LTX1050 PTO Disengages during mowing and uneven mowing.

[leohinojosa]

Hello everyone I am new to this forum and I would like some assistance.

I recently purchased a Cub Cadet LTX1050, when i spoke to the individual who sold me the tractor he said the only issue he had was the PTO belt would have to be replaced soon. So I drove an hour and a half and picked it up after viewing it run and cut. I felt i got a great deal as it had 50 hours on the engine.

Once i got it home and started to mow within the hour the middle spindle made a terrible noise. After removing the deck I discovered the spindle had gone bad. I ordered a new spindle and thougth perhaps the man misdiagnosed the belt issue and it was instead a spindle issue. I ordered a new spindle and during my installation I had noticed one there were another set of holes however one of the holes was completely unusable. So I drilled new holes and reinstalled. I did notice the blades were a bit worn so i replaced the blades as well.

I began to mow and i noticed the PTO would engage for a few minutes and then it would disengage. I cut normally about 3 acres of my property, leaving the rest for habitat and work.
After some research I have discovered the PTO is a known issue within the Cub Cadet brand.

Ive read some where the fuse may be bad, however i do not know where the fuses are for the PTO. I have read to follow the wires and look for a short some where but as i follow the wires from the PTO they are not exposed. They are within a plastic housing and they go behind the gas tank to the PTO knob.

I am new to doing my own repairs on lawn equipment. Most of the repairs Ive done thus far ive seen on you tube or read what to do. Unfortunately I am lost with this issue.
I did notice when i do cut my lawn that there is a strip of uncut grass. I wonder if this is due to the blades not being fully engaged ? But they are new and they do rotate..Or is this due to a different issue ?

I have read that some PTO are adjustable however i have not discovered if the PTO gap is adjustable in the ltx1050 model or if it is what the gap is suppose to be

Im sorry for all the questions ..Thank you

Leo

 

[JRobyn]

Hi Leo. Welcome!

Since the PTO is electric (magnetic clutch) it is more often affected by electrical issues and will sometimes drop out if the battery voltage is not up to snuff, so check this first with a voltmeter. Battery voltage should be above 12.5 when stopped, and should be higher (maybe 14) when running and charging.

The PTO electrical connector is usually a two-wire connector just a few inches from the PTO itself so is subject to get damaged by flying debris. Make sure that the connector is firmly plugged together and that the wires at least appear to be in good condition.

The seat safety switch disconnects the PTO when it is activated, so next check the wiring under the seat for the switch and trace the wiring down under the seat pan to make sure it hasn't been chafed so that it is sometimes grounding out.

Mine also has a reverse safety switch mounted under the seat pan on the "passenger" side where it gets actuated by transmission linkage. This is where mine had the exact same problem as yours. The wire to it was broken off (so the Reverse cut-off didn't work), but when mowing on bumpy ground, the broken end of the wire would jiggle and ground out, causing the PTO to cut off. In my case, there was enough slack in the wire to simply crimp on a new spade connector and I was good to go. Or if you want to permanently disable the reverse safety cutoff, just tape the end of the wire. But remember that I did NOT tell you to do this!!

If none of that fixes it, your PTO relay may be getting weak. Mine was mounted up underneath the battery. And the PTO itself may be going bad, but in my experience, other than a broken wire right at the PTO, they either totally work or totally don't.

Good luck with it.

- Jay

 

[rcbe]

don't defeat the reverse safety sw - it's there for yours and others protection.
Suggest getting the battery load tested- a weak batt will cause the REVTECH feature and/or PTO to kick out quite easily. Also clean all your main battery power connections including chassis ground points to bright metal while battery is out. All will help.

 

[Bob_Bainbridge]

Hello everyone I am new to this forum and I would like some assistance.


Once i got it home and started to mow within the hour the middle spindle made a terrible noise. After removing the deck I discovered the spindle had gone bad. I ordered a new spindle and thougth perhaps the man misdiagnosed the belt issue and it was instead a spindle issue. I ordered a new spindle and during my installation I had noticed one there were another set of holes however one of the holes was completely unusable. So I drilled new holes and reinstalled. I did notice the blades were a bit worn so i replaced the blades as well.






