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Ok, so here's the skivvy.......I bought (TRADED for, rather) a WELL used STT61A-27KA Turf Tiger. I traded BRAND NEW hot AND cold power washing equipment ( commercial, 4300psi, 4.0gpm) and was ASSURED the Scag was good to go and ready to rock. I did the test run around his yard and it started, drove, and cut perfectly. So i load it on the trailer (2.5hrs from home i drove). I get it home, unload it and make a quick pass up my side yard hill and back down and thought "hmmm, i have enough daylight i could get a GOOD portion of the field done" (the MOST of my grass, about 2.75ac of my little over 5ac, the rest is steep wooded hillside). I get to the bottom of my steep driveway and the dang thing cut off in the middle of the road. Pulled arms back and outward, set brake, SHOULD have started but nope, deader than snot...... I pull the battery, which i JUST notice at that moment has a 4/19 sticker on it (brand new at that time a month ago) and put it on charge. Yep, it was a dead (brand new) battery. Think nothing more of it, except that maybe i left ignition on all the way home? and go to cut the field. I get about 1/3 of my field done and the dang thing dies AGAIN. Guess what?!?!? Dead battery....... I go ahead and just BUY a battery and core that brand new one in exchange and get another 1/3 of my field cut and it died again. I take the battery out and go charge it again and bring a voltmeter with me this time to try and figure out is it the regulator/rectifier or WHAT is going on that it's killing the battery so fast?!?!? Well, guess what? now, the dang key wont even turn and i king kong'd it a little and it DID turn but broke internally (not the key, the ignition, lol, oops?!?!?).

So, i get a new ignition switch in, and bought a new regulator/rectifier, and went ahead and bought a PTO knob replacement, and the relay in there as i got ALL that for less than $50 and it was a GREAT place to start.... I put the ignition switch in first, and then the regulator/rectifier. NOW, it starts fine (haven't actually checked charging or not yet, because.....) but as SOON as you engage PTO knob, blows main fuse.........I put two new inline waterproof fuse holders and fuses in, still same..... So, i put NEW PTO knob on, and relay, and a new fuse and try again. SAME THING!!! I talked to my local shop (also a family friend) and he's saying wire harness is burnt/faulty somewhere and/or electric PTO is kicking out too much voltage. I now have BOTH of those in my possession ($500+ dollars later......) but I wanted to see if anyone else here has had a similar issue with their 27hp Kawa and 61" turf tiger setup? I'm not sure even though it SAYS it's the same part number, that the regulator/rectifier is the right one. Just because it looks like it, and has same plug/pin connection, doesn't mean it was wired INTERNALLY the same to those pin designations, or am i just over thinking that? Thanks in advance for any help provided.

Check the charging first make sure it is. Then check the clutch ohms not sure which one is on your machine but should be between 2.3-2.8 somewhere in that range if below is or above is bad but just because it is between those numbers doesn’t make it all good. It still could be failing at times. It should be tested at cold before start up. If that test doesn’t seem to help with the numbers do a amp draw test for better numbers. If your mowing about a hour to 1.5 hrs and then it quits that’s about what time it would take to drain the battery if clutch is drawing to much amps or less time depending also have to add the fuel shut down solenoid in there as well. Keep us posted.

Cool story bro! now can you say it in English? (just kidding man, but you totally lost me). I'm pretty mechanically inclined and know very much how to use a DVM but knowing WHERE to test (which connectors), what to test (which pins should be "hot" or just ohmed), and what not on this Scag is totally foreign to me. I have looked at the wiring diagram in the manual but i think someone has changed some things in this wiring system. I KNOW for a FACT he defeated the seat safety switch but i've noticed some other wires that are supposed to be a certain color via the diagram but are NOT that color in reality on MY machine. I have the new wiring harness, i may just do that (unless i find it's over my skillset which it shouldn't be) and see where we are from THERE on electrical system because i feel like i'm chasing MULTIPLE demons in this electrical system while trying to just narrow down ONE.

