Mower runs fine, dies or bogs down when PTO is engaged

I have a 66 inch carbureted Kawasaki 2011 model doing the same thing right now, what happens is it loses a cylinder. All belts,pulleys,blades,carb,fuel pump,vavle lash,spark are great. All safety switches are ok and the fuel is fresh and clean no water. Check your fuel for water first, If water is in fuel it will only lose power when under load. If fuel is good then I am starting think maybe the charging system is at fault, It take a lot of current to keep the PTO clutch engaged , my thinking is it may be taking away from the ignition system spark. This will be my next test today.
 
supertech said:
I have a 66 inch carbureted Kawasaki 2011 model doing the same thing right now, what happens is it loses a cylinder. All belts,pulleys,blades,carb,fuel pump,vavle lash,spark are great. All safety switches are ok and the fuel is fresh and clean no water. Check your fuel for water first, If water is in fuel it will only lose power when under load. If fuel is good then I am starting think maybe the charging system is at fault, It take a lot of current to keep the PTO clutch engaged , my thinking is it may be taking away from the ignition system spark. This will be my next test today.
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No.
Spark & generator are totally separate.
However the magic pudding does no exist so it takes power ( from engine ) to make power ( electricity for PTO )
 
Thanks, I’ll go check the suggestions you made and see if that changes anything with the mower. I appreciate the help. I
 
I had this same problem with my Lazer Z and it ended up being the engine speed. For some reason the top no load speed had drifted down to around 3100 rpm and should have been 3650. If engaging at half throttle as suggested on the placard next to the PTO switch, the mower would bog down and die. Once the top no load rpm was properly adjusted and the cables put back in their place, it raised the half throttle rpm and now the PTO can engage with sufficient power to not die. I did also replace my PTO Clutch due to a bad bearing but I simply had the typical whining/droning noise when the PTO was not engaged. It is usually the bottom bearing that fails and can only be noticed when the PTO is not engaged. If you have a complete failure of the clutch it can also lock the engine up or demolish the clutch.
 
If you have a twin cylinder engine make sure it is firing on both. Using a well insulated screwdriver ground each plug in turn, if nothing happens on one you have found your problem. If the engine quits the other one is at fault
 
Yeah, just unplug one plug wire, and try to start. Then try it on the other plug wire, one plugged in, the other plugged.

Also, take off the belts and try things...

Probably find it is just a bad switch, or one that isn't being engaged....
 
Had this issue on my mower. Junk got past filter and had clogged up one jet inside carb. Would only show when under a load with blades being engaged.
 
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