Help Scag Ssz Blowing Fuse

[I MOW ALONE]

hey guy's need some help. i have a 96 scag ssz rider and it keep's blowing a fuse instantly as soon as i turn the key on. there is only two fuse's that i can see one has two yellow wire's to it and the other has two red wire's to it. the one that keep's blowing is the one with the red wire's. it has blown that fuse before a couple of time's but i would put a new fuse in and it would be fine. but not this time put a fuse in turn the key and fuse blow's. i took a couple photo's just to show which wire's im talking about. i looked for the obvious exposed wire but see nothing any help would be appreciated. thank's

[I MOW ALONE]

OOPS FORGOT THE PICTURES:dizzy:

[Restrorob]

Unplug your ignition switch and check the post for rust or corrosion, also in the connector plug. I have seen many rust and cause a bad connection in turn burning the contacts inside the switch and shorting out.

[MowerMedic77]

Do you have any safety's jumped? I worked on a scag that the customer had the same issue, and I found the seat switch wires jumped and stuffed back under the seat and it was grounding out causing the fuse to blow. You may also want to try disconnecting the clutch, just as proses of elimination.

[I MOW ALONE]

Do you have any safety's jumped? I worked on a scag that the customer had the same issue, and I found the seat switch wires jumped and stuffed back under the seat and it was grounding out causing the fuse to blow. You may also want to try disconnecting the clutch, just as proses of elimination.

No, I don't have any safety's jumped. I will try disconnecting the clutch to see what it does, and I will also clean up all the contacts on the ignition switch, and see what happens.

Thanks,
I'll let ya know!!

[Restrorob]

clean up all the contacts on the ignition switch

If you do find rust on switch spade connectors (most commonly the red positive one) cleaning may not help because internal burning of the contacts inside may have already happened, Just replace the switch to fully eliminate it as being the problem.

[ChadsLawn]

On my Z It would burn the switch to almost total melt down inside. It was the purple wire on mine. But I never did find the problem. I took my entire mower apart. I traced that wire everywhere it went and didnt find anything burnt. So alls I did was make a push button to the starter. The switch still works as far as ignition. Its just not turning the motor pver anymore. My old dealer use to charge me $25 for that switch.
So you may need to trace that wire everywhere like I did to see if its shorted anywhere.

[I MOW ALONE]

ok i disconnected the ignition and cleaned terminal's which had no rust and very little corrosion. and cleaned the terminal's on the fuse plug no rust just a little corrosion. disconnected the clutch still blowing fuse as soon as you turn the key. i have a amperes meter on the mower from the factory and as soon as you turn the key the meter goes all the way down to -10 and blow's the fuse:dizzy: so you think the ignition switch might be bad

[Restrorob]

If the switch looked OK I would think thats not the problem but it could be tested with it unplugged using a multimeter set on ohms. With the red test lead on the B spade and black test lead on the G spade and the switch in the on position it should read a open circuit.

There is a component or wire shorted some where and it is a process of elimination to find it. I start by disconnecting each component one at a time until the short goes away then replace the bad component, If it doesn't with doing this then it's time to start tracing wires as Chad said.

Below is three things I see that can be eliminated or found at fault, Disconnect each, One at a time and see if the fuse blows. I use a regular auto circuit breaker when testing instead of blowing a bunch of fuses.

Sorry, I'm not familiar with Scag units but this is a basic way of checking electrical systems on all brand units.

[viper00085]

we see this alot on toro dingos. it usally ends up being a flywheel magnet/stator issue if it happen as soon as you turn the key on. if you disconnect the plug at the regulator/rectifier (black 3 prong plug, 2 white 1 black wire) and install new fuse and try it then. if it does not blow the fuse, it prolly is the magnets or stator. if it still does it, its prolly on the scag side of the harness/system

[I MOW ALONE]

ok. disconnected the relay key on blew fuse. disconnected pto switch key on fuse blew. disconnected regulator 3 prong plug 2 white 1 purple key on fuse blew. disconnected yellow wire on amperes meter key on FUSE DID NOT BLOW. rob you did mean for me to just unplug the yellow wire right. so should i replace the amp meter and can i bypass it for right now just to see if it will work. and how would i bypass it just connect the red and yellow together. thank's again

[Restrorob]

you did mean for me to just unplug the yellow wire right.


Thats correct, The red wire is the supply line to the gage. You should be able to by-pass the gage by connecting the yellow wire to the red, But make it temporary then check again to see if the fuse blows. If it doesn't then you have found the culprit and can make a good connection until another gage can be installed. If it still blows you will need to trace the yellow wire through the harness checking for a short somewhere as Chad said.

[ChadsLawn]

Glad you found the problem so far. I hope its fixed. I know how you feel when a main machine is down. I worked on my trimmer and edger today, All is good so far with them.

[Restrorob]

Hey Mow, Could you post the serial number off this unit do I can take a look at the wiring diagram just for the heck of it ?

