Snapper RE110 - Dies when Clutch is Released

[Dubya1886]

Good morning all,

I joined the forum to ask this question. I acquired a Snapper RE110 (28" 11.5 HP rear engine riding lawn mower - 7800950-00) in decent condition when I bought my home in late 2021. It needed a new carb because the old one was flooding so I replaced it and it had been working fine. Recently it started acting up again, it wouldn't crank at all. I found that when I pressed the clutch it was not depressing the switch near the rear axel so I adjusted the ferrules and the mower will now start up fine. However, it will die when I let off the clutch (in neutral or in gear) or try to engage the blades. I have already replaced the seat switch so it's not that. I think it may be the reverse switch, as I'm able to move the mower into reverse and when I let off the clutch it will die but then jerk backwards a tiny bit before completely shutting off. The reason I think it is the reverse switch is because the light is not coming on when I engage (turn) the switch.

Could someone confirm at what point that the reverse switch's light is supposed to come on or provide any other insight to this problem? Could it be that the clutch/brake switch needs replacing? If so, what do I need to do before flipping the mower on its back?


Also, the parking brake has never worked since I've owned this mower for 6mo if that's relevant.


Parts manual for the mower: https://www.thepowerportal.com/ipls/ipl.htm?md=7800950-00~_IPLURL_LO.pdf

Thank you,
Dubya

 

[mechanic mark]

https://www.google.com/search?q=TROUBLESHOOTING+SNAPPER+RER+110+11HP+MOWER&oq=TROUBLESHOOTING+SNAPPER+RER+110+11HP+MOWER&aqs=chrome..69i57j33i160l4.72809j1j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

Read through above website, let us know how it goes, thanks, Mark
Dubya1886, see if you can find your model # from list below, thanks.
[URhttps://www.partstree.com/models/re-110-7800950-00-snapper-28-rear-engine-riding-mower-11-5hp/L unfurl="true"]https://www.partstree.com/brands/snapper/rear-engine-riding-mowers[/URL]

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[Dubya1886]

Hey Mark - did you mean to link a particular site? That one is just a vague google search.

 

[sgkent]

Are you sure it is electrical? Can the drive belt be easily removed so you can determine if load is killing it or electrical is killing it?

 

[Dubya1886]

Thank you for the response! I haven't removed the drive belt but I'm not putting a load on it when I am in neutral and release the clutch pedal, so I would think it's electrical unless I'm misunderstanding something?

 

[bertsmobile1]

It will most likely be the seat switch

 

[mechanic mark]

https://www.google.com/search?q=OPE...7j0i546l3.103388j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

Dubya1886, See if you can locate your Operators Manual from above.

 

[keakar]

honestly i have 4 of those turtle mowers and 2 of them had endless kill switch issues, one would randomly shut off just when turning, and the other would just shut off when you hit a bump.

i cut the two purple wires coming from the key switch inside the harness under the seat next to the brake cables and then ran a new kill wire from them to the coil and that is the only way i got them running reliably right again.

it still wont start if blades are on, or if brake isnt pressed, and the seat kill switch still works, so i consider them completely safe from a safety switch standpoint

i love the turtle mowers but the electrical systems on them are complete junk and its the most common fault with them other then B&S made the rear axles weaker and prone to breaking

also, if you have the spring arm under the seat with the wheel on it, that is hooked to a cable that operates the deck spindle brake. if that cable came lose or broke, it wont want to let the deck spindle turn. its designed so the blades cant turn unless you are sitting on the seat so it chokes out the engine if its not pulled back to release the brake

 

[Dubya1886]

honestly i have 4 of those turtle mowers and 2 of them had endless kill switch issues, one would randomly shut off just when turning, and the other would just shut off when you hit a bump.

i cut the two purple wires coming from the key switch inside the harness under the seat next to the brake cables and then ran a new kill wire from them to the coil and that is the only way i got them running reliably right again.

it still wont start if blades are on, or if brake isnt pressed, and the seat kill switch still works, so i consider them completely safe from a safety switch standpoint

i love the turtle mowers but the electrical systems on them are complete junk and its the most common fault with them other then B&S made the rear axles weaker and prone to breaking

also, if you have the spring arm under the seat with the wheel on it, that is hooked to a cable that operates the deck spindle brake. if that cable came lose or broke, it wont want to let the deck spindle turn. its designed so the blades cant turn unless you are sitting on the seat so it chokes out the engine if its not pulled back to release the brake

this is really helpful, thank you. I plan to try this out - any chance you could send me some pictures of this mod?

 

[keakar]

this is really helpful, thank you. I plan to try this out - any chance you could send me some pictures of this mod?

first it only needs to be the one of those wires that goes to the kill wire for the magneto

i just seem to always pick the wrong one, so i just cut both to save time lol.

you are just eliminating the kill switch circuit on the mower and going straight from ignition switch to the magneto coil kill wire

raise the seat and look straight down from standing on right discharge side of the motor and you will see the purple wires there inside the wire loom

its still safe because the kill circuit to not let the starter solenoid work does the same job as the safety kill circuit so you are just eliminating one side of the safety circuit