Mistake out of desperation..

[Planetdad]

Ok, i'm sure im going to get some flack for this but it was out of desperation, having a get together this weekend and wanted the lawn looking good.

After accedently ripping The wire out of the PTO, I followed a fix on youtube putting srews down into the black box to reconnect them. The fix worked for the first mow (2.5 hours worth ) so i put it away happily thinking the problem was fixed. But this morning the PTO would not engage.

After testing connections it looked like the screws were not getting a good connection anymore. So I dug deeper and got to a bigger chunk of wires and reattached everything. It worked when testing it on the battery, but not with the PTO switch... this is my moment of desperation.

I connected the PTO directly to the battery... and mowed for a short period till everything died, no power. My half a## volt meter is telling me the battery has some volts but maybe not enough??

Did I fry the battery? blow a fuse?

Sure i deserve some butt chewing over this, and will take it.

 

[Darryl G]

You did what???? :ashamed:

I think we've all done repairs in a pinch that ended up not being such a great idea.

Welcome to the forum. I can't help you but I'm sure someone will be along shortly who can.

 

[primerbulb120]

Ok, i'm sure im going to get some flack for this but it was out of desperation, having a get together this weekend and wanted the lawn looking good.

After accedently ripping The wire out of the PTO, I followed a fix on youtube putting srews down into the black box to reconnect them. The fix worked for the first mow (2.5 hours worth ) so i put it away happily thinking the problem was fixed. But this morning the PTO would not engage.

After testing connections it looked like the screws were not getting a good connection anymore. So I dug deeper and got to a bigger chunk of wires and reattached everything. It worked when testing it on the battery, but not with the PTO switch... this is my moment of desperation.

I connected the PTO directly to the battery... and mowed for a short period till everything died, no power. My half a## volt meter is telling me the battery has some volts but maybe not enough??

Did I fry the battery? blow a fuse?

Sure i deserve some butt chewing over this, and will take it.

Connecting the PTO directly to the battery shouldn't damage it, it's supposed to run on ~12 volts. Connecting it to the battery incorrectly could create an issue...

Was your charging system working properly before you did that? And by "everything died" do you mean the engine too?

 

[Planetdad]

Connecting the PTO directly to the battery shouldn't damage it, it's supposed to run on ~12 volts. Connecting it to the battery incorrectly could create an issue...

Was your charging system working properly before you did that? And by "everything died" do you mean the engine too?

No issues with charging, the battery is just a couple weeks old.

As in everything. Engine stopped, and now nothing lights up when,I turn the key, display and all lights are off.

My thought is the screws went in too far, and was shorting? May have blown the PTO fuse at first.

My fear is I may have fried the alternator, and or battery. Will have to borrow a battery charger or try and jump it with the car.

 

[cruzenmike]

No issues with charging, the battery is just a couple weeks old.

As in everything. Engine stopped, and now nothing lights up when,I turn the key, display and all lights are off.

My thought is the screws went in too far, and was shorting? May have blown the PTO fuse at first.

My fear is I may have fried the alternator, and or battery. Will have to borrow a battery charger or try and jump it with the car.

It sounds as if you now have a bad ground or shorted wire somewhere. The rectifier would somewhat protect the alternator from damage and even a bad alternator would still allow power to make it to the switch.

 

[Planetdad]

So, replaced the 20amp fuse and everything fired up.

Broke down and orderd a new PTO, But it won't engage with the PTO switch. Is there a good way to bypass the switch for at least one mow?