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Intermittent Magnum Mower deck starting issue

#1

M

Magnum50

I have a 50" mower deck on my Magnum that does 1 of 3 things when I pull the switch to turn on the mower deck. 1). Blades turn on ok. 2). Nothing happens. 3). The motor is dragged down until it dies.

Seems to change whenever it wants to.

Any suggestions?

Ty


#2

M

mechanic mark



#3

S

slomo

Just a few off the top of my head.

1.Valve adjustment.
2.Low compression.
3.Weak spark.
4.Clogged/plugged air filter.
5.Dirty carb.
6.Bad deck bearings.
7.Bad deck pulleys.
8.Grass built up under the deck.
9.Deck is too low in the grass.
10.Tires are under inflated. Normal for this time of the year.
11.Water in the fuel system.
12.Vacuum leak/s.
13.Mouse nest in the air filter.
14.Mice chewing wires??
15.Old stale fuel from last year.
16.Plugged up slash carbon fouled spark plug/s.
17.Carb float too low or high.
18.Dead head gasket.


#4

M

Magnum50

Hi Slomo

The motor actually is running fine. It's turning on the mower deck that's the problem. Sorry I wasn't specific enough.
slomo said:
Just a few off the top of my head.

1.Valve adjustment.
2.Low compression.
3.Weak spark.
4.Clogged/plugged air filter.
5.Dirty carb.
6.Bad deck bearings.
7.Bad deck pulleys.
8.Grass built up under the deck.
9.Deck is too low in the grass.
10.Tires are under inflated. Normal for this time of the year.
11.Water in the fuel system.
12.Vacuum leak/s.
13.Mouse nest in the air filter.
14.Mice chewing wires??
15.Old stale fuel from last year.
16.Plugged up slash carbon fouled spark plug/s.
17.Carb float too low or high.
18.Dead head gasket.
Click to expand...
Hi

The motor is running fine. It's turning on the mower deck that's the problem.


#5

M

Magnum50

mechanic mark said:
Click to expand...
I'll give that a try. Thanks!


#6

S

slomo

You said the blades come on okay. Then nothing happens, not sure what that means then engine dogs down. Confused.


#7

M

Magnum50

slomo said:
You said the blades come on okay. Then nothing happens, not sure what that means then engine dogs down. Confused.
Click to expand...

Yes I have done the that several times. Pull the engine cover and blow out the dirt & clippings.

It's not an engine problem, it's the PTO to the mower deck that's messing me up. Sorry about the confusion.

Not all three things happen at the same time. Just one of them. And I never know which one.

When I pull the PTO switch to on, one of the three things I described will happen. Not all of them. I never know which one will happen...All okay, and mower deck runs as normal, or one of the other two things, Mower deck does not turn on at all, or turning on the PTO switch drags the engine to a stall. The PTO switch (to the Mower Deck) seems to have a mind of it's own. After I trailer it from one place to another, I never know what's going to happen when I pull up the PTO switch to turn the mower deck on.


#8

H

hlw49

What color is the pto switch red button or yellow. If Red I would replace it with the new yellow 679534 switch. When you have it off take a look at the terminals in the plug and see if the center tabs in the terminals are broken out.


#9

M

Magnum50

hlw49 said:
What color is the pto switch red button or yellow. If Red I would replace it with the new yellow 679534 switch. When you have it off take a look at the terminals in the plug and see if the center tabs in the terminals are broken out.
Click to expand...
It's red. I'll give it a try. Ty


#10

H

hlw49

We it boggs the engine do it could be the clutch bearings trying to lock up check to see if it is making a noise.


#11

StarTech

StarTech

hlw49 said:
What color is the pto switch red button or yellow. If Red I would replace it with the new yellow 679534 switch. When you have it off take a look at the terminals in the plug and see if the center tabs in the terminals are broken out.
Click to expand...
So they are upgrading to a 6205 10 amp sealed switch from the 6204 5A non sealed one.

Now the question is which 6205-131 switch are they using? A, B, or C?
1711111089551.png


#12

R

RevB

slomo said:
Just a few off the top of my head.