Forgot to add, one of the main reasons for going ahead and making the purchase of the wire harness was when i replaced the ignition switch i saw some of the female connections of the harness plug were burnt/melted looking slightly. I forget if it was the PTO harness plug or that one but one "corner" of the plug was malformed slightly from heat/partial melting but still fit "snug" against the component otherwise. I am SO mad that this guy did me this way over this machine, when what i traded for it was brand new condition and perfectly operational. hard lessons learned..........

Unplug the clutch wires and check just the clutch itself for the ohms test. First check the ground cable on battery and on the motor as well as you could just have a bad ground. Then check charging. Then the ohms test with clutch unplugged put your volt meter leads the to wires from the clutch no power needed for the test.

Thank you sir, i will give it a go tomorrow. TOTALLY unrelated to THIS forum but made a post in the proper one but i want to pick YOUR brain while here in case something triggers a suggestion....... have a Craftsman PYT-9000, 26hp B&S Professional Series that the left (of 3) mandrel broke on last summer. Since the scag was down and the grass is getting STUPID tall i dropped the bucks on three new spindles to have SOMEthing to cut with til the Scag is right. I get them replaced no probs. Since mower sat since last summer, even though it JUST had had an oil change and new air filter put in 2 cuts before that, i checked all that, blew out air filter, greased all the zerks i could remember and could find, put a battery in it and tried it. First turn of key, just a "bump" and slight rotation. 2nd turn, same thing. 3rd turn it fired RIGHT up and ran STRONG but i'd only put 2cups or so of fuel in freshly drained and blown out gas tank and fuel line, in case it didn't start, or didn't run right so i didn't waste/taint fuel. Since it worked fine, i filled it about halfway, climb back on seat and NOTHING, i mean no dummy lights, no hour meter, no headlights when key is on and NOTHING when you turn to start it....... did the ignition switch burn up? I'm going to check ground on that as well to the frame but it got dark on me. Just baffled how it was there, and worked FINE and by putting GAS in it, it now is totally dead to the world..........LOL. I can't win for losing bro.........very frustrated at the moment.

If no power at all check the fuse. Then check oil. Then check make sure it’s not over filled if so make sure it doesn’t have gas in the oil. Sounds like might need the valves adjusted if you don’t find gas in the oil and battery is good then I would move to taking the plug out staring over a few times makes sure no fuel is I cyclinder to cause hard start then go to the valve adjustment if needed. Might have blown the fuse from the hard starting or holding the key for to long trying to start it. Check for power first battery fuse then the others as posted above.

If no power at all check the fuse. Then check oil. Then check make sure it’s not over filled if so make sure it doesn’t have gas in the oil. Sounds like might need the valves adjusted if you don’t find gas in the oil and battery is good then I would move to taking the plug out staring over a few times makes sure no fuel is I cyclinder to cause hard start then go to the valve adjustment if needed. Might have blown the fuse from the hard starting or holding the key for to long trying to start it. Check for power first battery fuse then the others as posted above. Check all wires as well make sure not touching to cause the sudden short.

Yeah, i'm in process of trying to find out if there IS a "main fuse" on this Craftsman. It's not in an obvious spot if so. I'll post any updates i come up with good or bad. Thanks for the advice

There is one, told you how to find it on your other thread.
If this mower has been sitting all winter it is advisable to pull the blower housing & check for mice nests.
They have a habbit of making midnight snacks on the wiring insulation.
In particular the power wire that goes to the fuel solenoid which usually runs across the top of the engine.

Thanks. And i'll go check what you said there. The way the air filter is on this unit, it would be VERY hard for a mouse to get into. The cover screws down tight to front top of motor and the filter itself is closed/sealed except for the paper "fins" which were perfectly in tact still under the prefilter (foam sleeve). I will delve deeper into it to be CERTAIN but it'd be really hard for that to be the case of mice in the "blower housing". Thanks for all the helpful suggestions. I have a new list to start from in morning to narrow it down.

Well therre has to be some where for the cooling air to exit the engine.
Unless that has a very fine screen on it there is space for mice, lizards or other critters to get in there.

Blower housing was pretty clean surprisingly (other than dust buildup on outer rim). Thanks for all your advice and help on the Craftsman, working on another theory on that.

