John Deere Ztrak 830A Mower Clutch Problem

My blade pull switch on my John Deere Ztrak 830A had been giving me problems, or so I thought. It was working intermittent activating the blade clutch, but always worked when first starting out, with the blade clutch problem occurring after mowing for a while then having to get off, which turned off the blades. It would eventually work so I could finish the job, but I dared not to get off and hope to get the blades turning again. So I purchased a new pull switch and it seemed to work fine for a while. It has now started the old trick of intermittent blade clutch operation. Today I could not get the blade clutch to kick in at all. There is a disconnect in the wires about 6 " out of the clutch housing, which I disconnected and cleaned the prongs(2) for each part. still nothing. Would like some ideas on possible problem. Thanks!

Try slightly twisting the switch after its pulled upward into the engaged position. My new switch (from Deere) started that mess about halfway through the season.
Also the short section of harness from the clutch up to the connector beside the engine can cause this. If you are extremely careful you can get a helper to set in the seat and engage the clutch . If no engagement wiggle the short harness, but be careful due to the belt running. Or the safe way would be to disconnect the harness beside the engine and check the plug with a volt meter. That section from the plug to the clutch can look perfect but trust me there prone to failure.

Hope this helps.. and its not a bad clutch...