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John Deere L130 kills when brake is released.
#1
R
Rabby Tat
R
Rabby Tat
Hello everyone,
I am new here. Learned about your forum while looking for help with a couple of lawn tractor issues. My primary grass cutter at our rural property is an old IH Cub/Farmall tractor that we rebuilt a couple of times. Rescued it from one of our epic floods down here in the Louisiana swampland. Had a few lingering electrical issues, but we finally installed electronic ignition and it runs very well now. That one is good for now.
The issue of the day is I also have a John Deere L130 with auto that was running pretty well, but suddenly ran poorly and then stopped. I cleaned out minor debris from the blade area and let it set for a while before trying again. It would start and run poorly but die when I would release the brake pedal. After looking at the manual, I did an oil change, installed new plugs, new air cleaner and fresh gas. Have a new fuel filter, but not yet installed. Tried to start again and it will start and run well but will kill right when I release the brake before I can get it to roll more than a few inches in forward or reverse. It starts easily and sounds strong but only kills when I try to let off of the brake. My thinking is that most of the safety switches such as the seat and blade engagement can be ruled out as being before that part of the electrical chain. Any thoughts on what the issue might be?
I have to say that the John Deere electrical system has been such a major pain that I would almost prefer to rewire the whole tractor and eliminate all of these switches. They are expensive and totally unreliable. I can do without some "Progress" in my life!
Thanks in advance,
RT
I am new here. Learned about your forum while looking for help with a couple of lawn tractor issues. My primary grass cutter at our rural property is an old IH Cub/Farmall tractor that we rebuilt a couple of times. Rescued it from one of our epic floods down here in the Louisiana swampland. Had a few lingering electrical issues, but we finally installed electronic ignition and it runs very well now. That one is good for now.
The issue of the day is I also have a John Deere L130 with auto that was running pretty well, but suddenly ran poorly and then stopped. I cleaned out minor debris from the blade area and let it set for a while before trying again. It would start and run poorly but die when I would release the brake pedal. After looking at the manual, I did an oil change, installed new plugs, new air cleaner and fresh gas. Have a new fuel filter, but not yet installed. Tried to start again and it will start and run well but will kill right when I release the brake before I can get it to roll more than a few inches in forward or reverse. It starts easily and sounds strong but only kills when I try to let off of the brake. My thinking is that most of the safety switches such as the seat and blade engagement can be ruled out as being before that part of the electrical chain. Any thoughts on what the issue might be?
I have to say that the John Deere electrical system has been such a major pain that I would almost prefer to rewire the whole tractor and eliminate all of these switches. They are expensive and totally unreliable. I can do without some "Progress" in my life!
Thanks in advance,
RT
#2
R
Rabby Tat
R
Rabby Tat
Oops - sorry to have placed this here. Was intended for the John Deere forum. New to this forum and goofed.
#3
Boudreaux In Eunice La.
Boudreaux In Eunice La.
Nope I don't think it's a switch issue...... I think you are running one only 1 cylinder.......
If you got flooded out 2 times in 2 years then you are in my area..... Or you around East Baton Rouge area..... August was the major flood when we had 40 inches of rain in a 36 hour time frame here in the Eunice area.....
Plus the next year we had another deluge of it that was almost the same, but more in my area and not around the BR area....
Let us know Mon Ami ~!~!
If you got flooded out 2 times in 2 years then you are in my area..... Or you around East Baton Rouge area..... August was the major flood when we had 40 inches of rain in a 36 hour time frame here in the Eunice area.....
Plus the next year we had another deluge of it that was almost the same, but more in my area and not around the BR area....
Let us know Mon Ami ~!~!
#4
dfbroxy
dfbroxy
check the clutch/brake safety switch. There are instructions on bypassing on youtube, most on this site dont approve of bypassing safety switches so i wont post them. The switches are not nearly as expensive as a ER visit.
#5
R
Rabby Tat
Well - we are east of your area. I did work in EBR for many years, but moved long ago. Are now spread out from just east of Hammond to Bay St Louis, but I actually live North of Covington.
We get flooded at times at some properties, but not our homes. Spent time helping people in Baton Rouge and Denham Springs after the floods that got them so badly. Reminded me of Katrina relief efforts. Our issue was minor by comparison. Just lost some furniture and had to de-flood the Cub/Farmall. Hope you did okay as well. Y'all got hit pretty badly too.
As to this John Deere, it sounds pretty strong for running on one cylinder, but I guess this is possible. I replaced the plugs and the gaps all looked the same as the ones that I removed. The wires looked good. I guess I will check for spark at both cylinders.
