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I'm almost at my wits end..I have a used 2010 LA140. I have replaced the PTO clutch, all 4 rims/tires, PTO switch, and neutral switch.
Got it running smooth, started cutting my lawn, had to disengage the PTO to back up..started forward again and pulled the PTO to start cutting...nothing tried turning the PTO on and off a couple times..I can hear the clutch engaging but no mower..any ideas?

Could be several things. Dead idlers, bearings, pulleys, PTO took a dump or an electrical issue feeding the PTO.

Can you rotate the blades with your hand, engine OFF? Any strange noises? Is there a mountain of grass and sticks on top of the deck or under a belt cover? Log chains, small cars, water pipes?

Make a video of the mower, deck and blades. Post the link here so we can see.

slomo said:

Could be several things. Dead idlers, bearings, pulleys, PTO took a dump or an electrical issue feeding the PTO.

Can you rotate the blades with your hand, engine OFF? Any strange noises? Is there a mountain of grass and sticks on top of the deck or under a belt cover? Log chains, small cars, water pipes?

Make a video of the mower, deck and blades. Post the link here so we can see.

Click to expand...

Thanks for your response, can't do the video stuff, can barley figure out this stuff...going to drop the cutting deck to day, I can hear the electric pro trying to engage so I don't think that's the problem..I'm really thinking its either the idler pulley or a spindle..no grass build up ..I had ear phones on so I'm not sure about strange noises...if I figure it out I will post it..maybe it will help someone else..if I don't figure it out..it might become a yard decoration

Or even the belt fallen off a pulley .

bertsmobile1 said:

Or even the belt fallen off a pulley .

Click to expand...

Belts looked ok..took the deck off, everything seems to move freely, although 1 spindle makes a little noise, except the drive pulley tensioner won't move no matter how hard I push, pull or cuss..wonder if that might be my problem

Uh…..yep, it is supposed to turn

JD_Driver said:

Uh…..yep, it is supposed to turn

Click to expand...

The pulley seems to turn but I'm not sure the tension arm is moving to apply tension to the belt..thanks for responding

pops52 said:

The pulley seems to turn but I'm not sure the tension arm is moving to apply tension to the belt..thanks for responding

Click to expand...

Did you trying moving the tensioner with the park break on?

That why you remove the spring as you don't have to fight it. If binding without the spring then you definitely have a problem.

PTmowerMech said:

Did you trying moving the tensioner with the park break on?

Click to expand...

No but I was able to move the drive pulley and the tensioner moved pretty easily..so I'm stuck on what it might be, the pro clutch is only a year old and hasn't been used much, the pro switch is new so I'm stumped
You

pops52 said:

Belts looked ok..took the deck off, everything seems to move freely, although 1 spindle makes a little noise, except the drive pulley tensioner won't move no matter how hard I push, pull or cuss..wonder if that might be my problem

Click to expand...

Yes that will cause the belt to fall off
The tension pulley which should be on the run of belt that comes FROM the engine pulley hast to be able to swing on the tension to prevent the belt flapping

bertsmobile1 said:

Yes that will cause the belt to fall off
The tension pulley which should be on the run of belt that comes FROM the engine pulley hast to be able to swing on the tension to prevent the belt flapping

Click to expand...

Yeah..the belt is only a year old, I wouldn't think its stretched out yet..I have another belt I guess I could try it..really can't think of anything else causing this ...thanks to everyone responding

pops52 said:

Yeah..the belt is only a year old, I wouldn't think its stretched out yet..I have another belt I guess I could try it..really can't think of anything else causing this ...thanks to everyone responding

Click to expand...

If you remove the deck belt from the PTO, does the PTO work when you engage the switch?

PTmowerMech said:

If you remove the deck belt from the PTO, does the PTO work when you engage the switch?

Click to expand...

I will need to weight down the seat so I can tell...I'm on my own here..thanks

pops52 said:

I will need to weight down the seat so I can tell...I'm on my own here..thanks

Click to expand...

Just sit on it and engage is. You'll probably hear it.

