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I've got a 2021 Conquest (2691676-00). The cutting height motor seems to have gone bad (I've only got about 50 hours on it, probably half mowing). The last time I put the deck on, it would only raise the cut height, not lower it. I've got juice to the motor both directions, so I believe the motor is bad. I'm going to fiddle with a couple other things, like manually moving the height to the middle of the travel, and see if that helps. Genuine BS part is between $330 and $450, depending on source. I also see that the part in my manual, 1715885SM, has been superseded by 709509. Mine has a label on it that says it's new and improved (WITH IMPROVED INTERNAL.. hopefully I'll be able to read the rest of that when I take it off).

Questions:
Does anybody have any experience with Flip Manufacturing? I see they have a "direct replacement" that's $100 cheaper. Would I be saving $100 or wasting $250?
Will this thing continue to eat motors? I already replaced the lift actuator, that was over $800, and was bad when I bought the tractor at 10 hours.
Why did the old part get superseded?
Any advice on extending the life? It's hard to hear these motors running over the noise of the gas engine, so I suspect they get to the end of travel. I've found that as little as the deck actually raises, I need to lower the cut height to get in and out of the garage (bring the rollers up) so I'm probably running it a lot more than was expected by the engineers, but come on!

I'm tempted to rig up a way to use a cordless drill to drive the screw, or see if I can rig a manual lever. I loved my old Broadmoor, probably built in the 70's, but this one is starting to explain why they've stopped building tractors.

Since the motor is DC motor that is being reversed it is more likely to be either controlling relay (contractor) or the control switch.

But to be sure use a voltmeter across the two wires for the motor and check to see if the voltage being applied is reversing when you go to lower the deck. Should be around +12 one direction and -12 the other direction as long as you don't reverse the meter leads.

StarTech said:

Since the motor is DC motor that is being reversed it is more likely to be either controlling relay (contractor) or the control switch.

But to be sure use a voltmeter across the two wires for the motor and check to see if the voltage being applied is reversing when you go to lower the deck. Should be around +12 one direction and -12 the other direction as long as you don't reverse the meter leads.

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Thanks. I'll check that. So far I've just used a test light.

Your mow height switch will be (ON) OFF (ON) double pole switch.

StarTech said:

Your mow height switch will be (ON) OFF (ON) double pole switch.
View attachment 67255

Click to expand...

StarTech said:

Your mow height switch will be (ON) OFF (ON) double pole switch.
View attachment 67255

Click to expand...

For only a $100 difference in motor prices (OEM vs aftermarket), that is a toss up. Don’t see many power deck lifts at all in my shop from customers. Fixed one one a Bad Boy this year. The motor was good, but the grub screw that secured the actuator had fallen out. I would consider sealing the motor somehow with a plastic bag (from moisture and debris). I am not a fan of these type deck lifts.

StarTech said:

Since the motor is DC motor that is being reversed it is more likely to be either controlling relay (contractor) or the control switch.

But to be sure use a voltmeter across the two wires for the motor and check to see if the voltage being applied is reversing when you go to lower the deck. Should be around +12 one direction and -12 the other direction as long as you don't reverse the meter leads.

Click to expand...

Checked with a volt meter this morning and it's +12 one way, -12 the other. I took the linkage apart to work it manually, tried the motor without it pushing or pulling anything, it still only works one direction, so I guess it's the motor. Still unsure which one to go with.

I just ordered a Flip motor, from the manufacturer (a few bucks less than Amazon). It will be interesting to see how it holds up. I found mostly positive reviews when I googled them, but there aren't a lot of reviews. I wonder if my rough yard is hard on the motor(s).

I see the electric deck lift actuators go bad a lot. Personally I feel they are a gimmick that has no real purpose other than a marketing thing. Customers love dropping a few hundred on a mower with very low hours because a 10 cent plastic gear stripped out in the lift actuator.
< end of rant>

My new motor came today, and I need to go to town and get some metric bolts to fit it. In the meantime, I connected the wires to it and tried it out. It works the same as the old one! it works when I push the switch in the "up" direction, but not "down". I checked again with a VOM, and I get +12.6 volts one direction, -12.9 the other. I put the VOM leads into the connector closest to the motor, and left them in place when I moved the switch back and forth. I feel like I'm missing something really simple here. Any suggestions?

Coming off the switch you should have 2 wires going to the motor. A Brown/White and a Red/White. One of these wires is for UP and the other for DOWN. Check for continuity of both these wires between the switch and actuator to make sure they are not broken or shorted. If no continuity or shorted to ground you will have found your problem.

Un hook the motor and Connect a known load like a light bulb across the wires from the switch. Flip switch in both directions. Does lamp light in both positions? Is it the same brightness?

Hammermechanicman said:

Un hook the motor and Connect a known load like a light bulb across the wires from the switch. Flip switch in both directions. Does lamp light in both positions? Is it the same brightness?

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I didn't see this suggestion (next page) until after I tried to follow Rivets' suggestion. When I took the connector off the switch to check continuity, I accidentally took the switch apart. I put it back together, tried to check continuity again, but realized the reason I wasn't getting anything was because I'd disconnected the battery, so some downstream relay probably wasn't operating. Put the whole thing back together, tried it out, and everything works, both new and old motors. I'm guessing that the issue was some connection either internal to the switch or the connector to it, was making contact but not enough to drive the motor. The suggested bulb test probably would have shown me that.

Now I'll find out if Flip Manufacturing really takes returns at no cost for any reason as their website says. Otherwise, I guess I pay the stupid tax!