RT
R
Rabby Tat
Nope I don't think it's a switch issue...... I think you are running one only 1 cylinder.......
If you got flooded out 2 times in 2 years then you are in my area..... Or you around East Baton Rouge area..... August was the major flood when we had 40 inches of rain in a 36 hour time frame here in the Eunice area.....
Plus the next year we had another deluge of it that was almost the same, but more in my area and not around the BR area....
Let us know Mon Ami ~!~!
Well - we are east of your area. I did work in EBR for many years, but moved long ago. Are now spread out from just east of Hammond to Bay St Louis, but I actually live North of Covington.
We get flooded at times at some properties, but not our homes. Spent time helping people in Baton Rouge and Denham Springs after the floods that got them so badly. Reminded me of Katrina relief efforts. Our issue was minor by comparison. Just lost some furniture and had to de-flood the Cub/Farmall. Hope you did okay as well. Y'all got hit pretty badly too.
As to this John Deere, it sounds pretty strong for running on one cylinder, but I guess this is possible. I replaced the plugs and the gaps all looked the same as the ones that I removed. The wires looked good. I guess I will check for spark at both cylinders.
RT
#6
R
Rabby Tat
R
Rabby Tat
After a long series of diagnostic measures and repair efforts, the primary problem is resolved. The seat safety switch was loose and causing the stoppage. Not sure why this caused it to stop when the brake was released, but it did. I will not burden the forum with details of the work-around out of deference to the liability-averse among the audience. The mower is now functioning quite well.
Now I need to dismount the belly assembly and change out the worn and damaged blades. Will look at all bearings while apart - it is a bit loud. Will likely assault this tomorrow - had enough fun in the sun for today. Besides, it is about to rain. (the real reason is that I need to work on an enclosed trailer to haul a Harley to the shop. It needs the chock installed and that job is in the shade...)
Thanks for all of the info and advice!
RT
Now I need to dismount the belly assembly and change out the worn and damaged blades. Will look at all bearings while apart - it is a bit loud. Will likely assault this tomorrow - had enough fun in the sun for today. Besides, it is about to rain. (the real reason is that I need to work on an enclosed trailer to haul a Harley to the shop. It needs the chock installed and that job is in the shade...)
Thanks for all of the info and advice!
RT
#7
I
ILENGINE
I
ILENGINE
Because the engine was running and the clutch was out, but the mower thought nobody was in the drivers seat.
#8
R
Rabby Tat
So the seat safety switch only stops the engine when the brake is released rather than at all times? I thought it was designed to shut it down anytime. That factoid would have saved me some diagnostic time - hopefully will help someone else some time who reads this.
But all is well. The tractor is running and tucked away in the garage.
RT
R
Rabby Tat
Because the engine was running and the clutch was out, but the mower thought nobody was in the drivers seat.
So the seat safety switch only stops the engine when the brake is released rather than at all times? I thought it was designed to shut it down anytime. That factoid would have saved me some diagnostic time - hopefully will help someone else some time who reads this.
But all is well. The tractor is running and tucked away in the garage.
RT
#9
I
ILENGINE
There are normally three safety switches on the mower. Seat, Clutch, and Pto. On most mowers the safety system consist of two systems. A 12v system for starting which included the clutch/brake and pto. the safety kill system consist of the seat, pto and clutch/brake. When you are on the seat and engage the pto or let out the brake it allows the ground from the ignition system to go through the system, but the seat switch terminates the ground therefore no engine kill. It would of killed the engine if you had tried to engage the blades even with the clutch/brake pushed in also.
I
ILENGINE
So the seat safety switch only stops the engine when the brake is released rather than at all times? I thought it was designed to shut it down anytime. That factoid would have saved me some diagnostic time - hopefully will help someone else some time who reads this.
But all is well. The tractor is running and tucked away in the garage.
RT
There are normally three safety switches on the mower. Seat, Clutch, and Pto. On most mowers the safety system consist of two systems. A 12v system for starting which included the clutch/brake and pto. the safety kill system consist of the seat, pto and clutch/brake. When you are on the seat and engage the pto or let out the brake it allows the ground from the ignition system to go through the system, but the seat switch terminates the ground therefore no engine kill. It would of killed the engine if you had tried to engage the blades even with the clutch/brake pushed in also.
#10
Boudreaux In Eunice La.
Boudreaux In Eunice La.
I have no idea why I was stuck on thinking you saying Blades instead of Brake...... I reread the post and seen where you were cleaning debris from the deck pulleys and such........