I can hear it "click" but won't know if its turning

pops52 said:

I can hear it "click" but won't know if its turning

Click to expand...

If it's the PTO clicking, and not just the switch, then that's very confusing. The click of the PTO itself is it getting about 13.5v and then magnetized, pulling the two components together. When that happens, when the engine is running, there's almost no way for the PTO pulley's to not turn.
Especially since it was only a few seconds from the time you disengaged it to when you reengaged it.

When I need to see something under the mower, when running, I'll prop my phone up somewhere on the ground level, and record video.
I suggest you try this method. I'm not sure what phone you have, but most of them today can record video. Aim the phone, click record, get on the running mower, engage the PTO, then simply watch the video.

PTmowerMech said:

Just sit on it and engage is. You'll probably hear it.

Click to expand...

PTmowerMech said:

If it's the PTO clicking, and not just the switch, then that's very confusing. The click of the PTO itself is it getting about 13.5v and then magnetized, pulling the two components together. When that happens, when the engine is running, there's almost no way for the PTO pulley's to not turn.
Especially since it was only a few seconds from the time you disengaged it to when you reengaged it.

When I need to see something under the mower, when running, I'll prop my phone up somewhere on the ground level, and record video.
I suggest you try this method. I'm not sure what phone you have, but most of them today can record video. Aim the phone, click record, get on the running mower, engage the PTO, then simply watch the video.

Click to expand...

Thanks..I was pretty sure if it was clicking..it was working.. Don't use a cell phone no friends, family calls land line..ill figure it out

If you have the deck off, engage the pto and see if you can spin the drive pulley. If you can spin it, it's a faulty pto clutch.

POPs 52, start with the basics, put the key in the one position, all safety switches in the correct position, with the motor not running, pull up on the electric clutch, should hear a snap, if not the wire may have been pulled out of the clutch or not even connected, burnt fuse ,or a bad PTO (Power take off) switch. let's go from there.

pops52 said:

Don't use a cell phone no friends, family calls land line..ill figure it out

Click to expand...

This is worth discussing but maybe not here.

Can you see if the deck belt is turning?

Sheared key on clutch?? Set parking brake and run mower and pull pto switch and see if cluth pully is turning, if not key problem. As always be careful and not look from discharge side. left side is best.

Start with the easy stuff. If all the belts appear tight with PTO ON Engine off, then try each spindle by hand to see if it turns easily with PTO OFF, Belt tensioner off. There is a fuse near the soleniod, be sure it is not blown and tabs are clean. Belt tensioner must move easily. Check Belt for burns or missing pieces. There is a rectangular 10 wire connector or 2 up near the Ignition switch. Disconnect and check for Corrosion of any terminals. A noisy spindle should be replaced, but get it running first.

pops52 said:

I'm almost at my wits end..I have a used 2010 LA140. I have replaced the PTO clutch, all 4 rims/tires, PTO switch, and neutral switch.
Got it running smooth, started cutting my lawn, had to disengage the PTO to back up..started forward again and pulled the PTO to start cutting...nothing tried turning the PTO on and off a couple times..I can hear the clutch engaging but no mower..any ideas?

Click to expand...

There is a switch that stops the power that goes to the pto clutch when you put it in reverse. The switch is broken or stuck. I heard the reason that switch is there is someone was cutting grass and they didn't see a small child while they were backing up and the child went under the deck.

I have a cub cadet that the pto engages to begin with but now for a while , go to back up it disengages and will not reengage when I’m ready to go forward. I have to let it sit and cool before mowing more. It’s still doing It. The thing is if I start to mow and have to back up after a very short time the pto will engage. The longer I mow the longer it takes to engage. To me it indicates the belt is warming up and stretching ( maybe, maybe not ). One thing I will say is there is a connection on my cub cadet that I can disengage so the blades don’t stop when I back up. I’ll try that if I have more problems simply because using the pto puts wear on it and it’s expensive to replace and I’ve no safety concerns about the blades turning as I’m backing.

pops52 said:

I'm almost at my wits end..I have a used 2010 LA140. I have replaced the PTO clutch, all 4 rims/tires, PTO switch, and neutral switch.
Got it running smooth, started cutting my lawn, had to disengage the PTO to back up..started forward again and pulled the PTO to start cutting...nothing tried turning the PTO on and off a couple times..I can hear the clutch engaging but no mower..any ideas?

