Hey, so I have a 1991 Hustler 251K with a Kohler MV20 engine (magneto drive engine). I got it for free, cleaned up the engine and replaced carb and it ran great (have had it a few months), it does beautiful job mowing.
Ran it on a Saturday to mow small area in yard. Went to run it on a Tuesday to mow entire yard and couldn't even get a clicking from the solenoid or an oil pressure light. I went through the basics and checked battery, tested solenoid, tested starter and eventually checked the keyswitch. Everything tested good,except switch, which was very badly corroded to point you couldn't read terminal markings. Long story short, engine manual and mower manual do not call out same switch orientation and I ended up with several switches and still couldn't even get the damn oil light, much less get the engine to turn over.
So I started to dive further into wiring to check for shorts and eventually figured out something wonky was going on with voltage from battery to starter. After experimentation with jumper cables, I determined that my negative cable from the battery was bad (of course this discovery was 1 week after problem started and I bought numerous switches and a new solenoid, go figure).
So finally with the new correct switch (because I also determined my old one only worked right about 50% of the time because of corrosion on battery terminal) and a new battery cable, my engine will start and runs great, until I engage the hydraulics (or open the clutch safety switch) then the engine shuts down. I have tested that switch and it tested good. And if I trick the switch to stay closed I could mow, but fear burning something up because that would be my luck lately.
From the clutch switch there are 2 relays (wiring diagram only has one :/ ) and a delay module and a ground connection. I have not changed the wiring config from when it ran beautifully....that stuff is black majic to me and where I am afraid to mess around.
At one point my husband tried what he thought was the right switch (but wasnt) and the engine started but a few wires got hot and melted, it was quick but from what I can tell we put 12v directly to the magneto via the relays briefly. I replaced the relays and everything still runs but when the clutch switch is opened it appears we are somehow grounding the magneto and thus shutting down the engine.
Did we potentially damage the ignition module (.) know there is a diode that can burn up to protect the engine in event of voltage issues) on the engine? Is my delay module bad? At this point I am baffled.
I did test the ignition module via the Kohler manual and the primary test told me there is infinite ohms and the secondary test showed ohms right where they needed to be.
Is it safe to bypass the clutch switch and run the mower?
Ran it on a Saturday to mow small area in yard. Went to run it on a Tuesday to mow entire yard and couldn't even get a clicking from the solenoid or an oil pressure light. I went through the basics and checked battery, tested solenoid, tested starter and eventually checked the keyswitch. Everything tested good,except switch, which was very badly corroded to point you couldn't read terminal markings. Long story short, engine manual and mower manual do not call out same switch orientation and I ended up with several switches and still couldn't even get the damn oil light, much less get the engine to turn over.
So I started to dive further into wiring to check for shorts and eventually figured out something wonky was going on with voltage from battery to starter. After experimentation with jumper cables, I determined that my negative cable from the battery was bad (of course this discovery was 1 week after problem started and I bought numerous switches and a new solenoid, go figure).
So finally with the new correct switch (because I also determined my old one only worked right about 50% of the time because of corrosion on battery terminal) and a new battery cable, my engine will start and runs great, until I engage the hydraulics (or open the clutch safety switch) then the engine shuts down. I have tested that switch and it tested good. And if I trick the switch to stay closed I could mow, but fear burning something up because that would be my luck lately.
From the clutch switch there are 2 relays (wiring diagram only has one :/ ) and a delay module and a ground connection. I have not changed the wiring config from when it ran beautifully....that stuff is black majic to me and where I am afraid to mess around.
At one point my husband tried what he thought was the right switch (but wasnt) and the engine started but a few wires got hot and melted, it was quick but from what I can tell we put 12v directly to the magneto via the relays briefly. I replaced the relays and everything still runs but when the clutch switch is opened it appears we are somehow grounding the magneto and thus shutting down the engine.
Did we potentially damage the ignition module (.) know there is a diode that can burn up to protect the engine in event of voltage issues) on the engine? Is my delay module bad? At this point I am baffled.
I did test the ignition module via the Kohler manual and the primary test told me there is infinite ohms and the secondary test showed ohms right where they needed to be.
Is it safe to bypass the clutch switch and run the mower?