Old LT1045 given to my wife as a Birthday present

[user 15113]

Greetings Ya'll,

My wife was given this "Used & Abused" LT1045 "Hydrostatic",as a Birthday Present, & it seriously had /has many issues.

Md 13AX11CH712
Ser.# 1B155H20762

This guy that gave it to my wife, is dating our Daughter, & Truthfully, he's got my daughter & wife conned, & I'm giving him jus' a little more time, till I suggest that he find another State to live in.

This Mower has a "John Deere" (Briggs & Stratton), "G4 Crankshaft", "AVS" 19Hp motor, which from my understanding it should have been a "Kohler Courage" Md# SV600.

The most recent problems with this unit, is when I finished mowing the front yard (One Acre) & went to mow the back yard (another acre), I engaged the PTO, & the mower completely bogged down & died. I went through the procedures as outlined in the "Owners Manual" that I found on Th' Net, & every time I engaged the PTO, in grass that was freshly cut the Mower died. I then started the mower up, & drove it back further on to our property, without the PTO engaged, & the Mower ran without stalling.

I then checked the deck, for debris, grass, etc., & there was none. I checked the deck pullies & found them to be free wheeling, with no grinding, etc. coming from the spindles, nor the pullies.

Then, due perhaps to "prayers being answered", I tried to operate the mower & Walla! it cut approx. 15 ft & died again.

Now, the Mower will crank, but not start. I was going to use my Multi-meter to check for voltage at the spark plug wire, but then thought that the DC Voltage would exceed my meter's ratings of 600V. If I'm correct the proper range for Ignition is 8000V to12000V for these motors to "fire up".

Right now I'm thinking that I need to check the coil, & it's "air gap", & I was wondering if it's possible to find a Service Manual for this Mower, so as to be able to take care of the other & many issues with this "Birthday Gift", & I also realize that since this isn't a Factory installed motor, that any data regarding the motor would have to come from Briggs & Stratton.

Before I go, I went through the 64 pages in this forum, looking for "tips & clues" that may help get this mower back to where it should be.

 

[jkoenig]

Have you checked the safety switches? Under the seat, brake pedal, ??? It sounds similar to at least one thread this season that was related to a seat safety switch. Check for a connection, check for corrosion, check continuity change with wires disconnected.

Good luck With the mower, and the boyfriend.

 

[user 15113]

Greetings Jk,

From my understanding, & correct me if I'm wrong, but if the "Safety switches" are out of the circuit, then the motor wouldn't attempt to start, or am I wrong?

 

[user 15113]

I just checked the Owner's Manual that I found, & per Section 5, the engine won't crank, which it does, if they are not energized:

file:///C:/Users/d2171/AppData/Local/Temp/769-01514i.pdf

And I appreciate the "Well Wishes" for the "Boyfriend", & I'm hoping that My Wife & Daughter wake up as to what he is, before I have to put a stop to it.

 

[jkoenig]

I'm not sure how those are wired. Running with no operator in the seat is waaay different to the Safety Susies than mowing with no operator in the seat..
The air gap is a good thing to check, and I wouldn't rule out those switches.

 

[snicklas]

If this has an Electric PTO Clutch. Make sure the battery is charging, and the battery is good. If had them in the older tractors (1450/1650) the battery would start the engine and it would run all day. But, engage the PTO and the engine would die.... not enough power in the system to run everything.

 

[gary noblit]

David,Kohler was probably original engine and puked(lots of courage in the 18-20 hp range do)The thing you need to figure out is if the Briggs is wired correctly to the original Kohler harness.The Kohler had an outside regulator(3 wire) ,the Briggs has 2 wires coming from stator, one has a diode that can be easily burned if hooked up wrong.If that's not hooked right it may be your source..

 

[user 15113]

I'm not sure how those are wired. Running with no operator in the seat is waaay different to the Safety Susies than mowing with no operator in the seat..
The air gap is a good thing to check, and I wouldn't rule out those switches.

"J",

The Mower won't run without an operator, or sufficient weight, in the Seat.

The Seat safety switch is similar to a Door safety switch on a furnace, for the blower compartment, & when that door is removed, absolutely no power will be present at the blower, nor the controls.

 

[user 15113]

If this has an Electric PTO Clutch. Make sure the battery is charging, and the battery is good. If had them in the older tractors (1450/1650) the battery would start the engine and it would run all day. But, engage the PTO and the engine would die.... not enough power in the system to run everything.

