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Re: (ET) PTO works, EGT150 won't go. No propulsion.

Hi,
The cards are behind the “firewall” and coils are behind the cover located below the steering wheel.

I’m working on similar issues with an E15 I recently acquired. 

I performed some initial checks from the Home Owners Manual.
- Wiring looks clean (I should have looked closer. More on that later)
- Card components look fine
- Key works
- PTO works
- FWD/REV relay works
- All the microswitches in the speed control are good.
- Voltage from the speed control start switch is getting to Card 1 pins 5 and 6 as they should depending if start was actuated in forward or reverse. However the L coil does not energize. I applied voltage externally and the coil did energize. 

Nick Skinner of this group continues to be a great help for me. Here are tips that he sent me.
  • Get a copy of the “Simplified Troubleshooting Guide”, goto https://www.myelec-traks.com/poppubs.html  and download a copy.
  • Verify that Card 1 Pad 4 isn’t putting out voltage when you enter speed 1. If it is, then there is a broken connection somewhere between Card 1 and the L contactor.
  • Washing it with isopropyl alcohol (normal drug store 70% is just fine) and an "acid brush" you would find in the plumbing department. This will stop any leakage currents, and will also help to prevent corrosive damage.
  • If not, make sure pad 6 on the Card 1 is getting 36V when the speed selector is in neutral. This is required to ‘reset’ the SCR. If it is getting voltage at neutral, I would suspect capacitor C2 (20uF @50V) (cylinder to the right of CR109), SCR 102 (square with 3 prongs to the right of R107), or a broken lead or trace on the board.
  • Nick stated that he found the card components (scrs and transistors) are pretty reliable. However he replaced all of the capacitors with new. Capacitors have to be functional for the SCRs to trigger.  He had a bad SCR for the PTO, which he replaced with an NOS component from Jim Coate of http://www.ElectricTractorStore.com. 
  • Check that the wiring on the relay is OK and that the terminals are OK. Other than that, just chase the wire route. I did not look close enough and found that a wire was disconnected. It got me the first speed forward and reverse again but I’m still working on the other speeds.

Good Luck!

Regards,

Dean A. Stuckmann
5432 County Road U
Newton, WI 53063



On Aug 4, 2021, at 9:24 PM, Chris Swasey <cswasey gmail com> wrote:

Howdy folks -

I am the new owner of an EGT-150 with a mid mount mowing deck and a snow thrower. I am so excited to be working on this machine!

I ended up with it, because I told a family member I would be exploring converting a john deere mower to run on electricity. He stumbled across this mower, and delivered it to me free of charge.

According to the former owner, it ran and ran well until it recently stopped charging.

I found one battery was at 2v, and have replaced it. 6 batteries are now reading 6.2-6.3 volts. I have not load tested.

Currently I can run the mower deck, but I can not get any propulsion. The wiring, contactors, relays, seem to be all factory. When I put the throttle into Forward, I hear a contactor click. When I pull it back to reverse, another click. Neither results in the tires spinning. 

So here are some questions:

  1. Where are the cards on this tractor?! I can't find a circuit board with capacitors on it. I feel stupid.
  2. How would I most easily verify that the motor is getting the volts it needs to kick on? I can't seem to read anything "back there" with my multi-meter, but I am hesitant to start ripping wiring apart until I've confirmed that the contactors are doing what they should be doing.
  3. I have ordered the electronic controller upgrade kit from Free Range Electric. Does anyone have a link to a good guide to putting that upgrade together? I am sure I can figure it out, after a fashion, but I'm a carpenter by trade, and I tend to take the long way around electrical issues.
Thank you!



--
Any reviewer who expresses rage and loathing for a novel is preposterous. He or she is like a person who has put on full armor and attacked a hot fudge sundae.

Kurt Vonnegut (1922-2007)
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