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Hi all.

When I put my IS700Z up last fall, it was running fine. Trying to start it up now, it turns over fine, but will not start. Sounds like it's not firing at all. I've put in fresh gas, and had treated the last bit of gas that was in it last year. It has the Briggs 27 HP Commercial engine. I suspect that there could be a safety switch that's open - but would that allow it to even crank? The brake is engaged, PTO is in off position, handles are out in neutral position, seat is down. Are there any other interlocks that I'm missing?

Are there any schematics floating around, or troubleshooting guides anyone can point me to?

Thanks for any help you can offer.

Steve

Fuel isn't shut off is it? Not trying to insult your intelligence but it happens sometimes. Have you tried a shot of starter fluid?

HammerTime said:

Hi all.

When I put my IS700Z up last fall, it was running fine. Trying to start it up now, it turns over fine, but will not start. Sounds like it's not firing at all. I've put in fresh gas, and had treated the last bit of gas that was in it last year. It has the Briggs 27 HP Commercial engine. I suspect that there could be a safety switch that's open - but would that allow it to even crank? The brake is engaged, PTO is in off position, handles are out in neutral position, seat is down. Are there any other interlocks that I'm missing?

Are there any schematics floating around, or troubleshooting guides anyone can point me to?

Thanks for any help you can offer.

Steve

Click to expand...

AFAIK Ferris have their wiring diagrams in either the parts manuals or the owners manuals.
There are 2 totally different sets of safety switches.
One lot prevents cranking, and is a 12V + system
The other prevents sparking and is a ground system.

In most cases the individual switches have 2 sets of contacts
One for each type of circuit so it can get confusing.

Now just to make things more confusing people like Ferris / Walker etc seem the think a few relays to really complicate things are a good idea.

When checking relays you can use both the + and the - to control a relay.

Apparently it is to reduce the number of wires carrying 12V to reduce the shorting / fire risk but I am sure it is just to make things hard.

Darryl G said:

Fuel isn't shut off is it? Not trying to insult your intelligence but it happens sometimes. Have you tried a shot of starter fluid?

Click to expand...

Thanks for the suggestion Darryl - definitely not taken as an insult. That was the first thing that crossed my mind, and I vividly remember closing the fuel shutoff and letting it run itself out. Trouble is, when I went to turn the fuel back on, I realized I was remembering doing that with a generator - not the mower. Not finding a shutoff valve on the mower at all. I have pulled the line and confirmed it is getting fuel to the fuel pump.

If you know of a shutoff that I might be missing, please let me know. Pretty sure this is gonna be a case of me forgetting or overlooking something simple.

Thanks again!

also --- Going to pick up some starting fluid today and give that a try tonight. Fingers crossed!

Rather than typing a long list, here' a quickie list you can check, several items can be eliminated ......

,,,,,, click to emlarge

bertsmobile1 said:

AFAIK Ferris have their wiring diagrams in either the parts manuals or the owners manuals.
There are 2 totally different sets of safety switches.
One lot prevents cranking, and is a 12V + system
The other prevents sparking and is a ground system.

In most cases the individual switches have 2 sets of contacts
One for each type of circuit so it can get confusing.

Now just to make things more confusing people like Ferris / Walker etc seem the think a few relays to really complicate things are a good idea.

When checking relays you can use both the + and the - to control a relay.

Apparently it is to reduce the number of wires carrying 12V to reduce the shorting / fire risk but I am sure it is just to make things hard.

Click to expand...

Thanks Bert. I didn't immediately see the wiring diagram in my manual, but I haven't tried the parts manual. Will take a look there. And yeah, the manufacturers do have a knack for taking a straight forward system and putting in components for reasons unknown - other than increase the chances for needing service. I'll let you know what I find. I'm betting that I've overlooked something. I tend to do that more often these days. Thanks again!

incorrect post removed

Check to see if you have good spark, it should be little wet inside if there is no problem with the fuel side, if no spark could be safety switch/bad coil/ wiring short or a bad plug or key switch, if you find a wiring diagram post it up so we can take a look at it for you.

Just checked and the wiring diagrams are in the parts books.
They are a free download from Ferris but you will need the full details from the ID tag
This stops mugs like me trying to charge people for fixing them.
THus the only one I have is for the IS 4000 series as I have a customer with one.

Found this link, I hope it's useful to you .....

http://www.ferrismowers.co.uk/downloads-ferris/

Boobala said:

Found this link, I hope it's useful to you .....

http://www.ferrismowers.co.uk/downloads-ferris/

Click to expand...

Thanks Boo that is better than the one I used before as it needed model numbers.
So a lot of downloading for this mower mechanic on the next off peak cycle.

THe wiring diagram s hidden in the middle .
Between the mower proper and the decks.

Hi all -

Well, we now have a running mower. Ended up all it needed was a shot of starting fluid - as Darryl suggested. I did pick up a spark tester (never pass up an opportunity to buy a tool) and it clearly showed it to be firing. I hit with a small spray of starting fluid and it actually sounded like it was trying to hit. Gave it another larger dose and it started right up. I'm guessing that last season's stabil treated fuel just wasn't potent enough. I've filled it with fresh gas and it's running like a champ now. It was pretty rough until the stuff in the lines got through it.

Guess I need to do a better job of closing it out for winter. While I'm thinking of it, it might not be a bad idea to put a shutoff valve in the fuel line to run it dry more easily. Is that recommended for "winterizing"?

Thanks again for the suggestions. I still would have bet money that it was not firing due to an open switch. And Boobala - thanks for pointing out the download site. Going to pull the ones down for this thing for next time.

Enjoy the weekend - and Happy Easter!!

Steve

Good to hear it was just the fuel quality and you have it running.
Yes add a fuel tap.
Put it before the fuel filter so you make changing the filter easier to do.
I buy in line fuel taps in bags of 100 and every mower that comes in goes out with one installed but not billed for.
Any time you are not going to mow for more than a couple of weeks it is a good idea to run the mower out.
Just remember to turn the ignition off after the engine stops or the fuel solenoid will run the battery so flat it can not be recharged.