Cub Cadet 782 Woes.
 

This Cub Cadet 782 that had sat for 15-18 yrs, was brought back to life. Everything was going well. I was cutting like a champ my 1.75 acre lot. I put the machine in the shed when I was done, and everything was great. Fast forward 2 days, and the machine started to leak from the bowl of the carb. Great thing was that I had a freshly rebuilt carb, that I had in the cabinet.

Installed it, and now I have no fire. I was thinking that perhaps there was an adjustment not right, but I am at a loss.

I am going to check spark first and foremost.

Any tricks to check the carb? I was thinking that it may have a leak somewhere?

Elaborate or better describe what you mean.

:bigthink:

Here is what I did. I loosened the intake manifold and lifted it, to remove the carburator. Once I did that, and installed the other one, I saw an arch. Upon further investigation, there was a wire under the bowl of the carburator that was rubbed through. So, I used friction tape and taped it up. There is three wires with a connection near the firewall or dash on top of the engine. I re-installed the carburator and put everything back together, and I have no spark. I have a inline spark detection tool, and there is no light.

Could I have shorted out the condensor? Should I start there or order a coil as well. A Small arch wouldn't do anything else, would it? I checked both dash fuses, they look fine.

Let me know your thoughts.

Looks like this wire needs to be replaced with a new one.

I thought that I have it protected well. It was not cut through, just rubbed the insulation to the wire.

Could that short out the condenser?

You didn't say that prior.

Do you have a DVM or VOM meter ??

:bigthink:

I am going to get one. I hope I can figure out how to use it.

What should I do to check it?

Sounds like a wire(s) is grounding out.

Any ideas where to start? Is it possible that the arc could have burned the condenser or coil?

To answer your question, no you didn't hurt the condenser.
follow the wiring diagram and check the wire you fried and determine where you loose the connection/ power.
Check the fuse & holder again. Don't guess,instead test
And you need not loosen the manifold to change carbs
Your original carb is prolly fine except it has something under the needle/ seat or check the float, it is a much better carb than a new off shore carb.
Don't panic and shotgun parts at it.

Both carbs are original good carbs. The bowl had a leak that was really bad. Its the carb with the diaphragm and the brass float. Kohler said they are the older Walbro carbs. The issue with pulling the carb was that I couldn’t get a wrench on the one bolt, so I loosened the manifold and rotated it to get the wrench under it.

For the life of me, i am not sure what i could have done to cause this.

I doubt an momentary arc will destroy anything but fuses.. you did say that you looked at your fuses and it looked ok. But first, what did you do to check spark? Did you pull the plugs and hold to ground while cranking?

As for checking if you have spark, I believe you need to seated....at or least enough weight in seat to trigger the normally open switch. Otherwise no spark. Seems to show it that way in wiring diagram. Edit: if PTO is on, yes you need to be seated. Otherwise, tractor will run if unseated and PTO is off. I was looking at a confusing diagram other than from this site.

This assumes your tractor is properly wired as per wiring diagrams. There are two different wiring diagrams base serial numbers

I used this guy for checking for spark. Did so in a dark garage.

Nothing.

Here is where this wire is shaved down. This looks to be a stater sensor of the flywheel. I think we should try to re-wire this plug.

This is the wiring that goes into the voltage regulator.

As I stated prior, that wire needs to be replaced.

:IH Trusted Hand:

It is going to be difficult to replace. Can you tell me if there is a trick to get it out of the plug end?

I cannot find what the wire does that comes out of that regulator. Tried to find a diagram, but cannot find it.

The FIRST thing we need to know, is the Chassis Serial Number of your 782 to get the right diagram.

Cub Cadet 782 Serial# 2050594U689547

Kohler KT17 Series 1 - Serial# 11017069

I have searched Kohlers website as well. Would love to simply find the wiring harness and replace it..... Then, I know it's right. Going to be difficult to replace that wire.

Your 782 is an early one, built by IH. Now we know which diagram to use.

You can go to the Technical Library Section, and on Page #5, look under WF tractors for diagram 782 w/ serial number < 719,999 and download for yourself.

So it appears that the frayed wire is a wire that runs to the stator which would keep the battery charged.

I am curious if the seat switch could have failed. Odd, that the issues with the gas running out of the carburator would be linked to the frayed line, and that is NOT the issue.

Okay, I think I am going to look hard at the seat switch, and see if that isn't the cause. makes sense that it cuts spark to the engine.

Was your ignition on (key) when you was working on the carburetor and spotted the arc on that wire?

No it was not on.

So, I decided to connect the two wires of the seat switch, to rule that out. I did this, but there is still no spark.

I know I am not that handy, so I really do appreciate the suggestions.

As I was doing the visual inspections, I see that the capacitor looks to have a slight tear in it.

As I was saying before, I removed the intake manifold to get to the carb bolts, and perhaps when I did that I messed up the capacitor. Otherwise, not sure what else besides the arc could have caused my no spark situation.

See photo.

Do you have power on the + side of the ignition coil with the ignition in the start and run positions?
if not, you need to follow the wiring diagram to find out where you loose it.
Guessing is not a good way to troubleshoot a problem. A simple 12 volt bulb/socket with 2 wires attached makes a good tester if you don't have a meter.:beerchug:

Some call it a test light, and it's objectively easier to use than a meter if you're just tracing power/ground. :beerchug: