if you are doing it by yourself or can stay on if there are two of you .
One bolt for each for brake & forward pedals, reverse stays where it is.
The wiring to the seat switch is well protected but the wiring to the brake switch in not,
Follow the thick wiring loom down from the top of the turret & you will see 2 sets of wires branching off at the bottom & going back into the bottom of the turret.
These are the reverse lock out ( green & white ) & brake ( yellow ) switch wires

I might have gotten off quite lucky.

Yesterday I examined the wiring beneath the engine on the left side of the mower. They were blackened and somewhat melted and I couldn't really see any bare wires, but they were mashed down against the frame. When I loosened and separated them away from each other and the mower frame, I turned the key and the mower started right up! I drove it around a few minutes, and tested every function. Everything worked as normal except one thing. It still is in "free wheel" all the time, except when I have the park brake on. I don't really mind that, though, unless that indicates a serious problem.

Actually, even when the mower was new, that transmission release on the rear of the mower never worked. I was never able to move it freely inside my workshop or to push it out of a ditch. I wrapped all the burned wires in electrical tape and drove it around again. Works great. Should I be concerned about the "free wheel"?