eibbed 63 #1 Posted February 25, 2009 Gentlemen, My 308-8 has a manual pto and when I push the lever forward to partially engage the pto, the blades do turn. However when I push it all the way forward to fully engage the clutch, the engine stops immediately. Whats up with that? Thanks in advance, Dave Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nylyon-(Admin) 7,122 #2 Posted February 25, 2009 If you're sitting on the seat then it sounds like the seat switch may be bad. I'm not sure if just disconnecting the seat switch or if you will need to jump the 2 wires together on that machine, but you can try to disconnect the wires first, then jump the 2 together to see if that fixes the problem. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WHC-125 4 #3 Posted February 25, 2009 You would need to put the two wires together for a constant flow of energy because when you seat on the seat the switch presses down on a piece of metal in it that is on a wire and make a constant flow so their isnt a break which causes the machine to shut off Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bk-scouter 93 #4 Posted February 25, 2009 Are you in reverse gear?? I don't know if your 308-8 is too old for the reverse-gear safety feature, but my '99 314-8 will do the same thing if I try to engage the PTO while in reverse. I do it all the time, I keep forgetting to reach under the seat to turn the override key on... or not start out in reverse -BK Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Red Horse 32 #5 Posted February 26, 2009 Dave, Check the PTO switch down by the bottom of the gear shift lever. Check for the terminal connectors being connected and not having vibrated off. Might be the problem. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
eibbed 63 #6 Posted February 26, 2009 Gentlemen, It was a beautiful day today, so I went outside to apply your suggestions. However, I couldn't get the engine started. It sounds like the starter is sticking. I do have another starter that I can try, but it is going to have to warm up again before I replace it. I'll let you know how it goes. Thanks to all of you, Dave Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
eibbed 63 #7 Posted April 1, 2009 Update, Good news! After I put a better battery on the mower and hooked the wires up to my seat safety switch it started right up and my PTO problems vanished. I was able to sell the mower with everything functioning as it should. Thanks again to all of you, Dave Share this post Link to post Share on other sites