LAWN TRACTOR REPAIR : HOW TO DIAGNOSE A BAD ELECTRIC BLADE CLUTCH 

Thank You So Much. My wife thinks our mower is a D-fencer, Tree trimmer, And garden hose winder. Of cores, I am the one that has to jack it up and un clog Half of the neighborhood from under the deck. :(

Fixed!!! I just purchased a second hand Scag zero turn mower and had an issue with the blades intermittently not engaging. Was thinking I'd been 'sold a lemon' by the guy I'd bought it from and it might not have been such a bargain. The problem did not appear to be related to heat but maybe a small amount of heat was doing it. I worked my way through the seat safety switch, then the PTO Clutch Switch using other RU-vid tutorials ... which all turned out fine. Then I was down to the clutch itself and used your video to learn how to test if the clutch was good. Tested the ohms of the clutch and then volts into it while the clutch while disconnected and mower was running with PTO switch on. All fine. I then went onto "how to adjust your electric clutch" videos. A quarter turn of each adjustment bolt and it's working perfectly again. Unbelievable it's ultimately so simple. So, with the help of folks like you, a guy with a finance degree can fix his commercial zero turn. What's not to love about the Internet! Thanks for taking the time to explain this in easy to understand terms. I knew nothing about it when I started trying to solve the problem. Much appreciated. Thank you!!

Another thing about clutches is they have to be torqued on so you don't put too much pressure on the bearings. Normally between 45-55 ft/lbs if I'm not mistaken.

thank you for this video! it helped me show that i was correct in replacing a clutch today. i was having a issue with the clutch not working all the time.

Excellent Tutorial Thank you Thank you

Thank you for the info! Cheers.

thank you sir, ,you just solved a puzzle I was attempting to solve.

Hey Jeremy. Great video. Very helpful. Quick question. Did your clutch make some really bad sounds when it was on the mower since the inside was not connected like you showed us? what were the symptoms that made you tear it apart?

YOU ARE 100 % CORRECT....IF THE CLUTCH WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN WARRANTY THEN I WOULD HAVE GAVE MY CUSTOMER THE OPTION OF REPLACING IT OR WELDING IT SOLID.......THANKS FOR ALL YOUR POSITIVE COMMENTS...HAVE A GREAT DAY.

I am about to test my clutch. I have a Cub Cadet GT 1554 and in grass that really doesn't even look deep, I hear it slowing down. I can even see the stream of clippings get weaker when it happens too. I always grease the spindles with a good grease. I try NEVER to mow if I can ride around the yard and the tires are wet or even damp. I have new blades. If it is not the clutch there are other possibly more expensive things it could be. I am going to get my ohm meter and see if it is just a weak clutch. I can get to my wires without taking the clutch off so this would be quick and mostly painless.

Mine just went out checking it tomorrow

Good Morning Jeremy, I am starting a part-time repair business and am now working on a 2006(?) Cub Cadet LT1050. I have replaced one spindle assembly, both upper and lower bearings on the other two and installed a new idler pulley, all were bad. the mower drive belt is good. I have sharpened and balanced the blades, but when you engage the electric PTO clutch, the mower shakes, the engine lugs down, and after 30 seconds or so, the clutch cuts out. You can immediately reengage the clutch and the whole things happens again. I spun all blades by hand, not hitting anything under the deck. I contacted tech support at Cub Cadet, got to a level 2 tech, went through what I had done and all he could come up with, after some thought, was that it must be a bad PTO clutch. Currently it has a Warner 5219-64 and I have ordered an Xtreme replacement clutch, seems a better and less expensive option. Have you seen this before? Am I on the right track? Thank you Tony Port Hadlock, WA

jeremy , i have a grasshopper mower that has brunt out 2 pto switches, what would you think the problem is?

I have a Ogura GT1-TR05. I've been having issues with it intermittently shutting off. I tested the clutch by unhooking the hot wire and probing it. I left the ground wire hooked up to the mower and probed the wires in the terminal. It measured at 5 ohms. Would a 5ohm reading mean its bad? Would that cause intermittently shutting off? I'll completely unhook the ground wire and test it again tomorrow.

