L120 won't start

[JDeLozier]

I have a L120 JD lawn tractor and all of a sudden it may or may not start. The other night I removed the seat switch and "checked" it and reinstalled and it started. It ran fine and restarted a few times while I was mowing that evening. Now, a week later, it won't start again. I removed the switch and reinstalled, still no luck. Checked the brake/clutch switch and it appears to be okay. Battery is charged, lites work, just acts like it has a bad safety switch. Any way to wire around (just to ck)?
Thanks, Jim D.

 

[jd b puller]

JD, does it hit compression and stop, or will it not turn over at all? The only switches that matter are PTO (mower deck) and Brake. I believe there's a solenoid that could go bad under the hood as well, Seat switch isn't involved in cranking circuit.

 

[Fredsjdb]

Check your 20 amp fuse under the hood. Also I had wiring problems after the electric PTO clutch burned up. But usually it"s the fuse.

 

[JDeLozier]

I had checked the fuse the first time and it was okay. I didn't ck it this time other than just looking closely,and it looked okay. I will ck it.
I also had the to replace the pto clutch on the pulley last year, but haven't had any more problems (up till now)
Thanks and I will ck the fuse.
Jim

 

[JDeLozier]

It just has nothing. No crank or anything. The lights work bright so I know the battery is charged. The fuse is good, I ck'd it after the last reply. When you pull the PTO Switch, you hear a nosie both on and off, so I assume it is okay. I don't know how to ck the brake switch. Can I wire around it someway?

 

[jd b puller]

JD, Brake switch is rivited to the frame. Sometimes if some brute pushes on the brake pedal too hard, it distorts the bracket. Use your hand and physically push the button in on the brake switch, make sure the PTO is off and see if it cranks up. If not, then you either have a pinched wire somewhere, or the brake switch is most likely bad.

 

[JDeLozier]

I will try that tomorrow. Do you know where the fusible link in the starter circut is? I was looking in my manual and it said something about the 20 amp fuse and if it was okay the fusible link in the starter circut may be bad.

I appreciate all the help.

Jim D.

 

[jd b puller]

You should be able to trace down where the weak link is. Assuming the lights work, you can rule out the 20A fuse.
- Can't be the seat switch
- Can't be the reverse switch

1. The big red wire on the starter should always have power.

For the rest of these tests, have the brake ON, PTO OFF, and have someone hold they key in START.


- There is a purple wire that comes out of the KeySwitch. See if it has power.
- It goes into the PTO switch - should have power there also.
- It comes out of the PTO Switch as PURPLE/WHITE and goes into the brake switch. Comes out as PURPLE. THis wire should be HOT when all safety circuits are met (and key in CRANK position)
- Find that purple wire that comes out of the brake and it goes into a solenoid. SHould have power here as well.

If the solenoid has power but it won't engage, then you probably have a bad solenoid. Otherwise if you lose power somewhere else along the way, it's that switch/wire that's bad. Remember to make sure the brake switch is actually engaging.

 

[JDeLozier]

I really, really appreciate all the help. I will try these things after church tomorrow and will sure let you know. This is exactally the type of help I needed!

Thanks, Jim