Greetings snicklas,

It is an Electric PTO, & The Mower has a new battery, & it has been charging. I checked the "PTO pulley" cuz' I thought that the electro-magnet wasn't "pulling in", but when the PTO is engaged, that pulley is spinning rapidly. I'm not sure what the RPM is, but, it's going so fast, that it looks like it's sitting still, kinda like a blower motor shaft, without the "Squirrel Cage" mounted to it spinning.

 

[user 15113]

David,Kohler was probably original engine and puked(lots of courage in the 18-20 hp range do)The thing you need to figure out is if the Briggs is wired correctly to the original Kohler harness.The Kohler had an outside regulator(3 wire) ,the Briggs has 2 wires coming from stator, one has a diode that can be easily burned if hooked up wrong.If that's not hooked right it may be your source..

You are correct Gary, per the Owners Manual, the original motor was the Kohler "Courage" Md. #SV600, but I'm thinking that it "May have been wired right", due to the approx. 12 times of using the mower, unless of course the diode did a "Slow Burn".

From Day One, of using this Mower, there has been many issues, from worn out tires going flat, to throwing the incorrect belt off of the deck, to Dull blades, & the battery refusing to hold a charge.

My wife, & I would use two self propelled push mowers, to cut the grass, for a great deal of our $$$ was & is going in to building this house, paying off our debt, & more. We were at the point, of realizing that Our bodies deserved a "Riding Mower", & we were setting $$$ aside to buy a new mower. My wife mentioned this to Our Daughter, & she told her "Con man" Boyfriend, who in turn showed up with this cobbled together Cub Cadet, & then convinced my wife that we didn't need the two push mowers any longer & he talked her in to giving them to him! My wife has always tried to see "Good" in everybody, even when they are taking advantage of her, soooooo,..... I thought, OK, .... let's see at what point she will hopefully "Wake Up", after a great deal of $$$ has been spent on keeping this "Birthday Gift" running, .... Instead of buying a brand new one, which My Wife seems to think that someone will get their "Feelings Hurt" if we do that.

By the way, per my original post,.... Is there a Service Manual Available for this Mower?

 

[eweiss]

Have you pulled the plugs and ran a compression check? I have seen a dead cylinder in the v twins cause this issue.
If the valves on ohv engines aren't set, they occasionally loose the pushrod.

 

[snicklas]

Greetings snicklas,

It is an Electric PTO, & The Mower has a new battery, & it has been charging. I checked the "PTO pulley" cuz' I thought that the electro-magnet wasn't "pulling in", but when the PTO is engaged, that pulley is spinning rapidly. I'm not sure what the RPM is, but, it's going so fast, that it looks like it's sitting still, kinda like a blower motor shaft, without the "Squirrel Cage" mounted to it spinning.

OK, let me make sure that I am reading this correctly. You can remove the belt, and engage the PTO and it will run for an extended period of time, correct? More than the minute or two that you have seen? But with the belt in place and driving the deck it bogs and dies. Is this bog and die like a great load is placed on the engine (like in a vehicle with a manual transmission and you ease the clutch out without adding RPM's) and it just slowly drags to a stop? Or, you engage the PTO and it is just BAM! like you slammed on the brakes? You said all the pulleys spin freely. Have you tried to pop the belt and spin them as soon as it dies? Maybe a bearing in a spindle or an idler is getting hot under load, and seizing up, but when you go back later, it has cooled and will spin again. Also, when checking the bearings, place a load on the pulley in the same way the belt would. This is something that I learned from a Transmission Guy on YouTube (Precision Transmission). It the "relaxed" state, the bearing can work fine and feel "good". But place a load on the bearing, so in the case of the deck, the side load the belt would place, you may feel a rough bearing, or it might even catch and stop. Also, try and engage the deck at an idle, and let it run and see what happens. It should be able to spin the deck without cutting grass at an idle. I verify everything is running correctly this way when I swap out attachments. If it keeps running, or runs longer, that could go back to the heat thing again.....

I also agree with @eweiss, make sure both cylinders are working, I've heard many a report on twin cylinder engines, they come into a shop with a customer complaint its seeming down on power. The shop fires it up, drives it in the shop and it seems to be running "fine". Open the engine and find a broken rod on 1 cylinder, or a stuck valve, etc where 1 cylinder is just flat dead. Even something as simple as removing both spark plugs and placing you thumb/finger over the plug holes and see if they have the same "pressure" against your thumb. If one "blows" you finger away from the hole, and the other one just barely pushed or has no push, then that is your problem cylinder. Even make sure both spark plugs are firing. The engine may be 100% fine and one plug isn't firing, dead cylinder.

