stephanie88 0 #1 Posted September 7, 2020 my hydro 520 dies when blades engaged. it starts fine and runs fine if not mowing. When mowing, I can mow for about 10 minutes before engine starts to sputter and eventually stalls. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SylvanLakeWH 23,806 #2 Posted September 7, 2020 Mine are manual, but some of the hydro guys will no doubt be along with trouble shooting ideas... To clarify, it dies after about ten minutes of mowing with blades engaged? Correct? Any noise or binding up from the pulleys? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
adsm08 1,429 #3 Posted September 7, 2020 Not too familiar with the 520 series, but run it until it dies and then check the basics. Will it start again right away? Does it have fuel in the filter? If you crank it do you get a spark? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sqrlgtr 236 #4 Posted September 7, 2020 54 minutes ago, stephanie88 said: my hydro 520 dies when blades engaged. it starts fine and runs fine if not mowing. When mowing, I can mow for about 10 minutes before engine starts to sputter and eventually stalls. Sometimes if you have a bad safety switch that will cause your situation.Case in point if I unhook seat safety switch on my c-160 it will die as soon as I engage pto...I had the seat switch bypassed with a piece of wire and it had fell out took a minute or two to figure out what had happened....Hard to leave them seat switches hooked up in hill billy country.Im usually all over them seat's lol... 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lee1977 6,176 #5 Posted September 7, 2020 (edited) There are two safety switches for the PTO. They also. have plastic barrier plate between the switches and below the bottom switch. They are attached to a removable metal plate. My guess is remove the switches and dry everthing out and retry it. I replaced both switches and scraped the rust from the plastic plates. My seat switch still worked but the plastic button was so worn that leaning on the seat would cause the engine to stop. I replaced it also. Edited September 7, 2020 by Lee1977 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lynnmor 6,706 #6 Posted September 7, 2020 If it needs to cool down before it will restart, the ignition system may be failing. We need more information to try to separate ignition problems, safety switch problems and fuel delivery problems. The one hint we have is that it may be heat related due to the engine working harder driving the mower. I am hearing more ignition module issues lately and they can fail when hot, and they are now 23 to 32 years old. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pullstart 58,794 #7 Posted September 7, 2020 I don’t know how big Pine Bush is, but I believe @fast88pu Kyle lives there. Maybe he has know-how on the 520’s ignition system? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tractorhead 8,526 #8 Posted September 7, 2020 Check if it will run with loosen Fueltank cap, it sounds to me the fueltank cap breather is clogged. if it run‘s under load only for 10 minutes, that‘s my first thing i would check. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
stephanie88 0 #9 Posted September 7, 2020 1 hour ago, lynnmor said: If it needs to cool down before it will restart, the ignition system may be failing. We need more information to try to separate ignition problems, safety switch problems and fuel delivery problems. The one hint we have is that it may be heat related due to the engine working harder driving the mower. I am hearing more ignition module issues lately and they can fail when hot, and they are now 23 to 32 years old. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
stephanie88 0 #10 Posted September 7, 2020 no need to cool down, restarts right away Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
stephanie88 0 #11 Posted September 7, 2020 3 hours ago, SylvanLakeWH said: Mine are manual, but some of the hydro guys will no doubt be along with trouble shooting ideas... To clarify, it dies after about ten minutes of mowing with blades engaged? Correct? Any noise or binding up from the pulleys? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
stephanie88 0 #12 Posted September 7, 2020 yes mows for 10-15 minutes then slowly dies..no noises or binding from pulleys...sounds normal Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sam Pasch 449 #13 Posted September 7, 2020 My guess would be the pto switch. Does it die in 10-15 minutes if the deck is not engaged? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fast88pu 3,313 #14 Posted September 8, 2020 17 hours ago, pullstart said: I don’t know how big Pine Bush is, but I believe @fast88pu Kyle lives there. Maybe he has know-how on the 520’s ignition system? I am in pine bush 12566. You can pm me Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lynnmor 6,706 #15 Posted September 8, 2020 I think it is time to check the 9 pin connector, then the ignition switch and fuse block. All three are subject to heating if the contacts are compromised. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites