M5040: PTO will not disengage

[JasonShrout]

Fellow Mechanics,

Our M5040 PTO engage/disengage switch (mounted on the PTO lever) was crushed. After ordering and installing a new lever and switch from LMTractor at a cost of $90, the indicator on the cluster shows that the PTO is engaged regardless of lever position and will not allow the tractor to start.

The tractor was running just fine until that switch was destroyed. No unusual noises, fluid levels were right, no abuse... So, this is really driving me nuts. After visually inspecting all wires, cables, switches, relays, fuses, etc...., I haven't found anything. No damage at all.

As everything on this machine is buried and shoe-horned in, I haven't been able to get a really good look at the top of the rear end. It looks like there is a solenoid or some sort of switching assembly. Could the problem be there, or is it possible that the instrument cluster took a crap and is causing the problem?

 

[JasonShrout]

My sincere apologies... It turned out to be a fuse that wasn't even related to the PTO issue. The Alternator fuse was blown. A severe oversight on my part.

 

[JasonShrout]

Now that my initial frustration is over with, here is my hypothesis on why the symptoms presented the way they did.

After the switch was destroyed, I had tried to bypass it and accidentally grounded one of the connectors which evidently blew the fuse. It's been a month since this happened and I had completely forgotten about it. With that circuit being open, perhaps the logic board in the cluster thought that something was in operation when it wasn't. I did notice that the idiot lights didn't look right when I had the ignition switch in the Run position.

I hope this helps someone.

 

[big bubba]

glad you were able to determine the problem. sounds frustrating up until that point. what led to the switch being crushed?
the M xx40 tractor series is fantastic, imho the best ag utility series before the tier 4 crept in....hope nothing else was damaged. congrat on figuring it out w/o expensive repair bills. :thumbsup:

 

[JasonShrout]

Bubba,
The PTO lever was chinsy to begin with, but with age, it got worse. Our Banditos decided to use a screwdriver to push it into position. Well, they missed, couldn't get it to engage and somehow thought that if they hit it hard enough it would work (caveman mentality I guess).

Generally, I agree that it is a good machine, but honestly, I'll take a Case any day. At least with that, I don't have to have the hands of a small child to be able to fix things.

The Clutch Cable on the M5040 was a real turd to change out!

Thanks for the response !