Ever wanted to set your Cub on fire?

[BassBlaster]

Originally Posted by rwairforce

Yes it can get frustrating and I totally understand. I've had cars act the same way, they seem to fail only when I needed them and out came the tools again. It can be something simple but that doesn't help when you've already had a terrible day for a host of reasons and then you flop down on your Cub and nothing!
This is one fantastic reason that it's good to have more than one, especially when they're old. I have 8 Cubs with 4 ready to mow. This eliminates most concerns related to mowing and having a machine ready to jump on while buying me time to fix the one that won't work.
All 4 of my ready to mow Cubs cost less than one brand new one today so I feel pretty good about them.
Good luck and check those wires. I've even added a second ground wire just because of all the time I've heard people talk about the ground causing problems.

I have 2. The other has blown head gaskets. I pulled the motor on it to get started on fixing it up and this one went down a few days later. The plan was to have a spare at the ready but it hasn't worked out just yet.

[J-Mech]

Nope. Never wanted to set any of mine on fire either. It's a lawn mower..... never seen an electrical problem on one I couldn't figure out in ten minutes.

If your that frustrated and your having that much trouble, maybe it's time to take it to a shop.

[Sam Mac]

[bocephus1991]

I've never wanted any of mine on fire either. They can be frustrating yes, but I find half the fun is working on them. At least mine. Most of everyone's Cubs on here are older. They require maintenance and repair. If you wanted a lawn tractor that's gonna be trouble free, least for awhile buy a new one. Just take your time, listen to the advice that your given and you can fix it. That's my opinion, but it enjoy working on things.

[ol'George]

The Horror stories I hear about new ones, no thank you!! I'll take an old Cub or John Deere any day.
If you take care of the things that can, and will go wrong before they do, they are pretty much trouble free.
Don't sweat the small stuff, life is way too short!

[Mike McKown]

Not letting the tractor sit out in the rain goes a long way toward keeping them running trouble free.

[BassBlaster]

Originally Posted by J-Mech

Nope. Never wanted to set any of mine on fire either. It's a lawn mower..... never seen an electrical problem on one I couldn't figure out in ten minutes.

If your that frustrated and your having that much trouble, maybe it's time to take it to a shop.

But your a small engine mechanic. Im an equipment operator. I can typically figure out how to operate about any piece of equipment in about 10 minutes.

Originally Posted by bocephus1991

I've never wanted any of mine on fire either. They can be frustrating yes, but I find half the fun is working on them. At least mine. Most of everyone's Cubs on here are older. They require maintenance and repair. If you wanted a lawn tractor that's gonna be trouble free, least for awhile buy a new one. Just take your time, listen to the advice that your given and you can fix it. That's my opinion, but it enjoy working on things.

I enjoy tinkering and working on things as well but not like this. This is just ridiculous. Working on them isn't fun when I have to do it every time I need to use it and now my lawn looks like a hay field. Oh and I asked several months ago about buying a new machine. My thread was laughed at and I was told to buy an old machine. I did and Ive done everything that Ive been told to do and Im still having problems. The only thing that hasn't been done to this tractor is replacing the wire harness and that's because I havnt found anyone making them yet.

Originally Posted by Mike McKown

Not letting the tractor sit out in the rain goes a long way toward keeping them running trouble free.

None of my equipment sits in the rain. Everything I own with the exception of my truck is kept in my garage always.






So, shes running again. I don't know where the problem was for sure because all I did was unplug about every connector I could find, cleaned everything up and plugged them back in. It fired after messing with the ignition switch plug which I had trouble with before ad thought I had fixed. On a positive side, Lew sent me a harness for my lights awhile back and after hooking everything up, the lights still didn't work. I assumed I had bad bulbs but hadn't dug back into yet. Today while gong through the wiring, I realized the wire to the lights was not plugged into the ignition switch connector. Now the tractor is running again and the lights work! Thanks for the assistance guys and sorry for my frustration last night. Ive found when I get frustrated, its best to take a break and go back to it later. Last night I closed the garage and came in and had a cold beer. Went back out this morning and it was running in about 20 minutes!

[ol'George]

Hang in there, We will make a mechanic out of you yet!
Glad you got it fixed!
Life is what you make it.
Nothing like the satisfaction of enjoying the fruits of your labor!

[BassBlaster]

Yeah, as frustrating as it is every time I have to work on it, there is a since of accomplishment when she is going again. I guess that's good for something huh?

[Mike McKown]

Originally Posted by BassBlaster

None of my equipment sits in the rain. Everything I own with the exception of my truck is kept in my garage always.

So, shes running again. I don't know where the problem was for sure because all I did was unplug about every connector I could find, cleaned everything up and plugged them back in. It fired after messing with the ignition switch plug which I had trouble with before ad thought I had fixed. On a positive side, Lew sent me a harness for my lights awhile back and after hooking everything up, the lights still didn't work. I assumed I had bad bulbs but hadn't dug back into yet. Today while gong through the wiring, I realized the wire to the lights was not plugged into the ignition switch connector. Now the tractor is running again and the lights work!

My comment about letting equipment sit out in the weather wasn't directed at you but the symptoms you report here sound just like many that have sat out in the weather.

At your leisure, I'd go back and re-visit that ignition switch/connector 'cause I think you're going to be back in there again. Maybe not at your convenience.

About half the Cyclops tractors I've bought, they have some kind of electrical problem but I've found that once they are truly FIXED, and the tractor not exposed to the elements, they will continue to give trouble free service for a long time.

If you get in a pinch, it doesn't take much to hot wire one to get your grass cut. Not that I'm recommending you do that. Oldies and goodies are the way to go in the long run.