Clutch safety switch on B2710 malfunction - trouble starting

Mudfarmer · Oct 9, 2017

Any help appreciated: I'm having starting problems with my B2710. For some time the clutch safety switch seemed to be hard to trigger, meaning I would really have to push the clutch down to max to get the engine to turn over when I turned the ignition. I recently had it serviced at the local dealer and asked them to fix that. I was told that a piece of metal was bent and unbending it back into place was all that it took. Indeed when I got the tractor back it would start just short of full excursion on the clutch pedal. But alas after a week of heavy use now it will start if I am lucky about 1 out of three tries with full clutch compression.

So i got out my flashlight and looked around at the clutch connections. Above the pivot point of the clutch pedal lever there is a vertical extension that levers back when the clutch pedal is compressed. That in turn raises what looks like a skinny piece of spring steel against a rubber encased plunger at the rear base of the engine. Correct me if I am wrong (not being a mechanic) but I take that apparatus to be the safety switch. I presume the piece of bent metal referred to on my repair invoice was that piece of spring steel. I couldn't bend it myself. When I did compress the clutch with my hand watching to ensure the plunger was pushed in, I usually could get the engine to start. Or am I all wet and this is not the apparatus that is malfunctioning?

Any ideas how to fix this? I would prefer not to have to haul this back to the dealer, a round trip of 160 miles. Also I would appreciate an explanation about how that switch works.

MF

Dave M7040 · Oct 10, 2017

I think your assessment of the problem is correct.

If the spring steel finger had lost its resiliency and was no longer strong enough to push the part it had to , bending the spring steel finger will not last for very long as you found out.it for ourselves

Can you buy the spring steel finger by itself?

Can you post some pictures so we can see it for ourselves.
Does this parts illustration look familiar. I don't see the steel finger but perhaps in another section

Dave M7040

brain55 · Oct 10, 2017

Dave M7040 said:
I think your assessment of the problem is correct.

If the spring steel finger had lost its resiliency and was no longer strong enough to push the part it had to , bending the spring steel finger will not last for very long as you found out.it for ourselves

Can you buy the spring steel finger by itself?

Can you post some pictures so we can see it for ourselves.
Does this parts illustration look familiar. I don't see the steel finger but perhaps in another section

Dave M7040

Dave in the first picture the switch you highlighted is the neutral switch, the clutch safety switch is 080. The piece of spring steel he is refering to is on the clutch lever in the second pic marked fig. C110--.

This is an example of why dealers have bad reputations. The correct way to fix this problem is to adjust the neutral switch. As the clutch wears the linkage rod from the pedal to the lever needs to be shortened to maintain pedal freeplay, it also means the clutch switch needs to be adjusted to make proper contact with that piece of spring steel on the clutch lever. They use the spring steel so the switch won't act like a stop and it gives more flexibility in the adjustment. The pic shows the 2 nuts on the switch, loosen the top nut a couple turns or so and tighten the bottom nut so the switch is engaged sooner. If this doesn't repair it then it may need a new switch.

Brian

brain55 · Oct 25, 2017

Mudfarmer said:
Any help appreciated: I'm having starting problems with my B2710. For some time the clutch safety switch seemed to be hard to trigger, meaning I would really have to push the clutch down to max to get the engine to turn over when I turned the ignition. I recently had it serviced at the local dealer and asked them to fix that. I was told that a piece of metal was bent and unbending it back into place was all that it took. Indeed when I got the tractor back it would start just short of full excursion on the clutch pedal. But alas after a week of heavy use now it will start if I am lucky about 1 out of three tries with full clutch compression.

So i got out my flashlight and looked around at the clutch connections. Above the pivot point of the clutch pedal lever there is a vertical extension that levers back when the clutch pedal is compressed. That in turn raises what looks like a skinny piece of spring steel against a rubber encased plunger at the rear base of the engine. Correct me if I am wrong (not being a mechanic) but I take that apparatus to be the safety switch. I presume the piece of bent metal referred to on my repair invoice was that piece of spring steel. I couldn't bend it myself. When I did compress the clutch with my hand watching to ensure the plunger was pushed in, I usually could get the engine to start. Or am I all wet and this is not the apparatus that is malfunctioning?

Any ideas how to fix this? I would prefer not to have to haul this back to the dealer, a round trip of 160 miles. Also I would appreciate an explanation about how that switch works.

MF

Did you get this fixed?