JD F925 Won't Start

illinoistom · Sep 30, 2012

Hello Experts,
I recently purchased a used JD F925 with approximately 450 hours on it to mow the property we are building a house on. I have put maybe 10 hours on it since I bought it in May, thanks to the lack of rain this summer in our region. We mowed for about an hour about a week ago, stopped it to do some other work, and when we went to start it to move it back into the garage, it won't start. Turning the key doesn't engage the starter motor. The mower beeps and I can hear some clicks from what I think is the fuel pump. I charged the battery and even tried a brand new one and it does the same thing. I took the starter off and had the auto parts store test it and it ran and tested good. I've made sure the parking brake was held down and that the PTO switch was off. The two 25 amp and one 10 amp fuses all look good. I've made sure that I was sitting on the seat when trying to start.

I've read that the neutral safety switch should be checked but I don't see anything about that in my manual. One thing that I seem to notice, and I could be wrong since I've not used this all that much, but it seems like when I release the forward or reverse pedals that they currently aren't "springing" back to the "home" position. It just doesn't feel like I think it should or remember it, but I checked underneath and didn't see anything that looked like it was out of the ordinary.

Also, how can I put this in neutral if I wanted to push it to the garage?

Thanks for any advice!! This is my first tractor and I'm definitely new to troubleshooting and repair.

Tom

joecdeere · Oct 1, 2012

Tom, don't have the answers, but I do have a PDF file of the tech manual you're welcome to if you'd like it. Shoot me your email if you do

Joe

Kernopelli · Oct 6, 2012

Hello "neighbor", I live in Carterville. Welcome to TBN. I have an F series mower but it's not a 925. A buddy has a 935 though that he bought at auction from SIU and he now has 13,000 hrs on it. One of the first things he did was take off just about all of the safety switches ( I know...they're there for a reason) but after spending thousands of hours operating these machine for SIU and IDOT he grew weary of their presence and decided he wasn't going to have them on his personal machine. I'll bet one of these is your culprit as well. I'll bet it's the neutral safety switch since you mentioned the pedals don't seem quite right. Try holding the key in start/crank position and move the hydro pedals just alittle. If the starter cranks for a second, then the switch needs adjusted. As far as moving the mower, on mine each pump has a turn key that releases hydraulic pressure so the mower can be pushed. Here is a copy of the manual, the end of the "operating" section explains how to disconnect the trans. Operating

kubier · Mar 2, 2014

Hi Joecdeere,

I'm new to this forum, out in South Africa.

Could you please forward me a copy of the pdf as well?

Thanks,

Ronsley Kubie
Rons@ohwell.co.za

zzvyb6 · Mar 2, 2014

Make sure the parking brake is released. Its on the center steering post. The operator seat switch requires you or a cement block to be on the seat. A neutral start switch is located under the seat platform to the right of the transmission. There is a second safety start switch associated with the pto engagement lever. if the tab is bent or out of position, it will not crank. This one also affects the pto hold-on magnet.

All these 'safety' procedures are the result of people who did unusual things and got hurt, damaged stuff with a runaway mower or worse, hurt someone else and wouldn't accept responsibility. I KNOW none of you would ever so such things but the rest of the global world beat you all to it. I'm surprise it doesn't have a rollover detector, halon fire storm nozzles, gasoline in fuel detector and a Colt Python pointed at the operators head area just to mention a few. Too early a model for air bags, ABS brakes and On-Star.

I'm picking up a snow thrower attachment for mine Tuesday. I want to see if I can move sawdust and horse poop out of the barn corral with it...

kubier · Mar 3, 2014

Problem found:
F925 cranks well, but it would just not fire up.

So I check the STOP Fuel Solenoid - if depress it starts immediately.
To trouble shoot the harnessing is a challenge on its own.

Then I checked the fuses behind the seat (3 fuses) 25Amp fuses - the middle Blade fuse was blown. Once replaced then it was business as usual. I supposed I did not pay attention. When you insert the key and do 1/2 turn you should be hearing the electric fuel pump running - that was absent due to this fuse being blown. After the replacement everything was good.

Thanks,

Creekpaddler · May 23, 2014

Kernopelli and zzvyb6, thanks for that info. I bought a used F925 with 1800 hours on it 2 weeks ago. It needed some new parts but runs well. Mowing is fun again.

My challenge now is removing the M16 X 60 left blade bolt so I can replace the blade. The bolt is super-tight. The right-side and middle bolts each had anti-sieze compound on them, so it's puzzling why the left bolt won't come out. I've been putting penetrating oils on it this week and tapping it with a hammer. Tonight I'll put the propane torch to it and may have to tickle it with a borrowed 3/4" air hammer (1200 ft-lbs of torque!). Since I'm wary of breaking the bolt, the air hammer is the last resort. My challenge is getting the penetrating oil to the stuck threads which are 1-1/2 inches above the blade. Any tips for that?

Creekpaddler · Jun 19, 2014

After repeated treatments with an ATF-acetone mix for penetrating oil, I finally got the bolt off (a few weeks back) with the help of the big air hammer. The bolt threads had anti-seize compound on them and were not stripped. I replaced the bolt, mounted the new blade, and did some serious mowing.

dieseldale · May 18, 2016

I have found that a 1/2" impact wrench does miracles on mower blades. I even twisted some off and then learned about the impact and have never had a problem since.