John Deere 345 PTO Deck Blades Will Not Engage

[paoutdoorsman]

I have what I believe is a second generation 345, serial 70736. It's new to me. It starts and runs fine but the PTO will not engage. I have the PTO clutch connector disconnected and am not getting power to the blue wire at the PTO connector when I engage the switch. Before engaging, I do have power at the blue wire to the PTO switch. The switch passes continuity tests fine. As soon as I engage the switch, I lose the 12 volts coming to the switch rather than it passing through the switch like it should. Any ideas?

 

[tomplum]

I'd have to dig a see if I have a schematic. A few things that come to mind would be that the circuit may require that the brake is disengaged- so check the brake switch. If this has the MIR system then maybe it is sensing that the pedal is in reverse due to debris or? This likely also has a PTO relay. If it is the standard relay, you could switch a couple of relays around.

 

[paoutdoorsman]

I was actually working with this again this afternoon and found that the RIO switch was engaged even when the forward/reverse pedals were in the neutral positions. Lifting up on the reverse pedal a bit disengaged the RIO switch and I could engage the PTO. I adjusted the switch back slightly and that has resolved the issue. Thanks @tomplum for the response.

 

[tomplum]