John Deere F911 PTO not engaging

[Cherrytroy]

I have a 1998 John Deere F911 that I recently purchased, and as of recent started noticing that once the mower warms up that the PTO without notice will disengage notice. And when I hit the switch to re-engage it sometimes works but most the time doesn't, and then when I return the next day it will work like nothing ever happened. I went online and purchased the Service Manual for the mower which offered great schematics on the PTO wiring diagram but I have no idea where all the relays and fuses are located on the mower. I finally got frustrated and did the unthinkable and bypassed all safety switches and ran 12V to a toggle switch and then back to the PTO clutch, ever since then I have had no issues. The problem with this is, well, I want it to work like it was intended to and not just bypass everything to think I have fixed the problem. It's hard to troubleshoot a problem when the machine requires you to be on the seat before it will function properly.

 

[jus10]

I have a 1998 John Deere F911 that I recently purchased, and as of recent started noticing that once the mower warms up that the PTO without notice will disengage notice. And when I hit the switch to re-engage it sometimes works but most the time doesn't, and then when I return the next day it will work like nothing ever happened. I went online and purchased the Service Manual for the mower which offered great schematics on the PTO wiring diagram but I have no idea where all the relays and fuses are located on the mower. I finally got frustrated and did the unthinkable and bypassed all safety switches and ran 12V to a toggle switch and then back to the PTO clutch, ever since then I have had no issues. The problem with this is, well, I want it to work like it was intended to and not just bypass everything to think I have fixed the problem. It's hard to troubleshoot a problem when the machine requires you to be on the seat before it will function properly.

I have a 2006 F911 (900+ hours) and just recently (yesterday) experienced the a similar thing. The PTO switch will "open" the clutch brake, but the PTO shaft will not spin. I mowed for about 10-15 minutes and all of a sudden the PTO shaft stopped spinning even through the PTO was still "engaged" and the clutch brake was "open". I can spin the PTO shaft with my hands while the clutch brake is open and closed. Is that normal? I did just add some hydraulic fluid to the reservoir, but I wouldn't think that would have anything to do with it. The seat safety has been bypassed. Thought about the brake doing something funny, but that would disengage the PTO and "close" the clutch brake, right? Does anyone have any thoughts on this? Thanks in advance.

 

[jus10]

Although the solenoid was extending fully (so I thought this wasn't the issue) I pushed on it by hand just to see what would happen. Wouldn't you know it, by moving it about 1/16" of an inch it engaged the PTO. Now, the solenoid didn't move any further, it was the bracket that holds that solenoid. I don't understand the circuit enough (or at all) to know why moving the solenoid bracket just a little bit allowed for voltage to get to the PTO clutch. So, I was going to remove the battery (one of the cables didn't want to come off) and adjust some of the bracket bolts, but instead I have a bungee cord pulling on the bracket. Mowed great on Saturday. Out $75 on a switch I don't need, but I'm cutting grass again. Hopefully this helps someone down the road.