Pto Doesnt always engage

[Dstosh]

I've got a '05 Lesco z two with about 1,000 hours.

When you go to engage the mower deck, sometimes it's a crap shoot. The only way to get the mower deck to turn on is if you engage the parking brake when the levers are in. The mower starts to die, you disengage the parking brake and the mower turns on.

The clutch was replaced last season(07)

Could it be the realy that is bad? Switch?


Thanks for any help

Derek

[jkason]

Could be out of adjustment.
Smoe clutches are adjustable, some are not.

Most likely, if you can turn the nuts up tighter that are on the bottom of the clutch (if there ARE any there), that will fix the problem.

You should have some clearance (about .010" - .012", if I remember correctly) when adjusted properly.

[rjxj]

There is a sequence of operation in the electrical system. Its looking for certain things before it will let other things happen. If you had a schematic you could figure out what relay is closing etc and look for power at certain points. Your unit may also have a control module. The first thing to do is a visual inspection. Disconnect the negative battery cable and clean all the electrical connectors. Pull them apart and look for any corrosion or burning. You don’t have to take each terminal out of its cavity, just use a wire brush to scuff them up. Apply an electrical type grease to all the plugs and connectors. After that its as I said above, look for power at the points you should see power.

[Two Seasons]

Wiggle the wires at the PTO switch.

Jumper the PTO switch (electrically eliminate the switch)

Observe all safety precautions!

[CK82]

I had a similar problem with my Toro Z Master, it was the PTO switch. The engine wouldnt die, the blades just wouldnt engage.

[Matlock Lawncare]

Had similar problem last year, You can do what the other guys said about cleaning and switch for PTO. I went and got one new relay and went through the machine one at a time replacing old relay with new (they should all be same relay) try the pto after each one. On my machine you dont have to have motor running to see if PTO engages. Just make sure all saftey switches are pushed and pull PTO switch and listen for the click from the PTO. Getting late not sure if that makes sense. Good Luck and let us know what it ends up being.