Craftsman tractor pto drive stops

10 years ago

I have a craftsman rider model 917.272421. It runs fine. In the summer it mows for a while then the blades stop and restart randomly. Now I have the snow blower attachment on and it does the same thing. Battery has a good charge, all connections clean. Any thoughts before I replaced the electric clutch?

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Comments (3)

User
10 years ago
"Battery has a good charge". How do you know? Did you check the specific gravity of the electrolyte? Did you get the battery load tested?

Get the battery load tested before you do anything else.

If the battery passes the load test then you know you have a good battery.

Clean and tighten the connections at BOTH ends of BOTH battery cables. Check the engine mounting bolts for tightness.
bill_kapaun
10 years ago
The ground circuit for your PTO is controlled by an Operator Presence Relay (OPR).
Look at the schematic in your owners manual-

The OPR is "activated" through the seat switch.
Power to the PTO is through the PTO switch.

What I would do first-
Locate the OPR. With the key ON, manipulating the seat switch should make it click.
Unplug/plug the connector a few times to "clean" the contacts.
Ditto for the PTO switch connector.

If the mower starts, your battery is "good enough".
The carb fuel solenoid is on the same leg of the circuit as the PTO switch. IF the problem was there, the carb solenoid would "kick out", killing the engine.
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tomplum
10 years ago
It would be good to know that you are actually losing power/ ground to the clutch itself. Will it stay off long enough to be able to test it or maybe scotch lock in a test light to the harness? I suppose that it is possible that the gap is excessive and when you hit a tough spot the clutch disengages. As you've guessed, these clutches can be intermittent. So can the switches. Also, if the connectors on the ignition /PTO switches have not been checked for corrosion, now is the time. I'm sure that you would have mentioned if you had charging system issues.