I'm going to focus on the Scag in THIS forum going forward so the topic doesn't get muddied and end up not getting anywhere with it. The electric clutch for it comes today (said before i had it and harness in possession but it was the 3 spindles for Craftsman that came in other box the day harness came) and hopefully between it and the wire harness i'll have it back in action very soon. I'm just NOT confident in that boy's word, as it already was proven to be worthless when he said "there's no issues with the mower other than cosmetic"..... The fact that one PTO harness plug (or ignition, i forget which it was now) was partially melted tells me WAY too much amperage is traveling through that electrical system to get those wires that hot. It's a 20A system and he had 30A fuses in the holders which blow too, so..... Also, when i replaced the PTO knob, i thought they sent me the wrong one even though the part number matched. The one HE had in there had pins, literal round tiny pins, instead of the blade terminals like the new one. I noticed a short "jumper" harness adaptor that DID come from the normal spade connector and terminated into the PTO knob with the pin config..... so i don't know WHAT ALL this clown has gone in and done but he has stuff so dorked up i feel confident ONLY in replacing entire wire harness and electric clutch, and then seeing where we are from there. I know seat safety switches are a pain in the butt but honestly i don't need it to keep running if i get up anyway. It's 3 seconds to restart the machine.......

I just wanna mow my grass.........lol :confused2:

If you are talking about the pto switch that is the new upgraded version from scag part#463034. On the key switch the yellow wire is the burnt one your talking about there more likely your right about the over voltage or amp pull leading into a clutch issue

Ok, so the wire harness and electric PTO clutch for the TT came in today and i dove head first into the wire harness. Entire control box is rewired, seat is now on the harness again (he'd defeated it with jumper), left control arm hooked in. HOW IN THE WORLD am i supposed to get to whatever that next plug just after it goes under body from there and the right control arm interlock switch???? Is that a from underneath thing? And do i have/need to pull the deck to get to it? I'm working on the ground here and haven't used/needed a jack yet but wondering how i get to those? The rest, where it goes down and hooks to ground, fuel solenoid and across frame rail to go hook to starter/solenoid and regulator/rectifier and PTO clutch is easy peasey looking and straight forward. Just not sure how i'll get to the right stick interlock and whatever else that other plug goes to. Progress pic of control box after just wiring all that mess Tomorrow, i'll finish harness and delve into the PTO clutch swap. Would be NICE if i have this Scag back up and running to cut by weekend Here's to hoping! :thumbsup:
EDIT*** forgot to mention, i had bought and TRIED to put in, a new "Upgraded 10AMP PTO knob" but it will NOT fit in that opening all the way down to secure. It's the one with the normal blade config on the harness plug but i had to put the one with the jumper harness from the blade type back to the tiny pin type that was in it when i got it. The manual calls for the part number i ordered with blade type so i'm not sure how/where this pin type and harness jumper came from or if i should even be using it?
EDIT #2*** I just remembered seeing a plate cover, bolted on back and lower portion under back "hood" to pto and drive gears. Is that a PTO shaft? and what could/would you hook to that to use as an implement on this thing?

That pto switch is the new type scag came out with that replaces the type switch that supposed to handle heat vibrations and other stuff better. Should be able to do all the harness from above.

Hmm, i'll take pics of where it goes down into a hole from left side of seat to feed whatever that next plug is in line, and the right interlock switch. I don't see HOW that would accessible from above.... not saying you're wrong brother i just haven't seen a way yet to get to it from above.

On the left side should be parking brake

Didn't even think about the P brake interlock. Still appears it goes under the frame/body first.... Like i said i'll take pics in morning in some daylight. Had to rush out and tarp EVERYTHING cause we got rain that blew up from nowhere.....

Ok, so i can SEE, and can kind of touch (with my finger tips), the parking brake connector, and i can SEE and partially touch (with finger tips) the right side control arm interlock connector.......but that is going to be a MARTYR FLOGGER to route..... On each side, where i reached up (indeed it's from underneath like i was asking), it goes into the square stock of frame under the seat and has a "solid panel" (except the hole it comes through) just a few inches beyond them (on either side)........ EVERYTHING else, is now connected/wired up on the new harness, just those two plugs to somehow get to. Included the pics (as promised) of where it goes down into the frame like i was talking about.........

