Electrical issue?

[Kssummers]

My Liberty Z with only 120 hours has developed an issue where it will not start up after i have cut my yard. Once I turn the engine off (after mowing for an hour) It is completely dead, no sound from ignition, nada. After about 48 hours it will start up again. My dealer had it for two weeks but they were unable to duplicate this issue, nor could they find a problem. They checked all the safety switches. I can use the mower, but I just can’t turn it off until I’m finished mowing and ready to park it in the garage. Then last week, the engine began dying if I pulled the parking brake. My dealer has the mower again. Has anyone experienced anything similar?

 

[ILENGINE]

I would be wondering about either the charging system, or a funky shorted cell in the battery. Had an issue years ago with my tractor where you would flip the key on the dash lights would come on and go through the glow plug sequence and as soon as you turned the key to start everything would go dead. turn off key and repair. You could then connect a charger to it. turn it on and immediately back off and it would start the tractor for a week. Would even pass load testing and battery analyzers if not in a failed state.

 

[bertsmobile1]

next time you mow, stop next to your car/ truck .
If it will not crank then hook up jumpers from your battery + to the solenoid battery cable side then - to the engine and turn the key
If it will crank and start like this then you have a bad battery cable or bad connection
If nothing = bad battery which you can confirm by trying to jump start from your vehicle .
When you mow next week come back with the results
ZTR battery leads tend to corrode internally and give funny symptoms like yours after bouncing around your yard.
These can not be reproduced with the mower running in the corner of the car park .

 

[StarTech]

I have seen once here where a partially shorted electric PTO clutch would just drain the battery enough to where the battery seem dead but a few hours later the battery has recharged itself. This was a JD F525 mower. Replaced the electric PTO clutch and the problem was resolved. Suggest someone to test the PTO for either current draw of under 7 amps (3-5 amps more normal) or that the its coil resistance is above 1.7 ohms.

 

[Forest#2]

Would die if you pulled the parking break, you say.

Would it re-start ok?

I've seen corroded fuse holders or the tabs on push in fuses cause such.
Sometimes the fuse holder would have to be replaced because the terminals inside the fuse holder (especially on lawn tractors) have corroded or got hot and loose their tension and make contact when they cool. Sometimes just removing the fuse and re-installing will give a temporary fix.

 

[Kssummers]

I would be wondering about either the charging system, or a funky shorted cell in the battery. Had an issue years ago with my tractor where you would flip the key on the dash lights would come on and go through the glow plug sequence and as soon as you turned the key to start everything would go dead. turn off key and repair. You could then connect a charger to it. turn it on and immediately back off and it would start the tractor for a week. Would even pass load testing and battery analyzers if not in a failed state.

Thanks! The dealer has it now so I’ll update the post once they send it back I appreciate the ideas!

 

[Kssummers]

I have seen once here where a partially shorted electric PTO clutch would just drain the battery enough to where the battery seem dead but a few hours later the battery has recharged itself. This was a JD F525 mower. Replaced the electric PTO clutch and the problem was resolved. Suggest someone to test the PTO for either current draw of under 7 amps (3-5 amps more normal) or that the its coil resistance is above 1.7 ohms.

I told the dealer originally I thought something was up with the PTO switch since it occasionally sticks. I’ll update the post once they return the mower. Thanks!

 

[Kssummers]

next time you mow, stop next to your car/ truck .
If it will not crank then hook up jumpers from your battery + to the solenoid battery cable side then - to the engine and turn the key
If it will crank and start like this then you have a bad battery cable or bad connection
If nothing = bad battery which you can confirm by trying to jump start from your vehicle .
When you mow next week come back with the results
ZTR battery leads tend to corrode internally and give funny symptoms like yours after bouncing around your yard.
These can not be reproduced with the mower running in the corner of the car park .

Thanks for the info! I’ll post once the mower is retuned, hopefully with a solution to the problem.

 

[Kssummers]

Thanks! The dealer has it now so I’ll update the post once they send it back I appreciate the ideas!

Turned out it was a faulty PTO switch causing start up issues and a bad sensor on the parking brake.

 

[Kssummers]

My Liberty Z with only 120 hours has developed an issue where it will not start up after i have cut my yard. Once I turn the engine off (after mowing for an hour) It is completely dead, no sound from ignition, nada. After about 48 hours it will start up again. My dealer had it for two weeks but they were unable to duplicate this issue, nor could they find a problem. They checked all the safety switches. I can use the mower, but I just can’t turn it off until I’m finished mowing and ready to park it in the garage. Then last week, the engine began dying if I pulled the parking brake. My dealer has the mower again. Has anyone experienced anything similar?

Turned out I had a bad sensor on the parking brake, and a faulty PTO switch. All covered under warrant. Back in business. Thanks to all for the advice and suggestions!