Engine quits when ZTR left arm moved in to mow

bcarwell

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I have a 5 year old Husqvarna ZTR. Everything was working fine today. Shut it off, filled with gas. Now it starts up again just fine with both steering arms out as it should.

BUT: When I move the LEFT in towards me to drive the engine quits. I can move the RIGHT arm in towards me and the engine keeps running and I have
very limited steering and motion as long as the LEFT arm is out in the starting position. As soon as I move the LEFT arm in, the engine quits.

What's wrong ? Doesn't seem like its the seat safety switch- why would only the LEFT arm cause the engine to quit.

Is it the connector coming from the left arm ? I haven't tried disconnecting it and re-connecting it yet as I'm done for the day.

Any help and suggestions to try would be very much appreciated !

Bob
 

mechanic mark

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I have a 5 year old Husqvarna ZTR. Everything was working fine today. Shut it off, filled with gas. Now it starts up again just fine with both steering arms out as it should.

BUT: When I move the LEFT in towards me to drive the engine quits. I can move the RIGHT arm in towards me and the engine keeps running and I have
very limited steering and motion as long as the LEFT arm is out in the starting position. As soon as I move the LEFT arm in, the engine quits.

What's wrong ? Doesn't seem like its the seat safety switch- why would only the LEFT arm cause the engine to quit.

Is it the connector coming from the left arm ? I haven't tried disconnecting it and re-connecting it yet as I'm done for the day.

Any help and suggestions to try would be very much appreciated !

Bob
Look in troubleshooting section of your operators manual, possible adjustment needs to be made. Let us know how it goes, thanks, Mark
 

bertsmobile1

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You have an electrical problem with the safety & brake switchs
If you try to move with the parking brake on then engine cuts out
So either the brake switch is staying on & the right lap bar switch is not working
Or the brake switch is fine & the left lap br switch is not working
 

bcarwell

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Now the engine quits when I move EITHER the LEFT or RIGHT steering arms inward.

Where are the brake and lap bar switches located ?
 

bcarwell

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And is the Husqvarna telephone "help" line bogus and inoperable ? I've called, get the recording that they are very busy, but have twice now stayed on the line for an HOUR listening to highly irritating "music" and no one EVER answered. If they are just not answering any more, shame on them, they shouldn't mislead a customer or estimate what the wait time is or how many calls ahead of you so you can decide rationally whether to hang up. Piss poor service IMHO.
 

Hammermechanicman

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Like Bert said, you have a problem with the brake switch(es) circuit(s). Forget calling Husqvarna, they will be no help. You need a good wiring diagram to troubleshoot it. Some mowers like Ferris can have 3 separate switches on the brake lever. Some only have 1. Plus you can have multiple sets of contacts in a switch. You can have a corroded connection, bad switch contacts or a shorted or open wire. You can try the Remington method of troubleshooting and just start replacing switches and see what happens. Usually the switch(es) are located near the park brake lever.
 

StarTech

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Need model number to be posted.

133439_1211663_300x283.jpg
 

bcarwell

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I think I found it. The connector or switch is very loose that the steering arm connects to. But I can't get at it to tighten it.
How do you remove the big top metal cover that the arms extend into to access the arm linkages and switches underneath it ?

And is there any way to purchase a shop/repair/maintenance manual ? The Husqvarna website says they are only available
for their repair personnel. But since my ZTR is out of warranty I don't need "official" dealer$ repair$.

Bob
 

bcarwell

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It is a ZTR 254. I really think/hope its just because the linkage is very, very loose on the one side if I could just get at it to tighten it.
Or to try replacing switches via the "Remington" method >

It is out of warranty but only 3-4 years old and has had very, very light duty and hours. I realize that may not have much of a bearing on corroded or bad switch contacts. But I am hopeful it is just that the linkages have gotten very loose (I can move it with my fingers if I reach under the cover into the hole where the steering arms connect.'

Again, how do I remove the cover to get access to the steering arm linkages ? Are there some hidden little tricks or sequences or gotchas of bolt removal like removing car door panels ?

Is this the best forum for this ? In addition to the apparent lack of Husqvarna telephone support, I tried their "AskArmy" forum, could find no place to post a question, and then realized the newest post I could find was several years old, suggesting to me its defunct. If so, what is going on with Husqvarna ? Pathetic.

Thanks for the responses so far guys. Don't leave me !!!

Best,

Bob
 

bcarwell

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BTW I just read in the owners' manual that something can be damaged if only one of the steering arms is moved inwards while it is running. I in fact did this but only for about 5 minutes total when I discovered I could still (barely) drive the ZTR under the car port with only the right steering arm in (because engine would quit when I moved the left one in also).

I hope I didn't damage anything ?

I also forgot to pull out the two little levers in the back that (I think) disengage the transmission for hand pushing when I towed the ZTR with my truck to the carport- maybe 1/4 mile. Again, hope I didn't damage anything by doing that. At least it still starts and the engine runs fine.

Bob
 
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