Zero Turn Z254 Shuts off.

[cdarnau]

Hello everyone. I have a Z254 and it will start, the deck will engage. But when you pull the arms in to move it, It shuts off. I replaced the seat switch today (i even tried to bypass it by removing the comb, I reinstalled the comb)

I have checked all the wiring and it looks like everything is connected. What could I be missing?

I feel like this isn't a lot of information to be giving you. I have been a GM technician for the last 20 years and feel as if I am giving you 20% of the information you need to help me. So if there is anything else you need to know, Please ask. I will get it for you right away.

Thanks in advance,
Chris

 

[bcarwell]

Hello everyone. I have a Z254 and it will start, the deck will engage. But when you pull the arms in to move it, It shuts off. I replaced the seat switch today (i even tried to bypass it by removing the comb, I reinstalled the comb)

I have checked all the wiring and it looks like everything is connected. What could I be missing?

I feel like this isn't a lot of information to be giving you. I have been a GM technician for the last 20 years and feel as if I am giving you 20% of the information you need to help me. So if there is anything else you need to know, Please ask. I will get it for you right away.

Thanks in advance,
Chris

Chris- I also have a Z254 and have the EXACT SAME PROBLEM. When it first started I could pull the RIGHT steering arm in and the engine kept running. Only pulling the LEFT arm in would kill the engine. Now pulling either arm in will kill the engine. I was told it was a switch problem (corrosion, etc.) If I put my finger in the hole in the cover where the LEFT steering arm goes down into I can feel a switch or assembly that is very, very loose compared to doing the same for the RIGHT steering arm which doesn't wiggle.

Have you had any success ? And how do you pull off the metal cover that hides what the arms are connected to under the cover ?

And do you know how to obtain a shop manual ?

I never did think it was the seat switch, as the engine only quit when I moved the arms in, leading me to believe there is some brake switch the arm is connected to. I just can't get access to it without knowing how to pull the cover off.

Bob.

 

[K Ham]

Chris- I also have a Z254 and have the EXACT SAME PROBLEM. When it first started I could pull the RIGHT steering arm in and the engine kept running. Only pulling the LEFT arm in would kill the engine. Now pulling either arm in will kill the engine. I was told it was a switch problem (corrosion, etc.) If I put my finger in the hole in the cover where the LEFT steering arm goes down into I can feel a switch or assembly that is very, very loose compared to doing the same for the RIGHT steering arm which doesn't wiggle.

Have you had any success ? And how do you pull off the metal cover that hides what the arms are connected to under the cover ?

And do you know how to obtain a shop manual ?

I never did think it was the seat switch, as the engine only quit when I moved the arms in, leading me to believe there is some brake switch the arm is connected to. I just can't get access to it without knowing how to pull the cover off.

Bob.

Have you found a solution to this problem? I also have a Z254 that is doing the same thing.
K

 

[hawaiidragracer]

I had the same issue. I could not find an answer online, and even chatting with Husqvarna tech support was no help, so hopefully this will help someone else. When sitting on the seat with both levers fully out to the park position, my mower engine would start and the blade would engage when pulling the blade engage switch like normal. I believe that if you are not sitting on the seat, the mower will not engage. So if you are sitting on the seat and the engine is running, and activate the mower blades and they come on, your seat switch is good. On mine, when I moved the levers from park to neutral, the engine would shut off, just like the key switch was turned off. What I found is that I had a sticking park lever switch. If both lever switches are working properly, moving either lever switch from park to neutral individually will kill the engine. If you move both levers at the same time, then engine will keep running. One of my switches was stuck, so it always thought that one side was in park. When I moved both levers, it thought I only moved one lever and shut off the engine. If you can move the lever on one side from park to neutral and the engine stays running, that is your sticking switch because it is still being made as if it were still in park.