Also, look for oil staining around the head to cylinder "seam". A bad or failing head gasket will show some oil in this area. These small engines can have a failing head gasket and it only show when there is a load. On my 1450, (14 horse K-Series Single Cylinder) when I would go from idle to full throttle, I would hear a "squeak". I chased and chased this noise for quite some time. It only did it when I would throttle up quickly. If it throttled up slower, it wouldn't do it. This was my main workhorse, including mowing duties (I have a new ZTR now) and wouldn't do it even when mowing. I went over everything, checking and torquing fasteners. Running with the side panels off, hood open, grease everything that had a zerk.... because it sounded like a mechanical squeak. This went on for at least a couple of years, through all seasons. Mowing, tilling, moving snow, etc. Finally, I had tilled 3 gardens in one day (Mine, and 2 friends) and this was the last one that happened to be the largest garden. I got about half way through, and on a pass. in about 2 feet it when from fine, to that squeak noise reappearing to the engine dying. I didn't even have enough time to shut off the PTO and raise the tiller. Got the tractor loaded on the trailer, brought home and switched the tiller mount/angle drive and tiller to my 1650 (the 1650 has a 3 point lift, so all I needed was the tiller stuff) and went back and finished tilling. Once I was finished for the day, I came home and started pulling tins off the engine. When I pulled the top of the muffler box off, I could see the oil stain down the front of the engine. I had not pulled anything apart before this, because I though I was chasing a squeak from something loose, not a "whistle" from compression escaping a head gasket. Got everything pulled off, and removed the head. The head gasket had completely blown, and due to the extended length of time it had been going bad, it actually "burned" a hole in the gasket mating surface of the head and ruined the head. Fortunately, we had a spare head in our stash, so a new head gasket, and the "new" head and it was back to 100%. This engine is still running today, it's just now starting to show it's age as it's smoking when cold and is starting to have some decent blow by. So there is a rebuild in this engine's future, as it is still my workhorse, it' just doesn't have to mow now.

 

[user 15113]

Have you pulled the plugs and ran a compression check? I have seen a dead cylinder in the v twins cause this issue.
If the valves on ohv engines aren't set, they occasionally loose the pushrod.

Greetings ewiss,

This unit only has one spark plug, & no, due to my work, & other issues,.... I've only managed to pull the plug, & replace it (It was due), & verify that there is no voltage reaching that plug.

This is a "V-twin"? If that is correct, what fires the other cylinder since there is only one plug?

Over the weekend,I'm going to check out/test the Coil & Stator to see if the problem is there.

 

[user 15113]

OK, let me make sure that I am reading this correctly. You can remove the belt, and engage the PTO and it will run for an extended period of time, correct? More than the minute or two that you have seen? But with the belt in place and driving the deck it bogs and dies. Is this bog and die like a great load is placed on the engine (like in a vehicle with a manual transmission and you ease the clutch out without adding RPM's) and it just slowly drags to a stop? Or, you engage the PTO and it is just BAM! like you slammed on the brakes? You said all the pulleys spin freely. Have you tried to pop the belt and spin them as soon as it dies? Maybe a bearing in a spindle or an idler is getting hot under load, and seizing up, but when you go back later, it has cooled and will spin again. Also, when checking the bearings, place a load on the pulley in the same way the belt would. This is something that I learned from a Transmission Guy on YouTube (Precision Transmission). It the "relaxed" state, the bearing can work fine and feel "good". But place a load on the bearing, so in the case of the deck, the side load the belt would place, you may feel a rough bearing, or it might even catch and stop. Also, try and engage the deck at an idle, and let it run and see what happens. It should be able to spin the deck without cutting grass at an idle. I verify everything is running correctly this way when I swap out attachments. If it keeps running, or runs longer, that could go back to the heat thing again.....

I also agree with @eweiss, make sure both cylinders are working, I've heard many a report on twin cylinder engines, they come into a shop with a customer complaint its seeming down on power. The shop fires it up, drives it in the shop and it seems to be running "fine". Open the engine and find a broken rod on 1 cylinder, or a stuck valve, etc where 1 cylinder is just flat dead. Even something as simple as removing both spark plugs and placing you thumb/finger over the plug holes and see if they have the same "pressure" against your thumb. If one "blows" you finger away from the hole, and the other one just barely pushed or has no push, then that is your problem cylinder. Even make sure both spark plugs are firing. The engine may be 100% fine and one plug isn't firing, dead cylinder.