Click to expand...

POPS52, Can you tell by looking at the PTO clutch if it is adjustable, it will have a triangle shaped flange with a bolt in each corner, if so you might tweek each bolt slightly to close the tolerance on the clutch magnet, check for extremly worn belts. Good luck.

ENGINE OFF: check the PTO clutch connector...small electrical connector. CAREFULLY remove it (there is usually a plastic locking safety tab)...clean it with wd-40 and blast that sucker with compressed air. check the pins and made sure there is no corrosion or damage...both sides of the connector and the PTO side. Reconnect them...inspect all the wires that route below for any damage...missing insulation...broken wires...etc. Follow those wires all the way from the PTO inch by inch and check for damage. Sometimes these wires connect to a another common connector. Take that one apart too, and clean it up the same way...then continue on...inch by inch looking for any wire damage.. these wires will route like a daisy chain circuit through all the safety interlock switches...check them all out. the wires eventually arrive at the ignition key switch...you might have to open a panel to see underneath and the backside of the ignition key switch....clean that all up with WD-40...make sure nothing is loose and no corrosion and no insulation damage or a bad connector.
put all of that back together...now we are going to test the operation of the PTO clutch.

please be careful...keep your fingers in your pockets and wear safety glasses..things happen:
have a second person sit on the seat and while they turn the engine on and engage the Blade PTO Switch you should see the PTO Clutch engage and spin. If it does not engage and spin, AND you have checked all the connectors and the wiring to is as listed above, then you probably have either a failed safety interlock switch somewhere or the PTO clutch is borked. I would look at each safety interlock switch first before popping for a new PTO Clutch. 2021 is not enough time for failure to occur unless there was a huge impact that happened or some manufacturing defect or some garbage got wrapped around the PTO clutch assembly and destroyed the clutch.

Every pulley should turn very easily without and noise. They will heat up due to friction and tighten up. All arms and brackets should rotate freely. Use penitrating oil and force to free them, then lube with a good oil. If the PTO clutch clicks, then I would think it's working, but there is a locating slot in the PTO base that must get positioned properly so the PTO itself does spin. There may be brake pads on the blade pulleys (probably not on electric PTO models). Make sure they are not worn out and are releasing.

When you fitted a new clutch a year ago was the bolt tightened up to the correct torque? Did you follow the instructions on conditioning the clutch before use (typically engaging the clutch 5 times at low/mid engine rpm). The makers say they can wear out prematurely if you don't get this right.

Blade shear pins broken? Clutch will engage, belt moves but blades don't turn.

pops52 said:

I'm almost at my wits end..I have a used 2010 LA140. I have replaced the PTO clutch, all 4 rims/tires, PTO switch, and neutral switch.
Got it running smooth, started cutting my lawn, had to disengage the PTO to back up..started forward again and pulled the PTO to start cutting...nothing tried turning the PTO on and off a couple times..I can hear the clutch engaging but no mower..any ideas?

Click to expand...

Every tractor with a 12volt pto clutch requires a tight fitting belt. Tensioner must be totally function and correct spring used. Tensioner pivot point will wear egg shaped and cause issues. Belts don't stretch, the width of them deteriorates and allow the belt to be too deep in pulley grooves...then it is loose.
Tractors without 12volt pto clutches are loose when disengaged and tightened by the tensioner which is controlled by a manual lever that moves a cable attached to the tensioner. Again the tensioner pivot point can become egg shaped and cause issues.

pops52 said:

I'm almost at my wits end..I have a used 2010 LA140. I have replaced the PTO clutch, all 4 rims/tires, PTO switch, and neutral switch.
Got it running smooth, started cutting my lawn, had to disengage the PTO to back up..started forward again and pulled the PTO to start cutting...nothing tried turning the PTO on and off a couple times..I can hear the clutch engaging but no mower..any ideas?

Click to expand...

