My friends Snapper 19hp tractor is having a rash of electrical problems. Battery was discharging every time he mowed. I checked the regulator and stator. Stator reads 27.8 vac. regulator output is 17.5 vdc. Battery reads 12.8 static and 13.9 when running. Tried turning on the electric clutch to check voltage at the battery. The switch did not turn on the clutch. I had found two or three bare spots on one of the blue wires that come from the clutch switch to the seat safety switch then continue to a relay next to the solenoid. How does one check the relay?
Snapper Electric Clutch won't turn on
- Thread starter jeff
- Start date
The quickest and easiest method is substitute a known good relay....
short of having a spare around, you can pull the relay and place a jumper across the normally open position in the relay socket.
You can also, with the relay removed ... energize it with a couple of jumper wires to it's coil and measure for continuity at the normally open contacts in the relay.
The seat switch is in series with the coil in the relay.
The discharge while running to me would suggest a possible shorted diode in the rectifier pack...
With everything turned off, check if there is any 'ghost' current being drawn by removing the battery cable at the battery... there should be little to no current with all things off. If the rectifier is bad you can have a slight current flow back to the stator windings. KennyV
The clutch not working is best troubleshooted starting with the clutch and work back to the battery...
With a jumper wire from the battery apply 12 volts to the clutch hot wire. If it engages the clutch coil and ground wire are good. If it dose not engage either the clutch coil or ground wire are at fault;
If it dose engage dose the pulley lock up to the engine driven shaft? If not the clutch disk material may be burnt up or missing
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Usually an electric clutch fails because of a wiring or fuse problem... However if you operate with low voltage or intermittent voltage you can, over time, burn up the clutch. ... you must have full voltage at the clutch to insure that it dose not slip:smile:. KennyV
With a jumper wire from the battery apply 12 volts to the clutch hot wire. If it engages the clutch coil and ground wire are good. If it dose not engage either the clutch coil or ground wire are at fault;
If it dose engage dose the pulley lock up to the engine driven shaft? If not the clutch disk material may be burnt up or missing
. Usually an electric clutch fails because of a wiring or fuse problem... However if you operate with low voltage or intermittent voltage you can, over time, burn up the clutch. ... you must have full voltage at the clutch to insure that it dose not slip:smile:. KennyV
The clutch not working is best troubleshooted starting with the clutch and work back to the battery...
With a jumper wire from the battery apply 12 volts to the clutch hot wire. If it engages the clutch coil and ground wire are good. If it dose not engage either the clutch coil or ground wire are at fault;
If it dose engage dose the pulley lock up to the engine driven shaft? If not the clutch disk material may be burnt up or missing
Usually an electric clutch fails because of a wiring or fuse problem... However if you operate with low voltage or intermittent voltage you can, over time, burn up the clutch. ... you must have full voltage at the clutch to insure that it dose not slip:smile:. KennyV
Dumb me. I had reversed the seat wiring after fixing the bare spots. Works fine now.