G1900s stalling on sharp left turns

[jabr1319]

Howdy all,

New owner of a G1900s with 1700 hours on it. 48" deck. I've only used it for a month (so roughly 4 times total) and it seemingly runs fine. Also new to these forums and I have to say I'm very impressed with the knowledge of this community. You've already helped me replace my pto belts.

The only issue I've come across so far is that I can make the machine stall if I make a sharp left turn. Basically the way my yard is laid out, I can make sharp left or right turns in my driveway to get ready for the next row to cut. When making 'zero-point' left turns, the engine will start sputtering. Sometimes I can give it a little gas and recover, sometimes not. This doesn't happen 100% of the time, but enough to be annoying. Tractor always starts right back up as if nothing happened. If I widen my turn everything works fine and she hums along happy as can be. Sharp right turns work perfectly.

I'm stumped. I don't see how turning would cause a stall. I can recreate with or without the mower deck engaged. Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Josh

 

[dex3361]

Welcome to TBN.
It sounds like it could be a seat safety switch. When you lean to the one side it tweaks the switch and causes intermittent stalling. My BX1500 will do that sometimes. You can bypass the switch to test it. :thumbsup:

 

[Branchchipper]

I would also replace both fuel filters (cheap and easy).
I had similar, very strange cut-out problems a couple of years ago on my G1800s, and found the filters clogged. Certain hill and/or turn situations would interrupt fuel flow (which was already restricted) just long enough for a stall or near-stall.

 

[jinman]

I think Randall has hit the most likely issue. If you bypass your seat switch and it still cuts out, you need to find out if the cutoff solenoid is causing fuel cutoff or if the fuel starvation is happening for another reason. You can probably leave the hood open as you make a sharp turn and see if the cutoff solenoid energizes. If so, it's an electrical problem (seat switch, combination box, ignition switch, or loose wire).

 

[Sniggle]

I would also bet on the seat safety switch. Mine acted up, and the bypass solved the problem. Be sure to cover the bypass in electrical tape, as I created a shorting problem by not properly insulating it the first time around.

 

[jabr1319]

Thanks for all the tips and prompt replies. Very much appreciated. I'll spend some time on it this weekend and see what fix works.

-Josh

 

[kthompson]

Can also be trash in the fuel tank or fuel bowl if it has one. Had a wasp in fuel tank once and it seldom was issue but with certain sharp turns floated over the fuel outlet and stopped me.

 

[jabr1319]

I took a look yesterday and found that my seat has no wiring at all, so a previous owner must have removed the seat safety measures.

I have a couple fuel filters on order and will install those when they show up.

In the meantime I'll have to come up with a mowing plan that only involves right-handed turns. No big deal. :laughing:

-Josh

 

[Sniggle]

There must be some wiring. You should search it out, because if the fix has come loose and the connection is loose, that could account for the intermittent engine operation.

 

[jinman]

I took a look yesterday and found that my seat has no wiring at all, so a previous owner must have removed the seat safety measures.

I have a couple fuel filters on order and will install those when they show up.

-Josh

Josh, my G1800 has the seat switch disabled. It was that way when I bought my G1800 a couple of years ago. The seat switch makes contact when the operator is present and opens when you get out of the seat, so all you have to do is put a jumper between the wires in the connector to bypass the switches operation.

To ensure your safety circuits are not causing your machine to shut down when you turn left, you should open the hood and disconnect the fuel cutoff solenoid. It's located above the water pump and looks like the illustration below with a pigtail connector. Disconnect the solenoid and then drive around making left turns. If the engine no longer dies, your problem is electrical and something is causing the solenoid to shut the engine down. If the engine still dies, then your problem is probably fuel feed related to a dirty filter or faulty fuel pump.

BTW: While the solenoid is disconnected, you probably won't be able to stop the engine with the key. Reconnect the solenoid and then turn off the key for normal operation. It's important to turn off the key after the solenoid is reconnected because the kill signal to the solenoid is only there for 10 seconds after the key is turned off.

 

[powerstroke444e]

You said one thing in above post that worried me you said you "give it some gas"? With that comment it sounds like you are not running the machine wide open?
They are made to run full throttle as that allows them to cool and work as they are suppose to. Running at less than wfo(wide freck'n open) will shorten the life of your machine.
Just my 2cents

 

[jabr1319]

You said one thing in above post that worried me you said you "give it some gas"? With that comment it sounds like you are not running the machine wide open?
They are made to run full throttle as that allows them to cool and work as they are suppose to. Running at less than wfo(wide freck'n open) will shorten the life of your machine.
Just my 2cents

It's running full throttle, I just meant accelerating after it starts to sputter in an attempt to keep it running.

 

[jabr1319]

Josh, my G1800 has the seat switch disabled. It was that way when I bought my G1800 a couple of years ago. The seat switch makes contact when the operator is present and opens when you get out of the seat, so all you have to do is put a jumper between the wires in the connector to bypass the switches operation.

To ensure your safety circuits are not causing your machine to shut down when you turn left, you should open the hood and disconnect the fuel cutoff solenoid. It's located above the water pump and looks like the illustration below with a pigtail connector. Disconnect the solenoid and then drive around making left turns. If the engine no longer dies, your problem is electrical and something is causing the solenoid to shut the engine down. If the engine still dies, then your problem is probably fuel feed related to a dirty filter or faulty fuel pump.

BTW: While the solenoid is disconnected, you probably won't be able to stop the engine with the key. Reconnect the solenoid and then turn off the key for normal operation. It's important to turn off the key after the solenoid is reconnected because the kill signal to the solenoid is only there for 10 seconds after the key is turned off.

I'll take a look. I didn't have a chance to replace the fuel filters this weekend (tractor comes along with a new home purchase and that new home is currently gutted and eating up all my spare time).

Previous owner installed a push button start/stop, so I have a feeling this has already been done, but I'll check it out.

Again, thanks for all the suggestions. Very comforting knowing that there's people out there with answers.

 

[jinman]

Previous owner installed a push button start/stop, so I have a feeling this has already been done, but I'll check it out.

Yes, these machines all seem to have the same nagging little issues that eventually arise. My G1800 had the seat switch bypassed and it was started by shorting two wires together when I got it. The kill solenoid was removed and a choke-like knob has to be pulled to manually kill the engine. I installed a momentary pushbutton start switch. There's no telling how many fixes you have on your machine either. Right now, my temperature gage only works about half the time, but there is an audible 2nd alarm on the temperature if it gets up to 248 F. That recently went off while mowing tall grass and I found the radiator screen was full of lint. I sure was glad that audible alarm was there.:thumbsup:

 

[jabr1319]

So I think I figured out why I'm stalling on the sharp left turns.... It turns out the throttle lever is backing off on those sharp turns. If I drive around holding the throttle at full, I can drive in circles all day without stalling. If I take a sharp left and don't hold the throttle, odds are the throttle will lower a 1/2-1 inch or so from full throttle and the machine will sputter and stall out.

Now to figure out why it's doing this...What are the odds somebody wants to email me a service manual? I suppose I can bite the bullet and buy one, but if by chance a kind soul is out there, my email is my username @ gmail.com

Thanks again for all the suggestions. As a result I replaced my fuel filters and cleaned up the wiring mess underneath my seat. Soon enough I'll get this maintenance routine figured out.

-Josh