I have an LA130 and this happened. It was a broken wire where the wire feeds to the pto through the chasis.

CWatters said:

Blade shear pins broken? Clutch will engage, belt moves but blades don't turn.

Click to expand...

On a residential mower? Where are they?

1. with the belts on does the tensioner engage
2. check to see if belts aren't worn enough to be slipping, belts can slip even if they look new.
3. My mower if the parking brake is set and the transmission is in neutral will run without sitting on the mower. If yours will run also, engage the mowing deck and lay next to the deck and see what component isn't functioning and hopefully you can resolve your issues.

If you can hear the PTO clicking when you pull the lever then the electrical system should be fine. More than likely a belt is loose and off of one of the pulleys or jumped off or something like that..
Those machines will have a belt under constant tension and quite a bit of it too. You should be able to lower the deck to the lowest setting and look to make sure the belt is tight and going around everything.

If you hear the clutch clicking like that and the belts on everything there's really few options of what can be going on. Those things will drag the belt along for a ride over and around anything even when improperly routed and shred a belt in just a few seconds because there's quite a bit of power involved there.
If you're hearing nothing sounds to me like the belt is loose and when you engage the PTO the pulley is spinning but the belt is just sitting there.

If it's not kicking in at all your "new" switch may be the fault. Regardless of the condition of your idler, the motor should still rotate the belt even with its dragging on a pulley.

pops52 said:

I'm almost at my wits end..I have a used 2010 LA140. I have replaced the PTO clutch, all 4 rims/tires, PTO switch, and neutral switch.
Got it running smooth, started cutting my lawn, had to disengage the PTO to back up..started forward again and pulled the PTO to start cutting...nothing tried turning the PTO on and off a couple times..I can hear the clutch engaging but no mower..any ideas?

Click to expand...

I have a mower that will not engage the PTO Clutch when it is hot. Engage the clutch cold and it will work fine. But, don't turn it off because you will not get it to reengage again till she cools down for several hours.

Just to mention that if the battery is running low or the system is not charging fully the PTO will not stay engaged under load . You will still hear a click but without enough voltage it will not pull in..

tgzzzz said:

On a residential mower? Where are they?

Click to expand...

only fitted to decks that have timed overlapping or counter rotating decks
JD is one of the few companies that still make alternative decks for their mowers

Steve Smith said:

I have a mower that will not engage the PTO Clutch when it is hot. Engage the clutch cold and it will work fine. But, don't turn it off because you will not get it to reengage again till she cools down for several hours.

Click to expand...

That can be the air gap. If it is adjustable.
I usually test by tapping on the pto housing with a broom handle etc etc the switch on to see it it comes on.

When installing a new PTO clutch it has to be burnished in, according to instructions with the unit. Also, there is a specific gap between the clutch segments that can be adjusted. Too big of a gap and the clutch may not engage fully.

Hal12 said:

If it's not kicking in at all your "new" switch may be the fault. Regardless of the condition of your idler, the motor should still rotate the belt even with its dragging on a pulley.

Click to expand...

Thanks, appears the after market switch came with " extra" plastic near the contacts

sessman55 said:

When installing a new PTO clutch it has to be burnished in, according to instructions with the unit. Also, there is a specific gap between the clutch segments that can be adjusted. Too big of a gap and the clutch may not engage fully.

Click to expand...

Clutch was fine, after market switch appears to be the problem

Steve Smith said:

I have a mower that will not engage the PTO Clutch when it is hot. Engage the clutch cold and it will work fine. But, don't turn it off because you will not get it to reengage again till she cools down for several hours.

Click to expand...

Turned out to be after market switch wasn't making a solid contact..thanks

pops52 said:

Clutch was fine, after market switch appears to be the problem

Click to expand...

Then you shouldn't have been hearing a click from the clutch when the switch was pulled like I thought I read in the original or a previous post.
That's one way to test out the system on a mower by either having the belt off and engaging the switch multiple times to listen for the click of the clutch snapping together or on many mowers you can just sit there with the key on and sitting on the seat and pull the switch or flip it and you will also hear the clicking even without the engine running.