I did notice when i do cut my lawn that there is a strip of uncut grass. I wonder if this is due to the blades not being fully engaged ? But they are new and they do rotate..Or is this due to a different issue ?


Im sorry for all the questions ..Thank you

Leo

Are you saying that you drilled new holes to mount the spindle? Why is a hole unusable? If you mounted a spindle in a new position it may not be overlapping the other blades correctly and causing a strip of uncut grass. Perhaps I'm missing something.

Bob B.

 

[leohinojosa]

Are you saying that you drilled new holes to mount the spindle? Why is a hole unusable? If you mounted a spindle in a new position it may not be overlapping the other blades correctly and causing a strip of uncut grass. Perhaps I'm missing something.

Bob B.

I did not drill any new holes however one of the holes was elongated to the point where it met the center hold where the spindle goes through. There were another set of holes adjacent to it so i used those holes to secure the spindle. This is where i really feel honesty would have been at the top of the sellers priority vs attempting to unload a lawn tractor. Had i known this 2 year old tractor had different holes drilled out I may have not purchased the tractor. I would have question as to why, and my first thought is they did not take very good care of the tractor when mowing.
I think i should clarify, it appears the individual slightly rotated the spindle until a new hole could be drilled. It is slightly rotated however the located is about the same in terms of distance from the large opening. So I imagine great care and thought went into the making of the new holes.

Thank you for the above suggestions, I will go to the store and purchase a meter so i may test the battery.
I did check the PTO 2 wire connection and it is firmly in place and the wires appear to be in good condition. They are well protected within a black cover. I will look to see if they are destroyed within the plastic housing.

If the PTO is engaged and I do go in reverse it will automatically cut off power to the PTO therefore it is working correctly. Should I still look for a short in that area ?
as your reverse cut off did not work, and mine does function correctly.

What does the PTO relay look like and how would i know if it is working properly or not ?

I appreciate all your help. Thank you so much.

Leo

 

[RandyT]

Some of those riders had a sensitive seat switch, If the seat is pushed forward and you hit little bumps it may be enough to bounce the seat and cut off the deck. The adjustable clutches will have three nuts with springs above them. You slide a .012 feeler gauge in between the two disc (can be hard to locate sometimes) and then adjust the nuts to achieve the proper gap at all three locations.

If you are having voltage problems with the battery will cause clutch problems also. I have seen batteries that will start the mower, but wouldn't engage the pto clutch.

 

[leohinojosa]

Some of those riders had a sensitive seat switch, If the seat is pushed forward and you hit little bumps it may be enough to bounce the seat and cut off the deck. The adjustable clutches will have three nuts with springs above them. You slide a .012 feeler gauge in between the two disc (can be hard to locate sometimes) and then adjust the nuts to achieve the proper gap at all three locations.

If you are having voltage problems with the battery will cause clutch problems also. I have seen batteries that will start the mower, but wouldn't engage the pto clutch.

The seat is in the furthest position...are these clutches adjustable ? If so will i have to remove the pto or can i adjust it while it is on the tractor ?

Im on my way to the store to pick up a meter..

thank you

Leo

 

[RandyT]

The adjustable clutches have the nuts like I said in my previous post. The others won't, they have just a small brake piece for stopping the clutch. It can be adjusted while on the mower.

 

[leohinojosa]

I checked the voltage and it read 12.58 I did not check while running.

The wired are all enclosed in a black protective tube. I have not found any wires that look exposed. Or did they look like they coating was broken and a short could be made..

The battery terminals and battery show no sign of corrosion. They look very well taken care of

 

[rcbe]

OP - 1) you can't load test a battery with a simple meter... really need to take batt to a shop with proper test equipt. You can get a surface reading of "ok" voltage and still have a weak battery.
2) corrosion at battery terminals, chassis connections and inline connections cannot always be seen visually. I've seen too many lab tests showing voltage drops across what looked like perfectly good looking connections. Take the time to disassemble the connections, clean the mating surfaces to bright metal with sandpaper and reassemble. It can't hurt.