X540 PTO won't engage after removing body

[Mr V]

I removed the body to get at the remnants of the broken deck level knob. Since I was working on it I also took off the deck and replaced the blades. After putting it all back together and leveling the deck the PTO won't engage. I believe the brake switch is working as it won't turn over unless I push the brake in all the way. I had jumpered the seat switch temporarily but connected that back up. Getting up off the seat while it is running kills the engine. How does mower know when it goes in reverse and shut down the PTO if you are not holding it up? Wondering if I could have messed something up when I took off the forward and reverse pedals. When I first put it back together reverse was not working but after adjusting the position of the reverse pedal I got that working. Appeared it was just not pushing down enough to engage reverse. Is there anything else I can check I may have messed up? This was my first time doing any of this so thinking I am missing something. I don't have a multimeter right now but may have to go get one and check the RIO switch. I did unplug it and plugged it back in.

 

[bertsmobile1]

There is a reverse switch
Normal place is on the tranny & gets depressed when the control arm on the tranny goes into reverse .

 

[Deleted member 97405]

A simple way I test if the RIO switch is out of adjustment is to just simply turn on the key (engine off), brake off, operator in seat, push on forward pedal and pull up on the PTO switch. If the clutch engages with the forward pedal depressed and disengages as it returns to neutral, your RIO is out of adjustment, and the system thinks you're in reverse, when you're actually in neutral. Back the switch off so it's not activated when pedals are in neutral. Sounds like you already know where the switch is. Hope this helps!

 

[Mr V]

Ended up taking the body back off so I could get to thing easily. Tested the PTO switch and continuity was as it should be. My ignition and PTO switches were pretty corroded so went and replaced them anyway. I tested the clutch with a battery and it does engage. Looks like the main problem now is the PTO circuit is only showing 6v with key on, PTO switch on and brake disengaged. I checked the reverse switch and appears to be in the correct position. Only gets pushed in when I press reverse. Started tracing the blue wire from the clutch connector and was 6v at the fuse. From there is went into a bigger connector and had a hard time following it. So started following the gray hot wire that gets power when you engage the PTO switch. Had 12V there and followed it up to the ECU where that connector also had 12V. There is a short blue and black wire that comes off that ECU connector that powers the PTO light. Discovered that pin on the connector only has 6v. Most posts talk about a bad ECU for ignition type issues but wondering now if the circuit from the PTO switch goes through the ECU before going back down to the clutch. I hate to spend $120 on a new ECU without being sure since I can't return it.

 

[bertsmobile1]

Spend the money on a JD Tech manual for your mower
IT will have very detailed instruction on how to test the mowers electronics where to test it and where all the parts are
I don't have any for the X series & JD have a habit of altering the circuits several times during a production run.
A lot of them use a relay on the PTO circuit and your readings suggest a bad relay
Also double check the engine ground as a bad ground will exhibit similar symptoms , simple test is to run a jumper battery - to a good ground ( lifting hook or drain ) on the engine .
But I can not over state the value & quality of the JD manuals

 

[Mr V]

My dealer was nice enough to print me out the diagnostics for the PTO. It does appear it is the ECU. I have 12V going into it but the PTO circuits coming out only have 6v.

 

[bertsmobile1]

What a nice dealer
They are not supposed to do that so be nice to them.