Thanks for the information. I have a Husqvarna TS354D. The mower cuts grass very well, but it sounds horrible when I shut it down. I grease all the deck pulleys regularly, but the sound seems to come from the PTO clutch. Any suggestions?

If the winding is old or worn not completely broken to the point it can still make a half assed connection, the amperage will shoot through the roof tying to keep the clutch engaged and the stator can't keep up; it will do exactly what you describe. I actually had one do this. Usually the windings just breaks and it won't do anything.

I have a problem with my clutch on a cub cadet and I can’t really say which is bad the switch or the clutch but just a few days ago my friend got on it and pulled the pto switch and we heard it pop on and then day after I got on it to mow the yard and as I was mowing the the blades just stopped. Second is could a low cca 230 battery cause it to go out or not kick on bc of the specs call for a 245cca battery

I clipped a wire into each battery terminal and probe into each place on the plug and it clicked. I think this is a way to check if the clutch is good also. ??? bob

OK, replaced the clutch and all is well. Additional bench check of clutch should be to test both terminals to the clutch's metal struture (ground). Terminal to terminal may be correct but if the (+) terminal is shorted to structure/GND, it will either blow the fuse or metal something. My "bad" clutch had a short that connected the (+) terminal to its structure internally.

It is an Ogura the number is MA-GT-JD3 I can't find that number anywhere but it is the number on the old one. I went through this 2 years ago on a different tractor that belongs to family. They had to suck it up and pay-there was no time to shop around since the grass was so tall.

I had a problem with a clutch disc, so i just weld a sleeve with a disc.Is it a permitted solution?

Thanks for your informational videos. Was able to trouble shoot blowing fuse to mower deck. The darn relay was bad. $17 bucks and the yard is cut. At $65 hourly rate for repair Im not sure howmuch I saved.

I have a bobcat zero turn and the pro switch works but when I engage the blade the blade band that goes around the electric clutch spins incredibly slow any suggestions?

What would cause my battery to drain and the volt meeter show a draw when I hit the electric switch to engage the blades? Is my clutch the problem or is the charging system having a problem?

My mower will not start, no clicking from starter or any noises, battery is strong shows over 14 volts, when i ran diagnostics it refers to my PTO clutch or switch. I replaced the switch but its the same problem, will a PTO clutch keep the mower from starting?

I am looking at a Cub Cadet LT1042 mower that the owner says has a intermittent problem with the pto clutch engaging. He feels its a wiring glitch. Do clutches go out all at once or can they work intermittently? If It is a wiring problem, can I do my own wiring to it using a switch, relay and hooking up 12 volt to the clutch to engage it? Thanks

I have an LA150 purchase in 2007. I think I've narrowed down my problem to the PTO clutch (electrical). When I measure from the front connector of the rear harness. YLW (power to PTO) to Engine block (GND) reads 0.1 OHMS (shorted). When I disconnect the PTO connector, I get OL. Pulling the PTO switch, blades start then stop, then the engine dies. The last time I tried, the 20A fuse opened. I know the PTO coil has some resistance (YLW to BLK), but should the YLW be shorted to GND? Thx!

How many volts does it take to make an electric clutch like that engage? I have a grasshopper mower and I don’t think it’s giving my clutch the volts it needs. It’s not even keeping my battery charged for some reason.

It takes my cub cadet 2006 ruffly 10 seconds to come up to 100% speed is this normal? After I engage the pto switch?

What's the part number off the clutch???

I tested it and it read 2.9 which means the magnet is good. But what could be the problem if the electric clutch does not disengage?

could the clutch be welded bak into one solid piece?

VOMs can measure Voltage and Ohms.The meaning of O.L is dependant upon what you are measuring. For resistance (Ohms) O.L means Open Lead or the amount of resistance measured is well beyond the highest measureable value for the meter, ie OPEN, infinite. If measuring Voltages beyond the capacity of the meter to read, O.L means over load or over limit. So you are correct if measuring volts or amps. Mr. Fountain was measuring resistance (ohms), ergo Open Lead, open line was correct ... for ohms.

