Swapping Kohler CV730S for a B&S 44N877 - can't figure out 6-pin harness

[cmrho]

It wasn't assumed; you admitted that you couldn't read schematics.

As for PTO operating in reverse without making someone isn't behind (and it does happen) as being no biggie tell that to numerous toddlers that have been injured or killed because of in attention of an operator mowing in reverse.

The main reason the other shops turned down the job they don't have the knowledge either. I deal with John Deere that can't even find a bad wire connection that is staring them in the face. Or to have them tell a customer that their engine doesn't have an oil pump and to ignore the oil pressure light when right in front of them is an oil filter. I even had one warranty case with the local Stihl dealer where they couldn't even find a bad spark plug. Sometimes I think the local JD dealer's techs couldn't find their way out of a wet paper bag with both ends open.

As for my attitude I do think people that are unwilling to admit they are in over their head are fools. I have been doing this work for over 40 yrs now. I have learn to admit my limits and to ask for plus pay for help. We all know some things but none of us will never know everything as we are humans not Gods. Most people like you are just wanting us to give you our knowledge for free but we do have families too that needs feeding and have other expenses too like the shop to be available for them to come to.

Plus employees usually draws a hourly wage. Do you work for free?

As for giving local advice I don't help others to cut my throat. I am not here to lose money; although, I am a near non profit business as it is. Ever seen the cost of a well written service manual? Or the cost of a lawyer to defend you against a claim by customer that you sold parts to that had bypassed things and had an accident?

What I know is hard earned and what you know was probably hard earn too. Natural ability to do some things are a talent just like being able to play a musical instrument which I am have no ability to do, just can't do it no matter how much a try with teachers.


Have you seen the Briggs prices lately? Some are going through the roof like the fuel kit that was under $30 that is now over $110.

All he needed was a starter solenoid, a few wire terminals, some jumper wire (various colors), a terminal housing or two and maybe a new fuse. These things I have on hand as I took the time to figure which one the OEMs used and found a resource that have them. The only things that were need was a pair of wire cutter, a wire stripper, and an open barrel terminal crimper; of course, normal hands are also required. Unlike other shops that sell complete harnesses I repair them most times as a savings for the customer and a profit for my shop.

As a shop it was worth it to invest $70 in the crimpers so I do professional factory style crimps. I actually brought a second one to have it modify for my needs. Those crimpers sold places like Walmart are just junk. Also needed is the extractor tools. The hardware is brought in 50-100 piece units except for the housing which I reason amount as I use most of the present ones. Most of terminals and housings are Molex Standard .084 in (MLX) and/or AMP versions. Actually the pins were only 0.10 ea the last time I brought them.

I did take the time to do a write up with part numbers and pictures of the commonly used terminals and housing for the PPETEN forum group. Those documents were posted in their download forum under the Briggs service info section but I recently removed them from the public forum when the Briggs crankshaft specs section. I still have the three documents available on my drive. I start writing up one for the weather pack terminals and connectors but that is a work in progress as get time and feel like working on it. Lots different ones so it is harder to figure out what the mower OEMs are using without actually seeing them.

As for the PTO in reverse, there are no toddlers on my property. I actually look at where I'm driving when I back up. I'm good with that.

Nobody wants hard-earned experience from others for free. At least nobody that understands the give and take of this world. You provided some insight initially as a gift and I appreciated that. Somehow you moved to condescension in your later posts. I'm not sure why anyone would be a part of a forum like this unless they were trying to help. Being a 'tightwad' isn't what my engine replacement was about. It's about doing something I haven't done before to grow my education, was supposed to be straight-forward, and turned out not to be. Yeah, you know quite a bit in this area. But I'm certain you've been where I was at before, maybe a long time ago. Sure, you probably fix a lot of people's mistakes in your shop now. And you can shake your head all you want. But keep doing that, and customers notice. I know, because I have 2 businesses. If I did that, I wouldn't have many left anymore. It doesn't matter if what they did was stupid or idiotic and I've seen it for the umpteenth time. If I think it, it comes across in my tone and attitude. They know the situation. And they don't need me to remind them of it.

 

[cmrho]

The B&S #591393 wiring harness should have plugged right up. You would likely have to change your starter switch to match the wiring harness.
Like you said, it is what it is. And, a direct Kohler switch would have save a lot of time and headache. ?

Yeah, I'm sure the B&S harness would've worked just fine. But I probably would've have to do just as much work as I did, I think. Tracing the wires back to the terminals, figuring out which ones go to which on the ignition switch, etc. Because the sight of the large bundle of wires was originally a little overwhelming, I was going in circles. Once I realized that I just needed the magento, alternator, and carb solenoid wires to match up, and use the old connector, I was halfway there. I knew I'd need a new start solenoid wire from the get-go. I just wasn't expecting the PTO clutch to not work. I'm sure someone with experience could figure it out by looking at the schematics, but while I can trace basic pathways, it just wasn't worth even more time to figure out why. I'm sure a pro would've done that; it's the right way to do it. But that's why I just installed a separate switch. And, yeah, I would tell anyone doing this to just replace it with the same engine, lol. But at a cost of $1900 for a brand new Kohler V-twin 26hp, I would've just bought a new mower instead. I can afford it, no problem. But that's not why I did what I did.

I wouldn't have changed anything, looking back. Yeah I had a lot of headaches. But I learned a lot from the experience. While it would've been easy to just buy a new one, I think as a society we are moving toward a 'trash and replace', rather than trying to fix things. I don't blame anyone. The cost of repairing these days is often much closer to the cost of a brand new one. It didn't used to be that way. But as long as there's something new for me to learn, I'll always want to DIY it. It's in my blood.

Thanks again!

 

[StarTech]

As with everything you must build on your previous knowledge pool. When EFI first came out there was a very learning curve for all of us. It just not a simple as most no tech think it is. It also two cylces; although, are simple engines a lot of thing can and do go wrong. Unlike 4 cycles that limp along with a failing system on 2 cycles are more problematic.

As for costs yes when we buy an engine for a repower it is often fairly expensive. It is because engine OEM gives the equipment OEM huge discounts due to volume deals then they tried make up for that by sticking to us that buy in small quantities. Year ago I use to see walk behind selling less than the cost of engine otherwise purchased. And this is not unique to small engines either. I used to service office equipment. We sold a $99 calculator where the replacement printer was over $300 for the unit. As a dealer we just simply brought multiple units and parted them out for the parts. Of course Victor didn't like that as part purchases when down.

I got a Bob Cat EFI ZTR schedule to come in shortly. Although, I have worked EFI vehicles this is still new area to learn but at least I have a basic understanding of EFI systems. With that in mind lawn mower EFI are different. If it is Kawasaki engine I will need to buy the interface module (a painful $400+ unit) for the software I have. The Briggs interface is already here. Now the Kohler EFI equipment is something I also need to get. It customer already knows that I taking it in base on my limited knownledge but I am willing to see what is wrong. Most likely I will need to find a service for it.