Deactivating Safety Seat Switches

[SCDolphin]

I have a Kubota 5240. There are times I need to stand up to see where my bucket is. I notice that my seat has not one but 2 safety switches. I would love to put a switch to disable them for occasional bucket work. Has anyone done this....You can remain anomymous

 

[MOPAULY]

My BX24 will allow me to get up, but not move the tractor without weight in the seat....wonder why other models would be different? It shouldn't be hard to bypass, the question is do you really want to do that.

 

[Taiser]

Kubota probably changed the switching mechanics when people (customers) started complaining. Million times I got to get up and off the machine to check something, if the thing stalled each time, I'd be losing it. Mine won't move either if I'm not in the seat. That's a good feature. If your's stalls just getting up I'd pull the switch and have no hesitation to do it.

My cub cadet has a mower deck kill for everything, getting up, going backwards etc. I yanked every one of them out. I can only imagine how hard it is on the clutch to start the mower deck every five seconds after a stop. All these switches do is keep idiots from doing stupid things. This POSSIBLY prevents lawsuits and you can't blame tractor companies for doing their best to try and prevent injuries but sometimes it just goes too far.

 

[MarkV]

I’ve done it on an L39 with a wire tie. A better way would be to put a switch in line that would disable when needed but enable if someone else were using your tractor. There have been some threads on the subject in the past if you want to do a little searching.

MarkV

 

[toytruck]

Just pull the two wires off the switch and put a jumper between them

 

[Volfandt]

If the setup is similar to my BX23, one seat switch (plunger type) opens when you lift up to immediately kill the engine when in gear and you depress the treadle pedal and/or have the pto engaged and the other seat switch is a make-break-make lever switch that allows the engine to continue to run with the rear pto engaged with the seat tilted forward (to allow it to run chippers, generators etc).

I don't recommend bypassing these switches as they are there for your safety but if one wants to assume 100% responsibility for their tractoring safety ( like thse who operate older non-compliant tractors & L&G tractors) then you need to experiment as to which switch kills your engine when you stand up. It's probably the two wire plunger type switch. Unplug the connector to it and plug a simple jumper wire into the two connector slots on the "tractor side" connector. Start your engine then lift up. If it stays running you've found the switch. Next thing to do would be to get a simple on/off type toggle switch at an auto parts store and wire it into the connector so that in the "on" position it shorts the connector out and in the off position it remains open and doesn't effect the circuit. You'll want to wire it in "parallel" to the seat switch. In other words splice it in with the connector still connected to the seat switch so that the seat switch will still kill the engine with the toggle switch in the "off" posistion. With the toggle switch in the "on" position it will short-out or bypass the seat switch, rendering it ineffective.
Good luck

 

[N80]

Hugh, I suspect yours is like the one on my L4400. If the tractor is in gear or if the PTO is on, the tractor turns off if you get out of the seat. If the tractor is in neutral and the PTO is off, you can get up and it will continue to run. You can also lean the seat forward and then activate the PTO and it will continue to run. This is for running PTO driven devices, like a generator or pump that do not require operator presence.

Personally, I've learned to live with it and have not found it to be that restrictive. Sometimes I get the urge to stand up for certain things but find it to often not help that much and sometimes to be dangerous.

 

[Cap-n-Cray]

You could put a latching relay with a push button to activate the relay. The relay would override the safety switch. Once you start the tractor you would need to push the button to override the safety switch to stand up. The push button would override the safety till you turn off the tractor. When you turn the tractor off the safety switch would be back to normal.

I would worry about someone using your tractor or if someone services it. They may not know about a regular switch. Using a latching relay would be activated only when you need it. It could not be left in the on position like a switch.

Cary

 

[GeeWally]

On my BX2230 I can get off the seat but I have to put her in neutral. I like the idea of an inline switch that you could activate for occasional use vice a permanent disable.

GW

 

[john_bud]

I have a Kubota 5240. There are times I need to stand up to see where my bucket is. I notice that my seat has not one but 2 safety switches. I would love to put a switch to disable them for occasional bucket work. Has anyone done this....You can remain anomymous

Switches are either open or closed, that is non-conducting (unplugged) or conducting (shorted). A volt meter will let you know which each is. A wire loop in the connector would put it into a permanently conductive state. Same as a tie wrap ("zip tie") holding the sensor in the down state.

Let your own needs drive your decisions and guide your actions, for they are that --> yours.

FWIW, my L3410 HST did not have a factory installed butt sensor. My 1963 fords didn't either.