Disable tractor seat shut-off?

[WranglerX]

If you have a HST, you just need to set parking brake. No need to shift range selector to neutral. At least that’s how my tractor works.

My MF HST requires shift to be in neutral..... All tractors manufacturers seem to have a different approach on concept of tractor running when operator is off the seat, just as some live by them, some swear at them, some disable them....

 

[Rockbadchild]

you guys bring some good points … i wanted to disable mine as well i find it annoying to have to put it in neutral every time the time i get off the seat slsi when i am focus on the tip of the loader sometime i end up at the edge of the seat and the thing turn off on me but i couldn’t get myself to do it when i imagine a few disastrous scenario pretty quickly… but i do like the ideas of the switch to disengage it and still doing the hand brake and neutral every time.

 

[DK35vince]

My tractor doesn't have a seat switch (neither did my previous tractor)

 

[the old grind]

All three of my current CUTs have the same function. Range in 'N' and brake locked. It's such a small part of dismounting compared to getting my legs under the wheel, feet on one side, and with a hand on a fender lowering myself to the ground without blowing out a knee. I'm fine with the routine. btw, In 21 yrs with six tractors I've never had one roll on me.

 

[bdhsfz6]

I used to bypass the seat switch on my tractors but now that I'm getting older and more forgetful, I decided it wasn't such a good idea. I thought about installing a toggle switch as a bypass but that was only a slight improvement. Instead, I now use this simple twist timer switch as a bypass:

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When I need to stand to see the fork tips or line up a FEL SSQA implement, I just give it a twist. 15 minutes later, it automatically reactivates the seat safety switch.

 

[Smokeydog]

Not being able to raise up or stand to better see with FEL work was the biggest disadvantage and safety concern of the seat switch. Replaced with a rubber push button switch hidden below the deck. Guess it can be used to prevent theft also.

 

[Fxfymn413]

My seat switch has not worked correctly since the day I got the tractor and I have no idea why. It allows me to stand to see the pallet forks and even to jockey the tractor back and forth a bit if I need to from the ground while attaching implements.

Safety features are always a trade off between safety and productivity. I choose productivity with the understanding that I have to replace the built in safety feature with the human element of being careful. Just my personal choice.

I also use full chisel chains to cut fire wood. How's that for living on the wild side?

 

[lman]

This works on my New Holland.

 

[Tinhack]

If you engage the parking brake before you leave the seat, the engine will keep running.

Maybe! I can never remember if my ZTR handles have to be parked before or after the E-brake is set. Both will kill the engine as well as the seat switch.

None of my tractors have safety anything. They were all built when people were smart.

 

[tjandrews]

We got along with the seat switch for about the first year after we got our JD 4600, even though we found it annoying, but then it started shutting off the tractor every time I went over a bump. Since our other tractors, one from the late 60's and the other from the early 50's, never had such a thing, and we'd learned long ago how to deal with that, I just made a jumper to bypass it. No issues since then.

 

[surfdog64]

I agree it's annoying. I was ready to do this on mine and then I took care of two different old timers with history of bad leg fractures from their tractors running them over.

Leave the switch on. Set the brake and put in neutral before getting off.

 

[OzarkChris]

Ever see someone that brush hogged themselves? Or got caught in a pto shaft? I have.

Guess that means I have to be extra careful jumping up & down on the 3 point when I'm using the post hole digger.

 

[Bobrown14]

I had the problem where IF I wasn't seated right in the center if I turned around to look while backing up and changed my butt angle the tractor wanted to shut off.

What I did was loosen the seat spring (for lighter person setting) and no more shut offs.

Also yeah - parking brake set and out of gear tractor wont shut off.

I was going to jumper the seat sensor but figured out the seat spring thing and its been fine. Good practice safety first... accidents happen. Get used to taking short cuts and get bit in the ass. Leave the safety features alone and learn to work safe.

 

[Bobrown14]

My late 2019 LS doesn't have a seat switch. The plug is there, just no switch. Discussing it wth the dealer, he explained that they are only present on the HST version, not on the shuttle shifts.

But.... there is a switch on the clutch, brakes, and shuttle lever. In order to start, both pedals (C&B) have to be pressed and the shuttle lever in neutral. The trans could be in gear but as long as the shuttle is neutral, good to start.
Also, if the PTO is on, she won't start. Those switches I wouldn't mess with.

