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Hello, my XT1 is giving me some trouble. The blades won't engage when I pull the PTO and I'm in the 'forward' position with the ignition however, if I put the ignition in reverse and push the little yellow triangle button with the exclamation point the blades WILL engage. So to summarize, blades engage when I'm in reverse mode but won't engage when I'm in forward mode. Really hoping someone can help!!!

studying the schematic it appears that you may have a reverse switch problem.

Thanks, StarTech. Any chance you might be able to elaborate? (BTW - I can't find the schematic online for this machine). The reason I'm asking is that the blades engage and work in the reverse mode so I'd think the reverse switch is good. Electrical circuits are my weakness! Hoping someone can tract this out and pinpoint the problem for me. The PTO appears to be good. The machine won't start when the PTO is on. The clutch appears to be good since it works when in reverse mode. It's just the forward position that won't engage the blades.

If the reverse switch is active as if in reverse the PTO will not engage except when the ignition is in the reverse mode.

As for the wiring schematic the only diagram I find online is a zoom-able version that will not allow me to pull a full size readable image. Therefore you need to go the following webpage and view the image yourself. It is for a 2015 model but yours should be the same setup. You can zoom and move the image around with your mouse.

https://cc.shankslawn.com/oemparts/a/cut/5b75a42c87a866128817eb86/electrical-schematic-electric-pto

Thanks Star...hoping someone else comes along with some ideas since electrical is my weakness. I'm mechanical. Can't figure out why the blades would engage in reverse but not in forward. There has to be a fuse or 'short' or ignition switch or safety somewhere. Obviously the clutch works and the PTO works so what else could it be???

bharger69 said:

Thanks Star...hoping someone else comes along with some ideas since electrical is my weakness. I'm mechanical. Can't figure out why the blades would engage in reverse but not in forward. There has to be a fuse or 'short' or ignition switch or safety somewhere. Obviously the clutch works and the PTO works so what else could it be???

Click to expand...

Can you engage the blades in reverse, stop moving, then move the key to the normal mowing position, then try backing up again and see if the clutch will kick off? That will confirm to us that the reverse switch has a proper signal to the control module.

Hello Artemjemmy, I'm not sure I'm understanding your question. So I went out and did what you suggested and have some good/bad news. The good news is that if I just keep the ignition in "reverse" mode the blades stay engaged while mowing forwards or backwards (I'm sure this is obvious to you guys but to be honest I've never even paid attention to the the "reverse" option or ever used it until this situation started). The bad news is that the blades stop when I turn the key to the "forward" position. So I guess I can just always keep the key in the "reverse" mode, push the yellow triangle button and mow. However, I'd really like to fix it so if you guys have any ideas please keep them coming!!

To summarize, I started the XT1, turned the ignition key to "reverse" mode, pushed the yellow triangle button, and pulled the PTO and the blades engage. I went both forward and reverse with the key in the "reverse" mode and the blades stay engaged. When I turn the key to the "forward" mode the blades shut off. Hopefully, I'm explaining this so it makes sense to you guys. Thanks a lot for your help!!!

What comes to mind is a short / open circuit in the reverse switch on the mower
So the mower thinks you are in reverse so won't allow the blades to turn on
Usually the reverse switch is located on the rear axel where the control arm will activate it when you are in reverse
Don't know where Cub hides it on your mower but if you get it up in the air and have a good look your will find it easily .
Somewhere between the reverse pedal & the transmission will be a plunger switch that is activated when the mower is in reverse
It might be behind the dash, under the mower or on the rear axel Some are open circuit when the mower goes into reverse & some are closed circuit when the mower is in reverse .
On 100 series JD's I occasionally have to put a self tapper in the end of the plunger to make it longer .

Note there will also be a brake switch around the same regions so check that the switch is only activated when the F-R pedal is in reverse & is not activated by depressing the brake pedal .

If it is not the cheap switch then it will be the expensive key switch .

The switch used in the ignition module can be replaced. It is a Delta 6900-47 switch. The non printed/molded harder to come by but the printed or molded graphics versions are easier to come by. It just you would an image of of a headlamp indicated in the reverse model

The Oregon 33-105 is the replacement ignition switch only.

But driving it around in "reverse mode" (ignition turned halfway to 'reverse', triangle button pushed in and PTO pulled out) isn't hurting anything, correct? I just spent about 4 hours mowing in "reverse mode" (ignition turned halfway, triangle button pushed and PTO pulled out) and seemed to work fine. The one thing I notice about "reverse mode" is that the blades don't stop when I get off the seat like they do when I'm in "forward mode" (key turned all the way to the right and the PTO pulled out). I know I'm going the extra mile in explanation but want to make sure everyone understands my situation. XT1 only engages the blades when the ignition is turned halfway, the triangle button is pushed (reverse mode) and the PTO is then pulled to on postion. Blades engage and I'm free to mow moving forward and backward.

@bharger69 did you ever figure this out? I’m having the exact problem on my Xt1

There are 4 reasons why blades don't engage if the wiring between the switches is intact
1) seat switch shows no operator present
2) reverse switch shows mower is reversing
3) switch itself is bad
4) PTO clutch is bad

You can add bad wire terminals to the list especially the Packard/GM/Aptiv spring type terminals.

"The one thing I notice about "reverse mode" is that the blades don't stop when I get off the seat like they do when I'm in "forward mode"

The blades should stop if you get out of the seat with it in "reverse mode". So this might be more info to point to an issue with the reverse switch. You need to locate that switch and test it with an ohm meter and make sure the wires and connector are good. There's plenty of youtubes on how to locate and diagnose a bad reverse switch so you might take a look. Cheers.