Zero Turn Z254 Shuts off.

[bertsmobile1]

Tech support is just that
Support for factory trained technicians not to walk individual owners through trouble shooting proceedures .
And for once I will fall in on Husqvarnas' side.,
They would need thousands of highly skilled technicians to answer the phone calls and these people would have to have a very sound hands on experience with every product the company has sold for the past 20 years plus the ability to communicate with people of mixed technical skills who use th e wrong names for parts because they can not be bothered to even download the parts books and the wrong terms to describe what is happening .
That is the job of the individual dealers, not the national technical support network .

And if I was a person who it was possible to offend I would now be really pissed off being that I have taken the time to explain the root cause of your problem & the way I diagnose it then you decided it was not good enough for you unless Husqvarnas' Tech support gave my method a gold star of endoresment .
This means either you have absolutely no understanding of very basic DC which makes you a danger to yourself attempting a repair like this or you refuse to believe the valuable sound information you have just been offered for free in good will .

SO you are now standing on a petrol soaked wooden bridge with a burning match in your hand .
As for me I have no intention of wasting any more time on you or your mower .
So good luck , I sincerely wish you well but it is good bye from me .

 

[jamesowen]

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

I've had this same problem. Under the seat attached to both arms are safety switches that affect cranking. These sensors are push button switches similar to the brake pedal switch on automobiles. You can take a standard paper clip and one the wired end of the plug cross over diagonally and tape it off. Cranks every time

 

[rberman999]

I’m in agreement with bertsmobile1, he gave you more than enough information to fully fix all of your machines, from the sound of all of your descriptions. I also agree, if you don’t have the basic electrical knowledge to work on your equipment as in knowing what a VOM is then you shouldn’t be trying to fix your own machines. A basic switch works either in a NO or NC configuration and from there using a VOM, it is simple troubleshooting skills used to figure out the issue. It’s obvious from the chap who first replaced the seat switch he has little clue of what to do. Several of you others appear to have slightly more troubleshooting skills as you had almost concluded the micro switches were the likely issue. Now my post isn’t to put anyone in their place, it’s just if you want to fix something yourself then you need to be willing to first ask for help (you all did), then you need to interpret the help you receive and move into action. The action shouldn’t be to move onto another person for better help or looking for someone to hold your hand, it should have been to pull cover(s) off, figure out how to remove the micro switch harness and test the micro switch. If you figure out you can’t do that then you should take your machine to a professional and let them fix it. You still would be in a position of power, for example, if the shop said you needed a new engine you would know to go elsewhere to have the machine fixed as you isolated the problem into the safety switch wiring. Anyway, I believe this may be my first post, I’ve been a long term follower and I’ve used the information posted here to fix my own machine on several occasions, and I’ve never needed to post. Just reading the same advice over and over and following it. From reading the main contributors comments I’m not sure how much longer they will be providing help to us, I hope it continues for a long time, it is much appreciated.

 

[StarTech]

Bert this is old thread but you are wrong as to what this component is in the wiring schematic.

It is a hidden relay as the brakes are applied mechanically thru the lap bars and there is persay no brake switch other than the lap bar switches. It took me some time to find it looked like and where to find it. I had to as I had that would act up after it heated up during use. The little monster is taped to the wiring harness.

 

[first pull]

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

There are two safety switches, one of them are bad or not Making contact

 

[dickw]

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

We had this issue with a Toro timesaver--turned out the cure was a low battery. Check for corrosion. The only thing we ever figured was that the starting and engaging clutch used enough battery that releasing the electric parking brake drew the power down while the generator/alternator was having to charge the battery. The safety gurus did make sure to put in a bunch of safety switches and they are probably all made in China set to quit at the worst possible time. I hope your issue is easy to solve==BTW--figured this out by jumping with the truck and it stayed running. Sorry I don't remember why we decided to jump it.

 

[davis2]

I’m in agreement with bertsmobile1, he gave you more than enough information to fully fix all of your machines, from the sound of all of your descriptions. I also agree, if you don’t have the basic electrical knowledge to work on your equipment as in knowing what a VOM is then you shouldn’t be trying to fix your own machines. A basic switch works either in a NO or NC configuration and from there using a VOM, it is simple troubleshooting skills used to figure out the issue. It’s obvious from the chap who first replaced the seat switch he has little clue of what to do. Several of you others appear to have slightly more troubleshooting skills as you had almost concluded the micro switches were the likely issue. Now my post isn’t to put anyone in their place, it’s just if you want to fix something yourself then you need to be willing to first ask for help (you all did), then you need to interpret the help you receive and move into action. The action shouldn’t be to move onto another person for better help or looking for someone to hold your hand, it should have been to pull cover(s) off, figure out how to remove the micro switch harness and test the micro switch. If you figure out you can’t do that then you should take your machine to a professional and let them fix it. You still would be in a position of power, for example, if the shop said you needed a new engine you would know to go elsewhere to have the machine fixed as you isolated the problem into the safety switch wiring. Anyway, I believe this may be my first post, I’ve been a long term follower and I’ve used the information posted here to fix my own machine on several occasions, and I’ve never needed to post. Just reading the same advice over and over and following it. From reading the main contributors comments I’m not sure how much longer they will be providing help to us, I hope it continues for a long time, it is much appreciated.

So according to your logic, no one except certain trained people should work on mowers? Some of us have knowledge in other areas, too. So when you ask for help, don't complain when you are told off... I like the techs here, but they do get frustrated with inexperienced people...

 

[bertsmobile1]

Bert this is old thread but you are wrong as to what this component is in the wiring schematic.
View attachment 68066
It is a hidden relay as the brakes are applied mechanically thru the lap bars and there is persay no brake switch other than the lap bar switches. It took me some time to find it looked like and where to find it. I had to as I had that would act up after it heated up during use. The little monster is taped to the wiring harness.
View attachment 68067

Tar Star always good to be corrected so now I will know
Dosn't change the trouble shooting procedure though