Disabling the seat switch shouldn't be a big deal.... as long as you train yourself to "put it in neutral and set the brake". After you do it a while it will become "muscle memory" and you will do it without even thinking about it.

I have a 2021 LS MT3 with shuttle shift - I've got the seat switch. I needed to loosen my spring on the seat for a lighter person and the problem I was having when leaning the engine would shut off.. problem solved by loosening the spring on the seat suspension.

 

[Mark E.]

I have a similar issue with an operator presence seat sensor switch on my 2020 Yanmar SA424. In the warmer months it seems to work as would be expected most of the time. If the parking brake is set it will start and continue to run when the operator gets off the tractor. Sometimes in the warmer months the engine will continue to run even when I forget to set the parking brake and exit the tractor.

In the winter I seem to encounter the greatest challenges. (This is my second winter with it.) I keep it in an unheated shed, and with the parking brake set it will not remain running when I get off to allow it to warm up. I have also experienced a few no crank situations in the coldest months. Bounce on the seat a couple of times and the engine cranks and fires up, stand up and the engine shuts down. All while the parking brake is set. Plowing snow and set the parking brake to dismount and change the blade angle, and most times, the engine shuts down.

It is intermittent, I am very close to disabling it. Dealer mechanic was out last fall to service another piece of equipment and I asked him to review this unit while he was here. As would be expected, it worked every time as intended. So there was nothing he could do to "fix" the issue for me. (Unit still under manufacturer warranty.)

Since the parking brake has an adjustable sensor we did adjust it to ensure it always engages correctly when the parking brake is set. On occasion this was the issue for the no crank situation I had experienced shortly after delivery. Had to push down on that pedal till the shank flexed before the switch would engage and allow the engine to crank. Fairly certain that this condition has been corrected now.

I too have 50 & 60 year old tractors where memory muscle and operator awareness are the safety devices. However, I also have a young great nephew who wants to help me with the lawn mowing this coming summer, and while he needs to learn, I would like to minimize the protentional for a preventable injury while he is doing so. His "worldly" experiences have been very limited to date. Hence I am close, but have not disabled the sensor, as then I would need to do as others have suggested and remember to enable it before someone else is in the operator seat.

 

[prairiegirl]

Our Massey only squeaked when it did not 'feel' me or the boys (but not the boss ) Even that got to be very annoying, having to hop up and down every once in a while to remind it.

 

[ROUSTABOUT]

In neutral, with the pto off the seat switch kills the engine? I do not favor the idea of disabling seat presence switches. Too many of us forget that the pto is live or tractor in gear until after the accident happens. Loose fitting clothing and pto stuff is not a combo either.

Yeah, but big tractors don't have it. There's big stuff on the pto too.

 

[tjandrews]

Ever see someone that brush hogged themselves? Or got caught in a pto shaft? I have.

Nope. But I have seen somone who tried to clear a jammed corn picker with the tractor running. Of course, just seeing it was enough to teach me to NEVER do something like that. I haven't needed a safety switch as a reminder.

 

[Ed Weber]

You can regulate against stupidity.
Tractors are for work, they are equipment. they demand focus and full attention. All the horror stories about people getting injured do not sway me in the slightest.
Pay attention to what you're doing and you should be fine.
Also if you're a one man operation on a small plot, you can not have the machine shut off overtime you're not in the seat, you would get nothing done.

 

[Bentrim]

I have operated farm machinery for over 60 years, have repaired machinery for a dealer also. I have seen early tractor with neutral start switches and have seen especially smaller tractors equipped with just about every switch that can relate to safety. Most of the switches got installed when nonfarmers started buying equipment did dumb things got hurt and found a lawyer.
To protect themselves manufacturers put safety switches on. As a repair facility they cannot defeat a safety device or even tell an owner or operator how to bypass it. If they do and someone gets hurt Mr. lawyer will pay them a very expensive visit.
I do not like them but will put up with them because they are there for my safety and sometimes i do dumb things.
The safety that most people don't use is the brain, it cannot function properly when you are impaired, tired, day dreaming, or uneducated on the equipment you are using. How about the operator driving around with the loader raised to full height, or poking a stick or other object in a machine to unplug it while it is running, starting a tractor by jumping the starter while standing on the ground (that fellow didn't make it), yes I have heard and know of other horror stories of injuries and death because the brain was not engaged.
We can live with and without safety switches but we cannot be safe without the brain engaged fulltime.