My mower does about 3 minutes after I engage the blade. Clutch problem?

Ol means no continuity thus the circuit is open

What is the clutch off of?

Question.... Gravely zturn fh500v everything was working then the blades wpuld engage then stop. Then the mower cut off, and now I go to start it and it knocks like it is locked up. Tried to pull the belt to see if there would be any movement but nothing. What do you think???

How do you take apart this

Charge system

What would cause the blades to keep spinning with an electric clutch? I imagine it's the switch on the dash. I have been using my mower on some heavy high grass and had to frequently turn off the blades to clear the (wet) grass from the deck. Craftsman 917272121 46'' 3 blade. Even disconnecting the switch didn't stop the blades...thank you

There's this site called eBay that has all those parts

Hey got a question for you. I removed the clutch and it came out in 1 piece. My problem is that the blades turn all time time. Rather the PTO switch is on or off. The clutch turns freely so it is not sized. Any suggestions?

I would weld that shaft onto the pressure plate if the customer was tight on cash. $300 is a lot of beans for some people. If it fails later, they already know they have to shell out for a new one. If the welds hold, then you look like the hero and everybody wins.

Hmm, expensive for a magnetic device. for myself i would do a bodge, locktite or drill the seam and insert pin to stop rotation or what ever i could think of as a temp fix. But you are a professional and i understand you must adere to the correct approach. A wallet emptying experence :-(

What ohm setting have tou got it on? I have several different settings on mine. 200,2000,20K,200K,2000K. Which should I be using. 200 shows 4.8, 2000 shows 7 and 20K shows .001. I usually use 20K

how do you know if the clutch is going bad when it is still on the mower?

my pto wont ingage what would it be

switch any one ?

I have a John Deere 190C, when I was mowing the other day my blades stopped woking and they wont come back on. I bought a new PTO switch, still nothing. Took the belt off the clutch pulled out the PTO switch the clutch engages and spins but makes a load grinding noise. Do you think the clutch has gone? Or could there be something else? Thanks, J.

I just checked my PTO Switch on my Husqvarna yth2348. It shows a reading of "00.4" in the OFF position and "00.4-00.7" in the ON position (depending on which terminals you test). The problem I am having is that when I have the mower running and I pull the PTO lever out to engage the clutch (Brand New clutch) the engine dies. I even unplugged the clutch and the engine still dies when I pull out the PTO knob.................Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!

I have a Toro Groundmaster 120 that the OGURA PTO seems to have gone bad. MA-GT-TROC model Toro groundmaster model 30612 serial 890142 Could you rebuild this clutch if I sent it to you. Looks like you have to have a press to get this apart. What would it cost to have you rebuild it do you think?

Greetings JEREMY, where can I find the best bargain when buying a new Electric clutch, also are aftermarket parts as good as ....lets say Sears I'm dealing with a Craftsman GT5000 clutch Part # is 179335 OR 414737 any help or advice is greatly welcomed!

Very Good!... #80 ✝ {5-13-2022}

How did you disassemble the clutch?

Jeremy, Im having an issue with my clutch on my bobcat z219. Whenever i try to start the mower the blades are turning and the mower wont start, do you have any idea of what my problem may be?? 1. Ive replaced the switch(pto) and reading 12volts 2. I can also hear the click noise whenever i engage the pto switch. Note: The clutch is still on the mower.

👍👍

My clutch test good but cuts off after 15 min of mowing, then cool off a bit and will work again????? When it cuts off there is no power from the switch????

I just did this test On toro zmaster mower and it read 2.0

OK....not to be Captain Obvious here, but this is a HELL of a lot of work to determine if the clutch is bad. How about a way to determine if it even LIES in this area ? I am going to have to check my PTO switch before I rip out the clutch. Which wires do I test or cross to check for voltage or bypass, to determine if the error lies in the switch ? I will google an answer if none are forthcoming here in a day or so.

News flash: "OL" does not stand for "Open Line".

actually, OL means open lead.

Weld that mother f and send it

Any idea where I can get a PTO clutch for a decent price? The one I need is 500 dollars from Deere.