1.Valve adjustment.
2.Low compression.
3.Weak spark.
4.Clogged/plugged air filter.
5.Dirty carb.
6.Bad deck bearings.
7.Bad deck pulleys.
8.Grass built up under the deck.
9.Deck is too low in the grass.
10.Tires are under inflated. Normal for this time of the year.
11.Water in the fuel system.
12.Vacuum leak/s.
13.Mouse nest in the air filter.
14.Mice chewing wires??
15.Old stale fuel from last year.
16.Plugged up slash carbon fouled spark plug/s.
17.Carb float too low or high.
18.Dead head gasket.
Click to expand...
You forgot about where the steel was manufactured......


#13

Hammermechanicman

Hammermechanicman

Have you removed the deck and checked all the bearings? If the engine is a twin confirmed both cylinders are working (spark)? Belt routing ok?
PTO switch won't cause engine to bog down.


#14

R

RevB

Magnum50 said:
IMG_20240323_084314_975.jpgYes I have done the that several times. Pull the engine cover and blow out the dirt & clippings.

It's not an engine problem, it's the PTO to the mower deck that's messing me up. Sorry about the confusion.

Not all three things happen at the same time. Just one of them. And I never know which one.

When I pull the PTO switch to on, one of the three things I described will happen. Not all of them. I never know which one will happen...All okay, and mower deck runs as normal, or one of the other two things, Mower deck does not turn on at all, or turning on the PTO switch drags the engine to a stall. The PTO switch (to the Mower Deck) seems to have a mind of it's own. After I trailer it from one place to another, I never know what's going to happen when I pull up the PTO switch to turn the mower deck on.
Click to expand...
The PTO switch takes quite an amperage hit when activated so I'd look there. And the current to the clutch is all or nothing when the switch is thrown. I used to have the same problem but cured it mostly by adding this:

www.wheelhorseforum.com

Electric PTO hard engagement mod

Otherwise known as Mongo the test mule gets a new option Anyone who has an electric PTO knows how abruptly they engage. I read about a soft start option somewhere and decided to give it a try. The module wasnt exactly cheep. But I found one on eBay for around $45 and ordered it up. I got the one ...
www.wheelhorseforum.com www.wheelhorseforum.com

Most mower manufacturers don't include a soft start system for their electric clutched products. The only one I know of that does as standard equipment is BobCat. The one in the picture is made by GDI here in the states. The only other way would be to wire a rheostat into the circuit so you could ramp up the current manually.



#15

W

whaning

This is what I have ran into, same problem that you are having, Pull PTO and engine dies,
It turned out to be a bad battery, yes if the engine is runing the gen is putting out enough for the engine. but the PTO clutch really takes a lot away from the voltage, and therefore not enough voltage to run everything, so what I tried was first I jump started it and with it still on the jump cables try pulling the PTO. if it works, (bingo,) not enough voltage was the problem. I have found new cheaper batteries will die out with a very small voltage drop.
along with this, it can be loosing voltage via loose or corroded wires and clutch not like new anymore.
Try the battery jump first.


#16

R

RevB

StarTech said:
So they are upgrading to a 6205 10 amp sealed switch from the 6204 5A non sealed one.

Now the question is which 6205-131 switch are they using? A, B, or C?
View attachment 68121
Click to expand...
Pay attention to the amp rating of the fuse that manages that circuit. If higher than the upgraded 10 amp switch then you should be good. If not, fuses protect the wiring not the devices attached .


#17

L

LawnWizard

whaning said:
This is what I have ran into, same problem that you are having, Pull PTO and engine dies,
It turned out to be a bad battery, yes if the engine is runing the gen is putting out enough for the engine. but the PTO clutch really takes a lot away from the voltage, and therefore not enough voltage to run everything, so what I tried was first I jump started it and with it still on the jump cables try pulling the PTO. if it works, (bingo,) not enough voltage was the problem. I have found new cheaper batteries will die out with a very small voltage drop.
along with this, it can be loosing voltage via loose or corroded wires and clutch not like new anymore.
Try the battery jump first.
Click to expand...
I would suggest checking battery voltage with a meter with PTO off and as you pull it on. Also, repeat with the deck belt off. See if the battery is weak and drops or the PTO is going bad OR if the load from the deck is a problem (ie seized spindle/ idler).


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