Also, look for oil staining around the head to cylinder "seam". A bad or failing head gasket will show some oil in this area. These small engines can have a failing head gasket and it only show when there is a load. On my 1450, (14 horse K-Series Single Cylinder) when I would go from idle to full throttle, I would hear a "squeak". I chased and chased this noise for quite some time. It only did it when I would throttle up quickly. If it throttled up slower, it wouldn't do it. This was my main workhorse, including mowing duties (I have a new ZTR now) and wouldn't do it even when mowing. I went over everything, checking and torquing fasteners. Running with the side panels off, hood open, grease everything that had a zerk.... because it sounded like a mechanical squeak. This went on for at least a couple of years, through all seasons. Mowing, tilling, moving snow, etc. Finally, I had tilled 3 gardens in one day (Mine, and 2 friends) and this was the last one that happened to be the largest garden. I got about half way through, and on a pass. in about 2 feet it when from fine, to that squeak noise reappearing to the engine dying. I didn't even have enough time to shut off the PTO and raise the tiller. Got the tractor loaded on the trailer, brought home and switched the tiller mount/angle drive and tiller to my 1650 (the 1650 has a 3 point lift, so all I needed was the tiller stuff) and went back and finished tilling. Once I was finished for the day, I came home and started pulling tins off the engine. When I pulled the top of the muffler box off, I could see the oil stain down the front of the engine. I had not pulled anything apart before this, because I though I was chasing a squeak from something loose, not a "whistle" from compression escaping a head gasket. Got everything pulled off, and removed the head. The head gasket had completely blown, and due to the extended length of time it had been going bad, it actually "burned" a hole in the gasket mating surface of the head and ruined the head. Fortunately, we had a spare head in our stash, so a new head gasket, and the "new" head and it was back to 100%. This engine is still running today, it's just now starting to show it's age as it's smoking when cold and is starting to have some decent blow by. So there is a rebuild in this engine's future, as it is still my workhorse, it' just doesn't have to mow now.

"You can remove the belt, and engage the PTO and it will run for an extended period of time, correct?"

That is Correct Snicklas

" Is this bog and die like a great load is placed on the engine"

"But with the belt in place and driving the deck it bogs and dies."

Yes, ...On both counts,& that is what caused me to finally post, but,..... after it having sat for several days, I then found time from my work to go back to the Mower, start it, & mow about 20 ft. of grass, before it suddenly died. from that time onward, it would only crank, & not "turn over"/"start". Since that happened, I finally found my "in-line plug tester", & there is no voltage coming from the coil.

"Have you tried to pop the belt and spin them as soon as it dies? "

Actually, the belt flew off also, which allowed me to check the pullies, of which all are freely spinning, without any grinding noise etc.

" Also, try and engage the deck at an idle, and let it run and see what happens."

I'll do that , once I can get the motor to fire up.

" it's just now starting to show it's age as it's smoking when cold "

This mower, has infrequently, belched a little smoke on startup, from the first day that it was given to my wife. I've added oil, twice, when i noticed that it was down, & if all of the issues with major rust, dirt, bad tires, very dull blades, bad battery, & more, had not been present, then I would've changed the oil & filter, fuel filter, as well as all hoses that are showing age.

I also want to Thank You Snicklas for all of the technical data.

 

[gary noblit]

David, If I'm correct this a 1 cyl Briggs..Prove this ..from the front is there a 3x4 metal box that has "ohv" on it ? If it does clean off the top and you will find a row of numbers.Look above the word code at the numbers,the first 2 are the year it was made(this is a Briggs only thing) ..The mod # gives you what to look for.The John Deere means nothing,it was originally in a JD....black smoke is too much fuel(choke?) sell it back to the boyfriend or ask him to fix it.....You've mowed 12 times and added oil twice that's not a good sign either.One last thought,have you pulled the upper shroud to see if mice have packed it and chewed the coil wire??

 

[gary noblit]

David, I forgot to mention usually the most oil leakage comes from that valve cover (OHV) ,some don't have gaskets just silicone.Lots of heat and vibration going on there...

 

[dschwandt]

I'd "gift" this nightmare right back to this clown, Geesh!!

 

[eweiss]

Greetings ewiss,

This unit only has one spark plug, & no, due to my work, & other issues,.... I've only managed to pull the plug, & replace it (It was due), & verify that there is no voltage reaching that plug.

This is a "V-twin"? If that is correct, what fires the other cylinder since there is only one plug?

Over the weekend, I'm going to check out/test the Coil & Stator to see if the problem is there.

I just assumed the 1000 series cc have twins in them, mine is a 1050 and it doe's. Anyway best of luck and have a safe 4th