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Told the church I'd take a look at their mower. Cub Cadet 3660 (predecessor to the M60 tank?). Presenting problem was mower shredding the deck drive belt. However, it will not crank. I can hear a click with key turn. Not sure if it's starter solenoid or carb solenoid. Not even sure if it has one on the carb. New starter solenoid. Battery fully charged. Both paddle switches and parking brake switch appear to have continuity. My next guess is checking PTO switch and key switch. Am I on the right track? Am I missing something? I am Youtube trained so speak slowly. Any help would be appreciated.

Sounds like the battery needs to be load tested to make sure it has enough amperage. A multimeter only reads voltage. Voltage is only "potential" to do work, the actual work is done by the amperage. Have the battery tested at a parts store before going any further.

Looking at the last pic, those electrical terminals are filthy. Make sure you have good pin fitment and all is CLEAN.

Auto Doc's said:

Sounds like the battery needs to be load tested to make sure it has enough amperage. A multimeter only reads voltage. Voltage is only "potential" to do work, the actual work is done by the amperage. Have the battery tested at a parts store before going any further.

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I have an extra battery. I'll give it a try. Currently I get nothing but a click.

slomo said:

Looking at the last pic, those electrical terminals are filthy. Make sure you have good pin fitment and all is CLEAN.

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I can do that. Somebody's been in here. The plug to the PTO is full of dielectric grease.

Let us know what you find

sano888 said:

plug to the PTO is full of dielectric grease.

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Ah, clean her like a new one. All that will do is attract dirt.

Used some Lectra-motive cleaner on the grease and wire brushed the switch. Tested OK. Started right up. Now on to why it's throwing a belt. Stay tuned.

sano888 said:

Used some Lectra-motive cleaner on the grease and wire brushed the switch. Tested OK. Started right up. Now on to why it's throwing a belt. Stay tuned.

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Easy with the wire brush. Polishing/cleaning is what I was referring to.

slomo said:

Easy with the wire brush. Polishing/cleaning is what I was referring to.

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Used a toothbrush sized brush with brass bristles on the switches. Is that a bad idea? How would one polish them? That's a new concept to me.

Hello sano888,

A brass bristle brush is ideal for cleaning exposed switch terminals. "Polishing" them is overkill. Just expose clean brass or metal of the pins and you are good to go.

The female connector pins are tricky because they tend to spread a little over time. Usually, a fine pick tool or a jeweler's screwdriver is used to tighten them back up gently.

Some people do not realize that die electric grease in non-conductive and if the female pins are too loose, proper contact becomes questionable. People often slobber that stuff into connections to help keep moisture out and prevent future corrosion, but it will cause problems if the pins are not properly checked first.

sano888 said:

Used a toothbrush sized brush with brass bristles on the switches. Is that a bad idea? How would one polish them? That's a new concept to me.

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Bad idea not so much. Better than it was for sure what you did.

I use Mother's Mag Wheel Polish. Or Flitz is great too. There are many simple metal polishes out there. Clean the bulk of the schmoo off. Little red shop rag and a dab of polish. Rub away the tarnish. Then shine up with a rag. Make sure the contacts are solid when you put the wires back on. Should drag the legs on a fuse for example. See scratch marks on each leg. Too loose, take pliers and gently smash the terminal down. It will tighten up as you will see.

Appreciate it fellas. Idle arm was bent a bit. Flattened it back out with a BFH on the anvil vise. Idler pulley sounds rough so going to replace. Fingers crossed that it's that simple.

sano888 said:

Appreciate it fellas. Idle arm was bent a bit. Flattened it back out with a BFH on the anvil vise. Idler pulley sounds rough so going to replace. Fingers crossed that it's that simple.

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Should be. Keep at it. Sounds like you are making good headway on her.

So...while I wait for the pulley, I'll do some clean up and general maintenance, but the presenting problem was deck drive belt was shredding. Anything I should be paying attention to while I've got it apart?

Dead bearings and such. Listen to them while spinning each one. Any growling needs replaced.

You say "shredding" Is it physically getting chewed on by a pulley or a guard that is out of place, or is it just chunking section out of the "V" portion of the belt due to age, heat and dry rotting?

Auto Doc's said:

You say "shredding" Is it physically getting chewed on by a pulley or a guard that is out of place, or is it just chunking section out of the "V" portion of the belt due to age, heat and dry rotting?

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I'm not sure. I wasn't running it when it happened. All I know is that the deck drive belt has broken twice. Belt appears to be whole but snapped apart. Straightened the idler arm and am replacing the idler pulley. I won't know more until I put a new belt on and run it. Just looking for other things to check while I've got it apart from the experts on here. Deck belt seems fine. I probably would have replaced the spindles a while ago if it were mine but that will have to wait.

I would check the spindles, and make sure they spin freely. Grease them while you're in there. Most spindles never get greased. You will need to apply grease until it squirts out somewhere. At that point, the grease will force past the seals.

sano888 said:

Used some Lectra-motive cleaner on the grease and wire brushed the switch. Tested OK. Started right up. Now on to why it's throwing a belt. Stay tuned.

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Well done. Check the belt for correct WIDTH. To narrow = too loose. Get a new one from Dealer of proper size.
Check Spindles and Idler pulleys first.

*Update* Everything went together fine. Started mowing and checking belt for wear. About 45 minutes into it I noticed some wear. Idler pulley seemed to be bouncing around quite a bit from the get-go but the whole deck seemed to be shaking after 45 minutes. Could it be the idler arm spring? Noticeable drop in power when PTO is turned on and also when mowing uphill. Think I might check to make sure both cylinders are firing,

This favors blades out of balance or very worn spindle bearings. The tensioner idler will jump back and forth, that is normal.

As for a cylinder dropping out, that would usually reduce the power so much it would not be able to cut and drive at the same time.

Verify your plugs are correct and the gap is set.

Auto Doc's said:

This favors blades out of balance or very worn spindle bearings. The tensioner idler will jump back and forth, that is normal.

As for a cylinder dropping out, that would usually reduce the power so much it would not be able to cut and drive at the same time.

Verify your plugs are correct and the gap is set.

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Sharpened and balances the blades myself but knowing me that could be a problem. Middle spindle with double pulley probably should be replaced. Could hear it more so that that other two when I had it apart. They ain't cheap. Will check plugs and coils next time I go up there.

Well, I'm beat. Replaced the idler spring. No change. Going to take it to a shop. I can get by taking a chance on a $20 part but will need a pro to tell me if the spindle or clutch is causing the issue and needs to be replaced. Is what it is.