Poulan 950 zx electric clutch only works when not bolted to the crankshaft.

[whereistheswitch]

I am having electrical problems. The mower won't start on its own battery that's fully charged, or if it does spin its only once before you get clicking. Also the electrical clutch will not engage and a quiet arching sound can be heard when trying to engage the PTO that I can't seem to isolate. I removed the Clutch and tested the pins and got around 4 Ohms which is supposedly fine. I then used a battery and wired it to the clutch and the two separate parts of the clutch do in fact lock as they are supposed to when voltage is applied. I even took it a step further and hooked it up to its electrical connector on the mower and while it was in my hand I could engage the new PTO switch and it will in fact lock up as it is supposed to. It is only when I bolt it on the crankshaft that everything falls apart. I've been poking at the electrical system and can test most parts of the wiring harness... I just am not a master at it and to be honest my brain is now fried and can't seem to backwards engineer what I think is a short to ground that sends voltage through the crankshaft and interferes with the operation of the clutch. Help?

 

[ILENGINE]

Are you sure the battery is in fact good. Maybe should be load tested to make sure the battery has voltage and amps under load. From there need to clean the battery post and the wire terminals both were the hot wire connect to the battery and the solenoid, as well as the black wire were it connects to the battery and the mower frame. And if you are getting voltage from the clutch through the crankshaft the clutch is shorted and will have to be replaced.

 

[StarTech]

IS there any resistance between the either two wire terminals and the coil's metal frame when the clutch is off the equipment ?

 

[whereistheswitch]

Yes. The positive clutch pin has some order of mega ohms between it and where the crankshaft would ride on the clutch... Guess that means there's a path for electricity to flow from the positive through the clutch to ground on the engine, otherwise it would read open right? It's really a nightmare because poulan absolutely loves those clutches. I can find them in various places for around $300.

 

[hlw49]

Clicking sound is usually a bad battery. Solenoid kicking in and out.

 

[whereistheswitch]

Yes the battery is bad. But I am more concerned with the short. I can start the mower with my drill on the flywheel bolt in a pinch, but if my blades don't engage I can't mow. Thanks for taking time to stop by and try to help maybe it will help someone who stumbles across this. In my case What I gather so far is just the internals of my clutch are shorted to the housing which prevents it's from operating correctly. Unfortunately I've spent too much on this mower to justify another $300 on a clutch so it seems I'm just occupying my garage worth $1000 worth of scrap metal. I'm going to try and get inside the clutch since I've got nothing to lose at this point and see if I can't repair the short myself as I can solder and do repairs of that nature and if anything comes of it I'll post. Thanks again.

 

[bertsmobile1]

Very rare for them to short internally and still work.
HAve seen a couple where the wires have chaffed and shorted out against the housing but must times the wires break off where they are connected to the clutch.

 

[whereistheswitch]

Good point. Resistance between the pin an the housing while off of the mower tells me that there is a path there for electricity to flow, which would be a short I would think. Unless one of the pins is supposed to ground to the housing for any reason. It seems to explain why it works great anytime until it is physically bolted to the output shaft. Otherwise maybe it's possible something else shorted causing voltage in the output shaft....somehow affecting the clutch. I will say there's a notable oil leak the ends up on the clutch, I cleaned it the best I could when I pulled it off.

 

[OldDiyer]

If the battery is really bad and doesn't have enough voltage to start the mower what makes you think it has enough to keep the clutch engaged? I know that automobile air cond. clutches need full voltage to stay in gaged so may be what is going on with the PTO clutch. Just my 2 cents worth.

 

[whereistheswitch]

That's a valid point. I have small car battery that I have been using and it has made no difference. That's really the only reason that makes me think it has enough to engage the clutch, seeing it is the battery I currently use in the car. It should be more than enough.