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I just installed a new Kohler Command pro Ch680-3081. in a John Deere F620. The Oil filled , gassed, new battery, I primed the carburetor , it will crank but will not run. I suspected the engine wire harness and after viewing a loose wire from the back of the Kohler engine female connectors, I removed and reconnected the engine harness the engine started and ran. Now after I installed the muffler braces and supports, the engine will crank but will not start. In case that it may be a wire connected incorrectly or wires may not be making proper connections to the correct connector . Due to the difficulty in accessing existing Kohler wiring harness connector I would like to extend the connection harness connectors.to allow better access. I would like to remove the kohler plug and extend the wires , solder and shirk wrap them , attach wiring harness connectors in a way that they are easier to access. Wondering if anyone had any similar problems, or could it be some other problem I have over looked. Does anyone know the wire color codes for this engine? I cannot find that color code for the Kohler cH680-3081.

Kohler seem to use consistent colour codes across all their engines ( all that I have come across anyway )
You will find them in the manual in the link below
http://www.mymowerparts.com/pdf/Kohler-Service-and-Repair-Manuals/

Don't be tempted to use a single 4 way connector because a s sure as poo aint pretty, the instant you do you will have to replace a coil and no sooner that is fixed you will need to replace the fuel solenoid.
I use individual uninsulated spade connectors because they puncture the cable insulation preventing it shrinking back then 2 or 3 pieces of heats shrink which I colour code so the green male plugs into the green female .
A couple of thin pieces to support the cable then a thicker piece to cover the terminal.

Maybe this will help

:welcome:

I'm going to move your thread over to our Kohler engine section.

Re: Now new CH680-3081 Runs but not charging

Thanks for the help and the information, I have the engine running, starts right up, it was a bad connection on the 5 way plug that came with the Kohler CH680-3081. I removed plug and wired it directly to the old engine harness. But the battery light is on and the battery is not charging, so I suspect that I do not have the wiring off the Rectifier-Regulator - to the Starter Solenoid connected. or there is another wire not connected correctly, off the wiring harness from the John Deere F620. I have reviewed the service manual and There are three wire diagrams in the 680 manual and I am confused to know which one to use. ( capacitive discharge system) , (Smart-Spark™ Advance Ignition System) or ( Digital.

My questions are:
1.What type of charging system does the PA-CH680-3081 engine have?. I also notice that the center wire from the rectifier is not connected to the starter solid stub as in the wiring diagrams. The center wire that comes off the Rectifier-Regulator Connector shows that it is connected to the Starter Solenoid Stud in two of the diagrams. The other wire diagram for the Digital Starter shows the wire to go to a Customer Supplied Relay Cranking. What I see as the engine was shipped , the violet wire connected to enter stub of the Rectifier-Regulator, goes up into the flywheel cover somewhere and it is not connected to the Starter Solenoid Stud. I assumed that it was connected, since it was difficult to pull down, but now I believe that it might just be hung up inside or is connected somewhere else?
2. I would like to know if the violet wire off the center of Rectifier-Regulator Connector is just placed into the flywheel cover for transportation or is it routed over to the Starter Solenoid or is it connected somewhere else?
3.If it is just placed there or connected somewhere ? Do I need to take the engine out and locate it and connect it the Starter Solenoid or can I just disconnect, kill it and run a new wire off the center stud to the Rectifier-Regulator?
4.If I have a Digital system, Do I need to get a Customer Supplied Relay Cranking part? And if so where do I purchase it?
Thanks any information , assistance or help would be greatly appreciated.

Re: Now new CH680-3081 Runs but not charging

The purple wire is the 12V return feed to the battery.
It can go to a few places.
To an "A" terminal on the ignition switch ( switched )
To the hot wire on the starting solenoid ( unswitched)
Spliced in before the fuse on the power feed to the ignition switch.
So if you have a battery warning lamp it most likely goes to the lamp or to an A terminal
JD has a habit of using a "Fuseable link" wire to splice this into the ignition switch power feed wire ( one that goes to the B terminal.)
A fuseable link is a fancy name for some wire that is only just able to carry the full power ( 12 A on a 15 A alternator ) so it melts under heavy load.

Re: Now new CH680-3081 Runs but not charging

bertsmobile1 said:

The purple wire is the 12V return feed to the battery.
It can go to a few places.
To an "A" terminal on the ignition switch ( switched )
To the hot wire on the starting solenoid ( unswitched)
Spliced in before the fuse on the power feed to the ignition switch.
So if you have a battery warning lamp it most likely goes to the lamp or to an A terminal
JD has a habit of using a "Fuseable link" wire to splice this into the ignition switch power feed wire ( one that goes to the B terminal.)
A fuseable link is a fancy name for some wire that is only just able to carry the full power ( 12 A on a 15 A alternator ) so it melts under heavy load.

Click to expand...

I think that you are correct, but I am not sure where the wire off the rectifier is now located, I can see it going under the flywheel cover but it does not exit, I am thinking that it should have come out with the main engine wire harness, but no sign of it. Do you know if Kohler would place it up into the cover for shipping purposes? I did not want to yank it out and break something, could it be hung up there or is connect to something else? I would have to pull the engine again to remove the covers to find it or just cut and kill it and tap into it and run new wire over to the starter solenoid with fuse before connecting.
The wire diagram specs show that it is supposed to be directly connected to the solenoid terminal , at least on two of the diagrams, but not the digital starter engine , which I assume I do not have , shows that it is connected to a relay before the battery, I sent a note to Kohler tech support but haven't heard anything back yet.

No need to yank anything.
Only 4 bolts hold the blower housing on and on Kohlers they are all easily accessable from the top about 2 minutes work