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I have a 2 year old Cub Cadet RZTL42 mower. I was using it yesterday and the blades shut off and would not turn back on. I bypassed the seat switch to make sure that wasn't the problem but it they still wont turn on. I pulled the switch and tested it with a multi-meter and it tested fine. I checked for power at the PTO and I have 12 volts on BOTH pins. What does this mean? I believe I should have 12 volts and ground correct?

Correct, check air gap per manual, 3 places at PTO clutch. For SAFETY remove battery ground cable from post & away from battery. Air gap should be .012 to .015 by adjusting nuts at PTO clutch. See page 4 figure 5.6 in 2004-2005 RZT Service Manual, without removing clutch.

Unplug the connector from clutch. With all the switches in the correct positions for the PTO to operate you should have 12v on one pin and continuity to ground on the other. If you have lost the ground and the clutch is plugged in you will get 12v on both pins

On a lot of clutches the PTO switch is on the ground side of the clutch not on the power side
It confuses a lot of people who find the concept of ground switching unreal

In this case if Cub is still the same wiring setup as they did in 2009 the PTO switch is on the Positive side.

bertsmobile1 said:

On a lot of clutches the PTO switch is on the ground side of the clutch not on the power side
It confuses a lot of people who find the concept of ground switching unreal

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If that is confusing wait until they run across a positive ground system.

Back in the day (early '80s) i worked on a disaster of a machine that had time shared wiring. One wire can run 4 devices. Every 250ms voltage changes. Had a bunch of diode boards to keep things straight. Absolute POS to troubleshoot.

StarTech said:

If that is confusing wait until they run across a positive ground system.

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You mean like British cars & motorcycles from 1945 through to 1980 ?