Archive through October 08, 2013

[thoffman]

Keith/Harry,
That 30 you old air is probably better than the air now.

 

[kostendorf]

Since the cart is an early one, and IH started making them in 1967 the air in those very dry rotted tires that I have not even added air to yet could be 46 years old. Probably not but who knows...

 

[mhomrighausen]

Speaking of the old air in the tires reminds me of a T-shirt a younger girl in my school wore one day. This is back in 1969--- "I remember when the air was clean and sex was dirty."

Off to work for a half day and then to take Angel for her one week checkup. Happy Cub Cadetting to everyone...

 

[tkhoffman]

Dennis F, Yes I have run my printer ragged with some print outs of schemos .
I am a Mechanical designer for an electrical company so I know I can clean up the mess I have here. I just need understand the many connections on teh PTO switch. As in What gets power when the switch is in the up and in the down position. PTO switch. I haven't had time to dig into it yet.
Apparently the Key Switch is incorrect it does not have that third position for the headlights. I will run a separate toggle switch just for the lights. We have some very nice Military weathertight switches that will be perfect for this.This may be frowned upon but at least I will bypass the Seat safety switch. I want to be able to start the tractor when I'm not sitting on it.
Probably the Revers PTO shutoff as well..I want to back up to a tree with the Mower.

 

[dfrisk]

TONY - I'm surprised a 30+ yr old CC still has the seat safety switch and the "no cut in reverse" switch.

Not sure how many other owners my 982 had when I bought it, at least two before Me in 20 yrs and the seat & NCIR switches were already gone. Most of my trimming is done while backing up.

Not a big fan of the headlights being turned on with the ignition switch on that vintage CC. Makes for a way too expensive and trouble-prone ignition switch, while toggle & push/pull switches are cheap.

Just make sure you include an in-line fuse as close to where you tap power from on ANY circuit you create. I've had problems with the old style glass tube in-line fuse holders they sell now, the plastic is so cheap the ends melt. I'm doing "Durability testing" on a plug-in blade style in-line fuse holder on my CC 72 now, think I'm up to 3 yrs and counting. In about ten more yrs as the rest of my in-line fuse holders fail I'll replace them all with the blade type.

The push-pull switch I had on the 72 for probably 20+ yrs failed one night about 10-12 yrs ago. I'd mowed from Noon till 2 AM the next day, so ran the lights for roughly 8 hrs, while I'm unhooking the cart from the lawn vac the headlights went out. I was sitting next to my shop so just drove the tractor in and parked it for the night. The switch had been acting up for a while, maybe a year, you'd have to pull the switch 2-3 times to get the lights to work, and sometimes they'd flicker. I figured the fuse finally blew, I disconnected the battery ground cable and called it a night. Next morning I went out to replace the fuse. The entire phenolic back cover for the switch was BURNED up, the wires & connector's were just hanging there. At that time the fuse & switch was located down behind the battery, a terrible place to try to put out an electrical fire. A new Heavy-duty switch, new fuse holder, and some wiring and I was ready to run again. Could have had a real messy end to my trusty 72 that night!

 

[kide]

It's so easy to wire something up without a fuse..... I've got a tow behind fertilizer spreader that I put a door lock solenoid on to turn the spreader on and off.. I used a trailer flat 4 wire connector to make the battery connection under the 129's seat and the other half connected to the switch and wiring back to the spreader. Used it for years on the 129, no fuse, no problem.

Last week I thought I'd set up the same connection on my zero turn Scag....... some place along the line, I managed to put the battery connections on backwards, which made the ground wiring hot. Never caught it, and actually towed the spreader out back, back out in front, loaded fresh load of fertilizer/grass seed, went to the front corner of the yard and hit the switch - saw a small puff of smoke by the solenoid, quickly followed by the entire wiring on the spreader, right up to the ZTR and under the seat all catching fire at the same time. I was fortunate, had gloves on and ripped the wiring off the battery. It apparently took that long to get a good ground between the tab hitch and the tongue of the spreader. First thought was "(deleted)".. Second thought was "well, Id rather burn up the ZTR than the 129". Third thought was "fuse, (deleted), just a (deleted) fuse was all it needed" ....... like Dennis sez... FUSE ALL ADD ON WIRING

 

[tkhoffman]

Oh Yes! Fuses. I think the ATC fuses will be better then the Glass. I have a bunch of ATC-In-Line-Fuse-Holders-With-Covers that I use when adding to outdoor type stuff. I think that's the type you are testing.
Alright As I buzz through what I have, I want to run the ignition key directly to the Starter solenoid without running through the PTO Switch.
Looking at the Wiring Diagrams. I'm hoping I can isolate almost everything. Ignition key in the ON position will energize the PTO switch, The Coil and a new Headlight switch. Turn the key farther to the Start position and that delivers voltage to the Starter solenoid.. No detours through Seat or Brake or PTO switches.
In fact the Ignition switch seems very Sloppy and loose. I may just have a Toggle Switch to provide Power to Coil and other switches with a separate push button to the Starter solenoid. Thoughts?

 

[memorgan]

I did that on one of my Cubs Tom. Being an electrician by trade. I went that route of toggles and a salvaged I H push button to keep it correct and simple and also becoz the wiring harness was pretty much junk any way.. I also installed pilot lights for inducation. I used a red covered toggle that you have to flip up the cover in order to get to the switch,just coz it was kind cool!!

 

[dschwandt]

All the more reason to have bright 'n' tight electrical connections every where and on the all important grounding system. A faulty ground will cause heavy draw on your lighting circuit resulting in excessive heat resulting in burned and melted connectors. A viscious circle for sure and adding a larger fuse will only worsen the problem.

 

[stanner]