[ChadsLawn]

Hey Rob where is Hole in the woods,Florida? Ive never heard of that place :dizzy:

[Restrorob]

Hey Rob where is Hole in the woods,Florida?

It's on the West Coast, Just a little south of Gainesville. I own 1 1/2 acres of thick woods with a hole cleared in the center just big enough for my double wide and small work shop. I wanted privacy and didn't want people looking up in my yard at all my toys (Sticky fingers around here)....

[ChadsLawn]

I live just North of Pinellas county. Near New Port Richey

[I MOW ALONE]

ok i tried to bypass the meter. and when i touched the yellow and red wire's together and turned key on the fuse blew. so i should chase the yellow wire not the red one right. rob here are the serial #s 29970661. thank's

[Restrorob]

so i should chase the yellow wire not the red one right.

Yes, Since the fuse did not blow with the yellow disconnected I would say the problem is within that yellow wire circuit. Below is a PDF parts manual for your unit, Page 18 is the wiring diagram which will help in tracing. Without seeing your unit it's a little difficult for me to follow but hopefully it will help you out.


http://www.scag.com/OpManuals/SSZ/97SSZIPL/97SSZIPLcomplete.pdf


Good Luck

[I MOW ALONE]

ok took the whole wiring harness apart and did'nt find any thing shorted. but now im not blowing any more fuse's but. now it crank's over just fine but wont start. i have no spark while cranking but at the end of cranking the engine when i let off the key i get a very brief spark that is very weak yellow spark. i dont think both coil's would be bad. so how would i check the stator and the flywheel magnet. and is there any thing else i should check.

KOHLER NEVER AGAIN. :mad: thank's

[Restrorob]

Well if your going to hate something hate Scag, Thats their wiring harness.
Speaking of which, There should be a harness plug back by the engine that plugs the engine to the unit harness. On the engine side you should see a white wire, un-plug the connection and use something pointed like a ice pick and slide it between the spade connector and the plastic plug then slide the white wire out, This is the kill wire from the coils. Re-connect the plug to the unit harness and check for spark again.
If you now have spark there is a problem with-in the unit harness (safety switch, Ignition switch ect.) If still no spark then the coils will need to be checked.

I don't mind saying I hate electrical problems because they can be a pain in the @ss and it's even more difficult on-line not being able to lay eye's on the unit.
Keep me posted !

[I MOW ALONE]

ok. unplugged the white wire on the engine harness still no spark. while cranking after cranking when i let off key i get one little yellow weak spark. i forgot to add that i put a new ignition switch on already. the reason i say kohler is because i already had to replace head gasket at 160 hour's and now at 200 hour's this. if it turn's out to be a failure on the engine. i know it's hard to diagnose with out being able to see the machine in person. but i really appreciate all your help. so i should check the coil's next how do i do that. thank's again

[MOOSE]

It is the flywheel/stator. One of the magnets has broke off and makeing contact with stator at all times. I had same problem your speaking of on a dixie chopper. I relaced the flywheel and stator and problem gone. If it's under warranty still then take it in.

[Restrorob]

First of all the magnets on the inside of the flywheel are for the charging system and have nothing to do with the ignition coils sparking. When you unplugged the voltage regulator (plug with 2 white wires and a purple or red) as MowerMedic said that eliminated a shorted stator because the fuse still blew.
Now that you took the harness apart and re-assembled and the short is gone (fuse not blowing) but now you have no spark with the white wire disconnected from the engine harness, I would suggest comparing the letters on the back of the new switch with the ones on the old one. Make sure the letters are in the same place, It's possible they sold you the wrong switch and when you installed it shot 12 volts Thur the ground lead and blew the coils.

Below is the test specs. for the coils using a multimeter, You have to remove the flywheel cover to get the part number off the coils (stamped in white) then use the specs. for that number.
But again if the white wire is disconnected and you have no blue spark, While you have the cover off disconnect the white wires off the coils and check for spark again, If still none it would be safe to say both coils are blown.




http://www.lawnsite.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=56701&d=1147034437

[I MOW ALONE]

i dont have any white wire's on the coil's. the white wire come's in the engine harness and has a little connecter goes through that connecter in to what i believe is the smart spark little black box. and then comes out to the coil's in yellow and brownish color wire's each coil has a yellow wire and a brownish color wire.

[Restrorob]

Well crud, I started to ask for your model and spec. numbers but didn't. I just assumed it didn't have the Smart Spark system, Sorry for the confusion. :hammerhead:

OK, You can go here; http://www.kohlerengines.com/service/manuals/index.jsp Just enter your engine model number to down-load a PDF service manual.

This will explain the ignition system and give what test procedures that can be performed. It takes a special tester to check the Smart Spark control box, The most you can do with it is make sure you have battery voltage on the red lead with the switch in the on position. The white wire is the ground for the control box. Perform the coil test as I posted and if the coils test to the specs. listed and you have voltage to the Smart box and a good ground I would suspect the Smart control box being bad.