DYT 4000 Power Problem

Hey all,

First post here. I bought a used DYT 4000 that has been giving me all sorts of headaches, apparently due to work-arounds that a previous owner did (Example, went through two blown PTO relay switches before realizing that the fuse had been replaced with a marette, and finding a chafed clutch wire), and poor service (example, oil filter not changed in 300 hours). I've gotten everything humming along okay... runs and cuts well, BUT the battery is draining. I think it is particularly draining when the PTO is engaged (battery meter on dash reads well into the negative while mowing). I had the battery load tested and charged and it's good. Started up fine, mowed for a couple hours and shut down - wouldn't start again. Boosted it off my van, ran for another hour no problem, but won't start again without a boost. Terminals are clean, magnet on the flywheel has been cleaned with CLR and steel wool.

I really don't want to buy a flywheel puller and alternator if I don't have to. Which brings me to:


When I found the chafing that was blowing the PTO relay, I noticed what looks like a broken jumper wire going from the positive wire to the negative slot... I figured it was more weirdness from Captain Fuseless and taped it isolated. Is this supposed to be like this? Should I be reconnecting them? Does this have anything to do with my battery issues?

Help would be greatly appreciated.

the clutch is most likely pulling to many amps. that is also the issue with it shutting off and the reason about the relay and his wiring. check charging make sure it is and not over charging also might look up your clutch specs for the ohms and test it and make sure it is in those specs.

Luffydog said:

the clutch is most likely pulling to many amps. that is also the issue with it shutting off and the reason about the relay and his wiring. check charging make sure it is and not over charging also might look up your clutch specs for the ohms and test it and make sure it is in those specs.

Click to expand...

Clutch resistance checks fine. I apologize that my OP was unclear. The stop was intentional. I got off to move some stuff out of the way.

It sounds like there maybe is supposed to be a diode where that wire is open... would that cause charging issues if it's missing?

www(dot)mytractorforum(dot)com/14-craftsman-sears-forum/599274-dyt4000-blowing-20a-fuse-2.html - apparently can't post links yet.

whoever that first scientifically illiterate idiot moron !!!!!!! who showed equally electrically illiterate followers how he "fixed" his mower by polishing the magneto magnet & coil legs, he put back the human race 100 years and provided perfect proof that the Eugenicists might have possibly been right all along
Then all of the blind who followed the blind reposted the original fallacy so may times that fallacy has become fact.
Cleaning the surface of the magnet actually damages the magnet and cleaning the laminated ends of the pick up legs reduces their magnetic efficiency unless all traces of the rust are removed ( which they never are ) so like your mother told you when you put your hands down the front of your pants,,,,, leave it alone.

Now that Jumper looks like the remains of a diode which I will guess Captain Fuseless ( like that handle ) put in there to clean up the power supply to the clutch.
One might hazard a guess that he has fitted the wrong alternator and is trying to pump the AC feed for the lights through the DC circuits in the mower which will cause the fuse to blow.
So now we need to see the wiring to the stator. Briggs use colour coding of the wires & plugs so you can tell what is under the flywheel without having to pull it off ( the flywheel, sunshine, so get those hands out of your pants )
Thus take a shot of the wiring so we can see what is there.

On the subject of flywheels, you don't pull them off, your jerk them off ( hell this is going from bad to worse , Benny Hill would be proud )
SO what you do is take the coil off, if it will foul on the starter ring gear , back off the retaining bolt / nut ( cause you are playing Secret Squirrel & not revealing what engine is in there ) one to two turns, slip a pry bar under the flywheel, anywhere but under the magneto magnet.
Press down very hard on the bar to lift the flywheel and while doing this smack the end of the afore mentioned retaining device with the biggest hammer you have.
If you were being wossie, you might have to do it a second time. Another pair of hands actually helps.
The shock frees the flywheel from the taper after which it will just lift off after fully removing the fastener.
Don't loose the flywheel key.

Excellent. I have unlearned something that I didn't know two weeks ago .

I'll get the pictures in later today. The wiring diagram seems to indicate a diode there, and someone in another thread mentioned a diode similarly situated (red wire to black connector), so I think it was likely original. I'm wondering whether the diode burnt and took out the casing on the red wire...

Anyway, I really appreciate you taking the time to look into this.

Here are the best pictures I could get without tearing the whole thing apart... And in my defense that frankensteined 20 amp breaker looked smaller on Amazon...