Quote:
Originally Posted by Fastbuck
Finished last years mowing season with a hard to start and periodically stalling 1872. I took it to a local repair shop simply because I have better things to do than this. They told me the engine was "toast" and promptly tried to sell me a different brand zero turn for $8000 and up. I asked them what they meant by "toast" and they said it didn't have any compression. Now I have 37 years under my belt as a jet engine mechanic, jet engine tester, technical writer and engineering specialist. I told him the engine ran fine when it did start and had plenty of power so I know it has compression. He said he had taken the heads off and the valves were burnt. He said he took photos of the valves (which he never showed me) before putting the heads back on and he was surprised that it started and moved out of the shop on it's own power. I brought the tractor back home and started my own investigation. First off I checked the compression. With the engine cold I have 75# and 85#. The manual for the M18S says 90# but that was 24 years ago, it should be enough to start. It was easy to see that none of the cooling panels have been removed and it was also obvious the heads have never been off. So much for that thief at the shop. I've cleaned the engine, had a lot of oil on it. Found the "Umbrella valve" in the breather was broken off. Put a new breather with the metal valve on it and sealed the breather back up. Also had to repair the breather tube since it had a leak in it. The starting and stalling problem is obviously electrical in nature. I found the connector on the ignition switch badly corroded. I cleaned that all up and picked up another switch but the old one tests out good. Cranked it over and it started right up. Let it run for a couple minutes and shut it down. Tried to start it again and no spark to the test plug. I have an electrical diagram for the engine but not for the tractor itself. Can anyone help me out with that? I have something going to ground somewhere but it's eluded me so far. I found the white wire which comes out of the ignition coil/pickup and disconnected it at the connector on the left rear of the engine. Actually took the wire out of the connector. The white wire is for grounding the ignition when you shut it off. I got that much out of the engine drawings. With that wire out of the system the engine started right up. When I turned the key to shut the engine down it just kept running. So I grounded the white wire to the block and it shut down. So it's obvious to me that my problem is somewhere past that connector. But I need an electrical drawing for the 1872 to know where all to look. This thing has so many "safety" switches on it that I'm not sure which one might be causing the problem or where they are all located. Sorry for writing a book. I'm new to the list. This sort of problem has probably been beaten to death but I can't find it with a search. Can anyone send me the electrical diagram for the 1872 ???
Thanks
Buck
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Buck
I'm glad you got it figured out. I would post your wiring diagram in it's own post and I'm sure Roland will have one for you in no time.
Roland is great at the wiring diagrams and getting them to the people that need them. Make sure you have a email address in your profile and he'll send it to you. Thanks Roland!