EDIT*** I forgot to mention, i'll have to go to the shop that looked up the regulator/rectifier for me to see if i can't get the short ENGINE harness that goes from the regulator/rectifier, down to the main wire harness. THAT plug, that connects on the main HARNESS side, but also to the rectifier plug on other end of it , has/had a HORRIBLY burnt female socket and i'm gonna look tomorrow but i would almost BET, it's the light blue, or yellow wire position (one of which, i don't remember, sends the voltage back to charge the battery). If you remember from my FIRST posts about killing battery and not charging? I wonder if THAT plug has been the problem the WHOLE time and i replaced the rectifier AND harness and HOPE i don't still have issue. That short engine harness i'm speaking of, looks like it grounds to the engine on that side also (right side, or else he just did that) and then the temp sending unit wire/plug goes snaked through engine over to it's position on left side from off that short harness too. temp guage hasn't been working since i got it either so i'm going to have to track that short harness down too i think.....

Yours looks a lot older and is routed differently than I thought. Most of them go thur close to the handles Thur a hole unless the pic is throwing me off but really hard to tell in the pics

That's a hole, just behind the left stick bracket with the Forward/Reverse sticker, and just to left of seat. BOTH plugs (p brake and right stick) have to go in that hole first then get plugged in respectively to their positions. In between the left and right side is square stock steel (the frame) it goes through to the right side. It's going to be tricky. There's probably a way, if i had some LONNNNG needle nose pliers, to reach from underneath to pull the plug tab and reach from above with needle nose to separate the plug. I have a flexible steel fish tape reel, and also the fiberglass fish rods. Thinking about feeding one through once i get old one out and TRYING to fish it through to right side with that.

HA!!! GOT you, SUCKA!!! Wire harness is done. I lost skin in SEVERAL places and appear to have been bit by a pretty large spider up in that frame (fang marks about 3/8 inch apart) which is on FIRE and starting to itch.....but those two VERY inaccessible plugs? I put some sasquatch ingenuity on that and got it DONE! Will take on the electric PTO clutch in the cool of the morning then the Scag is about 99% in perfect working order with one more short harness adaptor to put on when it gets here. WOOHOOOOOOO!!!!! can't wait to have this beast operational again Waiting on part# 26030-2306 that goes from the rectifier/regulator, down to the harness plug and also has fan lead, temp sending unit lead and an engine ground (or two) and some other white plug i forget what i saw it going to. That plug where it joins the main harness i just replaced, has two female sockets i described in previous post that are melted/shorted. They WERE the light blue wire for temp sending unit, hence temp gauge not working since i got it from him and the yellow wire, hence not charging the battery and killing it within an hour or so. this thing is ALMOST back to beast mode

Money hole greedy pig cost so far (remember dude told me "there's no issues with the mower" but he'd put brand new battery in to "mask" the electrical issue for my first hour.....)
1.Ignition switch, which burnt up on 2nd use after getting it from the over amperage
2.PTO knob, which was partially melted and it's harness plug mate as well, upgraded to 10A version
3.Relay in control box when i was trying to figure out first what electrical issue was present
4.Both inline fuses and fuse holders (which is moot point now with new ones on new harness)
5.Regulator/rectifier
6.Battery
7.Main Wire harness
8.rectifier/temp sending unit/fan harness jumper
9.electric PTO clutch

Grand total thus far in parts $702.43, and add the $3000 i gave for it (in equipment trade and my stuff was actually about 3300) and we're now at 3702.43 but hopefully this thing will last my lifetime now that it will get maintained and NOT used commercially.

i am the martyr floggin' MAAaaan!!! :biggrin::biggrin: (now watch it fall apart in a Homer Simpson moment.... D'oh!!! :biggrin: ). I cannot believe that PTO Clutch job runs over 700 locally. That was ENTIRELY too easy, seriously! The craftsman's going to be more difficult being vertical shaft than that Scag was I want to try it SOOOOO badly right now but i am NOT even putting juice back to the system til i replace that 26030-2306 jumper harness. I do NOT want to fry anything again. Just a few more days.......