 

[bertsmobile1]

The go for all of these types of problems is to get your hands on the wiring diagram
In this case it is both in the owners manual and in the parts manual so no excuses for not having one


So from the diagram above you need to see all of the ways the M terminal on the key switch ( actually the white wire at the engine pigtail ) can be connected to ground\
1) through the PTO & Seat switch
2) through the seat switch & parking brake relay ( which is not labled but is just below motion switches & above the seat switch )
3) through the motion control switch & the parking brake relay

 

[KMOFF]

I had the same issue. I could not find an answer online, and even chatting with Husqvarna tech support was no help, so hopefully this will help someone else. When sitting on the seat with both levers fully out to the park position, my mower engine would start and the blade would engage when pulling the blade engage switch like normal. I believe that if you are not sitting on the seat, the mower will not engage. So if you are sitting on the seat and the engine is running, and activate the mower blades and they come on, your seat switch is good. On mine, when I moved the levers from park to neutral, the engine would shut off, just like the key switch was turned off. What I found is that I had a sticking park lever switch. If both lever switches are working properly, moving either lever switch from park to neutral individually will kill the engine. If you move both levers at the same time, then engine will keep running. One of my switches was stuck, so it always thought that one side was in park. When I moved both levers, it thought I only moved one lever and shut off the engine. If you can move the lever on one side from park to neutral and the engine stays running, that is your sticking switch because it is still being made as if it were still in park.

I have the same issue too. With the engine running I can pull in the left control arm alone, and the engine doesn't skip a beat. It keeps running. If I return the left arm to the outer position, and pull in the right arm, the engine will die immediately unless I hurry and shove the right arm back to the outer position. From what Hawaiidragracer wrote above, my mower thinks the left side is in park. OK, assuming that is true, what is the fix?

 

[bertsmobile1]

They are designed to prevent you moving with either of the parking brakes engaged
SO if one is moved into the drive position & out of the neutral position while the other brake is in the on position the engine shuts off .
So one of your switches on one of the levers is bad because it should do the same left or right.
I have never actually seen one in the flesh but that is how the systems are designed to work
Usually 2 switches are used, one detects if the brake is on & the other detects if you are trying to make the mower move .
Husqvarna use an automatic parking brake so there is no separate parking brake lever, this is done for cheapness sake but sold to the unsuspecting customer as a safety feature rather than a cost cutting cheapening method .
There is a good reason why I advise my customers not to buy any Husqvarna product other than than held tools and you unfortunately have found it the hard way.
There is nothing in their line up worth a cent other than the commercial articulated series the rest is junk .

 

[KMOFF]

One of your switches on one of the levers is bad because it should do the same, left or right.
I have never actually seen one in the flesh, but that is how the systems are designed to work.
Usually, 2 switches are used. One detects if the brake is on & the other detects if you are trying to make the mower move.
.

OK, bertsmobile1, I apparently have a switch bad on my left-side control arm. From what you have described, the engine dies when I engage the right-side control arm because it's picking up a false signal from the left-side parking switch. Am I on track here? I just need to track down this particular switch. Thanks to the guys on this forum for helping me isolate the problem.

 

[bertsmobile1]

Something like that .
Once you know how it is supposed to work, trouble shooting is simply a matter if unplugging the switches then working out weather they should be open circuit or closed circuit in the drive position.
Then either leave the plug open or jumping the terminals with a short jumper that has a male terminal at each end ( bared end wires are not reliable ) .
Try one side then replug it and try the other side .
The switch makes & breaks connections flat to flat hot edge to edge or diagonally so if yours is the same as the diagram it will be blue to black or orange to black but not blue to orange because that will blow the magneto when the engine is cranked .

 

[KMOFF]

So, I thought I would call Husqvarna and walk through this troubleshooting outcome with their technician, and I'd be off and running with a replacement part on the way to me. Silly me. Husqvarna's entire customer service structure is set up to avoid all two-way communication between the customer and any staff person. I was finally able to chat with a Husqvarna employee, and her solution to my problem was to simply email me all of the schematics for my entire Z254F mower. I was no better off after our chat session than when we started. Husqvarna scores a 1 out of 10 on my customer service encounter with their staff. I guess I'm on my own on this one...