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Re: (ET) crap - started mowing, and lost forward speeds




Walt,
It should be the forward/reverse relay I think (since when it has the problem, it's in all forward speeds, and sometimes also gets funky in reverse). It looks like there's a weak connection there - I'm not sure if a wire was put on wrong, I'll take a picture later (I have the service manual so I suppose I could go through that part of the schematics myself to see where certain wires are supposed to go, but there's a non-original wire on there without a number). On the blades - perhaps I should put the grass guides back on? I removed those metal hoops that go around the blades to guide grass out the back, which should presumably keep the grass from building up on the right blade. Perhaps that would help? When I took the Gator Blades off and put the original blades back on, that right one still cut poorly. WIthout those guides, does the right blade not cut well (with original blades) due to all of the grass from the other blades being thrown at it? The right motor definitely works, as far as spinning. It just doesn't seem to cut well. I was just assuming it might be due to that blade spinning slower.

Mike

--

--------------------------------------------------------------
Michael S. Briggs
UNH Physics Department
(603) 862-2828
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On Mon, 24 Jul 2006, Konstanty, Walter (GE Indust, ConsInd) wrote:

One relay is for Reverse/Forward and the other for field weakening.
You'll should be able to see each work.  Field weakening comes on after 
3rd speed forward.
Check the 2 wires that come from the coil and trace them back to the 
circuit board - those are also trouble spots
with bad connections.  Crimp/fix as required.
Check relay fingers - contacts welded/corroded....

Gator blade issue: mower motors turn same direction so all grass may head for right motor so it "sees" higher loading, especially if you have RHS discharge. Make sure motor is not bound up or hot bearings. Spin blades by hand to check (power off). Brushes not cause. Check voltage at each motor if possible when running but don't get close to blades. If possible, measure amps with a clamp-on ammeter. Remember, it's not a brush hog.

...Walt


-----Original Message-----
From: elec-trak-bounces cosmos phy tufts edu
[mailto:elec-trak-bounces cosmos phy tufts edu]On Behalf Of Michael S
Briggs
Sent: Monday, July 24, 2006 4:03 PM
To: elec-trak cosmos phy tufts edu
Subject: Re: (ET) crap - started mowing, and lost forward speeds



Thanks for the tips from everyone (haven't had a chance to read all of
them yet, since the classes I'm teaching had 5 hours of lecture today -
bleah). A quick update though:
        I found *where* the problem is, and was able to finish mowing.
There's apparently a loose connection somewhere either on the panel that
card 1 is on, or on one of the wires that connects to it. When I took out
the screws and tilted that panel out to start debugging, with the tractor
in neutral (seat switch bypassed), as soon as I pushed the speed switch
forward, the motor started spinning, instead of the weird behavior I was
getting. I closed the panel up, hopped back on, and tried driving - same
weird behavior again. I found that wiggling that panel around I could get
it into a position where it worked fine. So, apparently some wire
connecting to the panel has a flaky connection, that is apparently
creating a short (I think) at times.
        I was able to finish mowing, but definitely don't want to leave it
like this, so I'll need to find the flaky connection.
        I can take a picture tonight of where I *think* it is, but want to
find out if it seems reasonable. There's two relays over on what would be
the passenger's side of that panel, just behind the speed switch. What do
those relays control? I'm guessing one is the forward/reverse switch?
        One of the wires connecting to one of those relays had a wire
spliced in, that looks like a bad connection waiting to happen (and
wiggling that wire around, it seems like it was sometimes braking the
connection there, using my multimeter to measure the resistance on
opposite ends of that connection). So, I'm guessing that's the source of
the problem.

        Also, I was not happy with how well the Gator Blades worked. But,
I'll address that in another email in a minute....

Thanks,
Mike