JD E150 fire damage

[pshonore]

Had a fire a few weeks back with my JD E150 (with only 47 hours on it) . I was trying to mulch leaves (on an extremely dry day). Not sure exactly what happened but leaves that were under the deck evidently caught fire. (Perhaps I knicked a rock that caused a spark. ) In any case I grabbed a fire extinguisher that knocked down the flames and used water to put it out, but not before flattening the front tires and damaging some plastic and melting the discharge chute. I think the engine and drive train escaped damage. It will not start and I'm guessing the wiring harness may be damaged. I believe the main harness is $125 and looks like no fun to mess with. Any suggestions?

 

[boatmoter]

Had a fire a few weeks back with my JD E150 (with only 47 hours on it) . I was trying to mulch leaves (on an extremely dry day). Not sure exactly what happened but leaves that were under the deck evidently caught fire. (Perhaps I knicked a rock that caused a spark. ) In any case I grabbed a fire extinguisher that knocked down the flames and used water to put it out, but not before flattening the front tires and damaging some plastic and melting the discharge chute. I think the engine and drive train escaped damage. It will not start and I'm guessing the wiring harness may be damaged. I believe the main harness is $125 and looks like no fun to mess with. Any suggestions?

the best friend to have when doing a harness replace or repair is Patience, if unsure,write a diagram of where that wire goes or plugs into. if you have a shop manual thats a plus for the color code of the wire if you get lost on one to find out where it goes

 

[bertsmobile1]

The JD technical manual for your mower has the best wiring diagrams available for any mower .
You have probably guessed right
The magneto kill wires are all ground wires so if the insulation has melted on any one of them & is making a ground contact then no spark .
Plain friction can start a mower fire from the belts rubbing on dry leaves , remember how you start a fire with no matches .
Ehaust occasionally throw out sparks
Buy a cheap fire estinguisher and mount it to the back of your mower because if it has happened once then there is a good chance of a repeat performance .

 

[StarTech]

Actually there are three harnesses involved. Front harness, rear harness, and head light harness. I recently had to repair a S180 and the harnesses are fairly simple to replace, Replacing the melted plastics will be costly. In my customer's case he lost the engine plastic as well as the voltage regulator and fuel pump along the fuel lines. Note: fuel lines have an inter liner that will separate, collapse, and block fuel flow.

$2300 later he has mower back. It was only four months old when he did the same thing as you did. It was either the $2300 or $4000+ for a new one. Warranty doesn't cover stupid which what JD dealer told him.

 

[Tucker3810]

Had a fire a few weeks back with my JD E150 (with only 47 hours on it) . I was trying to mulch leaves (on an extremely dry day). Not sure exactly what happened but leaves that were under the deck evidently caught fire. (Perhaps I knicked a rock that caused a spark. ) In any case I grabbed a fire extinguisher that knocked down the flames and used water to put it out, but not before flattening the front tires and damaging some plastic and melting the discharge chute. I think the engine and drive train escaped damage. It will not start and I'm guessing the wiring harness may be damaged. I believe the main harness is $125 and looks like no fun to mess with. Any suggestions?

Call your home owners ionsurance and take it to a John Deere dealer for an estimate. Then do what you want after you setle with the insurance company. You have a pretty good size loss.

 

[Tiger Small Engine]

Call your home owners ionsurance and take it to a John Deere dealer for an estimate. Then do what you want after you setle with the insurance company. You have a pretty good size loss.

If your home owner insurance policy actually covers a mower, remember that after the deductible you pay out of pocket, your rates will increase and you will end up paying in the end. Insurance is not for smaller claims such as this in my opinion. This is going to be rather expensive for everything to be repaired and replaced, especially if a shop does it.

 

[bertsmobile1]

Exactly
IF you have a no claims bonus the extra premiums you will be paying for the next 8 years will add up to a lot more than the mower

 

[pshonore]

Update on JD E 150 fire. Decided to take the E150 to a local repair guy who has treated me well over the years. Its all fixed - total cost was about $900 but considering a new one is just over 3K, I thought it was worth it considering it has just under 50 hours on it. It needed the main and rear wiring harnesses, front wheels (with rims), discharge chute, a few pulleys and spindle for mower deck along with drive belt and mower belt as well as some other small parts. He also changed all fluids and filters and removed the quick change oil system and replaced that with a conventional filter with the necessary "plumbing" and cleaned everything up. The right side lower hood panel is a little discolored and now has a somewhat different profile but that's cosmetic. Runs great. And I think I will have an onboard extinguisher

 

[bertsmobile1]

Fire extinguisher is a good Idea , I have fitted a lot of them
Thanks for coming back looks like a good outcome