1720 Won't Start

Eaguar · Jun 13, 2010

After spending the day mowing the fields, I shut the tractor off for a few minutes and now it won't start.

I haven't put a meter on the battery yet, but the appropriate dash lights light up and appear strong. Even the glow plug light. The sysmptoms are "it does nothing but light the dash lights". I've had some issues with the neutral safety switch in the past, but nothing a little patience and finding the 'sweet spot' for the shift lever hasn't fixed.

So this time I've even tried to bypass the safety switch (or what I think is the safety switch - mounted at the top of the shift lever mounting), and it didn't change anything.

So until I can find an electrical manual or trace every wire in the rig, I need some helpful ideas. What do you think? What shall I try?

I hope you can give me some help soon as the tractor is outside our fenced property, sitting on a sloped driveway. I'm not too comfortable leaving it there. But then again, it's probably not going anywhere since the bucket and rotary mower cannot be raised without power!

Thanks in advance,

Jamie

Caliche · Jun 13, 2010

PTO , seat, brake , trans neutral, switches ? Broken wire?
Things to check til the experts get to you.

Mark @ Everlast · Jun 13, 2010

It may be either the lockout on the pto, or the clutch since you were field mowing, those wires can easily get pulled off by an errant piece of trash.

Eaguar · Jun 13, 2010

Okay - Idiot Alert !!!

Sorry to waste your time folks. I went to bed last night but couoldn't sleep, trying to figure out why the 1720 wouldn't start. As I lay there it occurred to me that, just as Cliche and Mark suggested I see, the last thing I was doing before I shut down was mowing. So I got up, got dressed and went back out to the tractor. Jumped in and grabbed the PTO engagement lever. Sure enough I had left it engaged.

NO WONDER IT WOULDN'T START !!!!!! Aaaaaggggghhhhh!!! :ashamed:

Started right up.

Well the good thing about this is I discovered that I need to ensure I have a better understanding of the electrical system and perhaps a circuit diagram (with a short list of things to check - thanks Caliche)

In my defense though . . . it was the end of a very long day of mowing and I was totally beat. Too much sun, not enough water, etc. I'd like to say I won't be caught by such an obvious problem again, but hey, I'm human so I don't think I can guarantee that.

Thanks for being their folks.

Caliche · Jun 13, 2010

Drink your water! If you're not urinating at least every hour or so, you're not drinking enough.
Could be a hazard operating a tractor while dehydrated.
Stay safe, and welcome to TBN.

RickB · Jun 13, 2010

Glad you found a simple, inexpensive solution. People have paid for service calls to have PTO's disengaged and fuses changed after swearing "I checked that, it's OK".