725 Kubota gas is now blowing the ignition fuse when key is turned on

I recently purchased a 1997 725 Kubota gas grasshopper, I started mowing around the yard with it but before I could get a complete round the yard, the mower deck stopped. I went back to the garage to see what was the problem. I found the PTO fuse blown, I don't know if the the Ignition fuse was blown at that time or not. I replaced the PTO fuse and turned the switch on to start up the mower again. The Ignition fuse immediately blew. I have not been able to see any indication of a shorted wire, but I am sure something has grounded out causing the 7.5 amp Ignition fuse to blow.

I have disconnected the PTO wire to the clutch, with the switch on, PTO switch pulled out, I have no power to the PTO clutch. Naturally this test was done with the ignition fuse blown.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

hugger94

Hello & welcome to LMF...
Is there any chance that someone has rewired OR rearranged the wiring?
The PTO clutch will draw a lot of current and should NOT be in series with the ignition fuse....
What size fuse is in the PTO circuit? :smile:KennyV

I would expect that the test that you did was while you were sitting on the seat. You have other switches in that circuit. It actually sounds like you have a dead short somewhere. The power or positive is going to ground. You need to check all of the wires in the circuit for any broken insulators etc. As Kenny indicated the pto should not be on the ignition circuit.

KennyV: The previous owner or someone had rewired some of the wiring... when I replaced the ignition switch from an universal switch with the correct Kubota ignition switch, I found the blue wire from ignition switch loose at both the ignition switch and at the starter selenoid, with a separate wire running directly from connection 50 on the ign switch to starter selenoid. I rewired the other red and red/white wires to their correct connections, attached the separate wire to lug 50. It started and ran fine, the PTO kicked in powered the mower deck for approximately 15 - 20 minutes before the 10 amp PTO fuse blew. I was able to mow approx. 3/4 of the way around our 1 acre lot before the PTO fuse blew.

Fastback: I don't know if the PTO is on the ignition switch. All I know is the ignition fuse now blows as soon as I turn the ignition switch. The PTO power test was done without the seat switch disabled. All of the wires were also separately wrapped with elec. tape. Is there a way that I can isolate whether or not the PTO switch is faulty, clutch is faulty, etc.?

I know I have a "real" wiring problem and I do plan to re-wire it back original but at this point I would hope that I could simply figure out what is causing the ignition fuse to blow before I start the re-wiring process, sort of trying to keep it simple for myself. I am definitely not at expert on electrical wiring.

Appreciate any and all suggestions.