A short time ago I posted a query regarding changing the hydraulic steering cylinder on my 2013 Prestige 27 HP lawn tractor. The end result is I was required to dissassemble the entire steering console to get to the swivel fittings on the hydraulic lines to remove/reassemble them. Bear with me now.... In order to do that, I had to disconnect all the elecric connectors in the console, which is all of them period. Whilst I had it apart, I sprayed the connectors down with contact cleaner then doused them well with Corrosion Block, a rust preventer I used with great success on my boat(s). Prior to this exercise, for several years I had an intermittent problem with the tractor failing to crank; I'd turn the key and get absolutely nothing. This may happen once, it may happen 5 times in a row, regardless, it always started eventually so I never got too excited about it. Well, after I reassembled everything and twisted the key - away she went! And it's never failed to crank or start since! So apparently, the issue was in a poor connection of some sort in one of the connectors in the console.
Moral of the story is: sometimes the fix for a problem is right under your nose, all you need to do is work on something else to find it.
Micro corrosion creeps into connectors over time and usually it is a matter of disconnecting and reconnecting the terminals to scrub to new metal and reestablish proper contact. This sounds like what happened.
A product known as DeoxIt D5 works wonders to prevent future problems. Do not pack connectors full of die-electric silicone because while that will keep moisture out, it also disrupts good contact on the pins and terminals.