#11
R
Rabby Tat
Yeah - I had a problem about a year ago when the blade engagement switch melted down and left me scrambling for a fix. Was annoying then too. But this time it was just the seat switch which was loose and intermittently causing it to not work correctly. The issue was hard to diagnose at first since it was not predictable. Got lucky and saw it dangling when I pulled the seat forward.
The problem has been alleviated.
Now, I need to study how to replace some damaged blades and clean up the deck. Might also look at lubing or replacing bearings in the pulleys. But the rains need to stop first.
Thanks for the help!
RT
R
Rabby Tat
I have no idea why I was stuck on thinking you saying Blades instead of Brake...... I reread the post and seen where you were cleaning debris from the deck pulleys and such........
Yeah - I had a problem about a year ago when the blade engagement switch melted down and left me scrambling for a fix. Was annoying then too. But this time it was just the seat switch which was loose and intermittently causing it to not work correctly. The issue was hard to diagnose at first since it was not predictable. Got lucky and saw it dangling when I pulled the seat forward.
The problem has been alleviated.
Now, I need to study how to replace some damaged blades and clean up the deck. Might also look at lubing or replacing bearings in the pulleys. But the rains need to stop first.
Thanks for the help!
RT
#12
B
bertsmobile1
B
bertsmobile1
Do yourself a massive favour go to the JD web site and get a copy of the technical manual for your mower.
They may come as a digital download, CD or hard copy.
While they are not cheap, and nothing that is good is ever cheap, in reality the price is less than a dealers labour charge for a routine service so it is not expensive.
What is particularly good is each section starts off by telling exactly how things work then goes through a set of simple, easy to follow testing proceedures.
They put in diagrams showing exactly where everything is hidden on the mower.
The electrical section has both a schematic diagram and a loom diagram so you know what every pin on every plug is, where the wires go & what they do
And a really big plus is they have an engine service section for every one of the engines that were fitted new which is way better than what Kohler, Briggs or Kawasaki put out.
Don't bother scouring the web for cheaper pirated copies or Deer Service compilations CD's / DVD's as most contain the same bad, incomplete or useless manuals that some keyboard pirate found.
I started doing this but ended up with things like all the words but empty holes where the photos would go, or the 2 page fold out wiring diagrams as a JPEG that can not be read.
On top of that I get an extra $ 100- $ 200 ( AUS ) when I sell one with the technical manual included thus making a 100 % ( or more ) profit on the manual alone.
They may come as a digital download, CD or hard copy.
While they are not cheap, and nothing that is good is ever cheap, in reality the price is less than a dealers labour charge for a routine service so it is not expensive.
What is particularly good is each section starts off by telling exactly how things work then goes through a set of simple, easy to follow testing proceedures.
They put in diagrams showing exactly where everything is hidden on the mower.
The electrical section has both a schematic diagram and a loom diagram so you know what every pin on every plug is, where the wires go & what they do
And a really big plus is they have an engine service section for every one of the engines that were fitted new which is way better than what Kohler, Briggs or Kawasaki put out.
Don't bother scouring the web for cheaper pirated copies or Deer Service compilations CD's / DVD's as most contain the same bad, incomplete or useless manuals that some keyboard pirate found.
I started doing this but ended up with things like all the words but empty holes where the photos would go, or the 2 page fold out wiring diagrams as a JPEG that can not be read.
On top of that I get an extra $ 100- $ 200 ( AUS ) when I sell one with the technical manual included thus making a 100 % ( or more ) profit on the manual alone.
#13
R
Rabby Tat
Thanks! Will give it a try.
RT
R
Rabby Tat
Do yourself a massive favour go to the JD web site and get a copy of the technical manual for your mower.
They may come as a digital download, CD or hard copy.
While they are not cheap, and nothing that is good is ever cheap, in reality the price is less than a dealers labour charge for a routine service so it is not expensive.
What is particularly good is each section starts off by telling exactly how things work then goes through a set of simple, easy to follow testing proceedures.
They put in diagrams showing exactly where everything is hidden on the mower.
The electrical section has both a schematic diagram and a loom diagram so you know what every pin on every plug is, where the wires go & what they do
And a really big plus is they have an engine service section for every one of the engines that were fitted new which is way better than what Kohler, Briggs or Kawasaki put out.
Don't bother scouring the web for cheaper pirated copies or Deer Service compilations CD's / DVD's as most contain the same bad, incomplete or useless manuals that some keyboard pirate found.
I started doing this but ended up with things like all the words but empty holes where the photos would go, or the 2 page fold out wiring diagrams as a JPEG that can not be read.
On top of that I get an extra $ 100- $ 200 ( AUS ) when I sell one with the technical manual included thus making a 100 % ( or more ) profit on the manual alone.
Thanks! Will give it a try.
RT