Lawn tractor safety

[Van Chocstraw]

I needed to bypass the bullshit safety seat safety switch the other day to I could see if my snowblower auger was operating correctly having sheared a pin on one side. If I remove the switch and tape the button down it is bypassed and runs when I get off BUT if I unplug it and short the wires it does not. The wiring diagram only shows a simple single pole switch though there are two wires going to one side. So what's the difference between holding the button down and shorting the plug?

[DerbyDad03]

[Van Chocstraw]

What do you mean? I did both ways, remove the switch by unplugging it and removing it with it still plugged in and pressing the button like sitting on the seat. With it still plugged in, pressing the button makes it run but unplugging it and shorting the wires or not shorting them it won't run.

[Sharp Dressed Man]

You can't fool the iButtSniffer build into the seat cushion...

[Doug Miller]

I'm guessing that you're testing to see if it will run by standing beside it and twisting the key. Right?

[DerbyDad03]

re: "What do you mean?"

My response was based solely on what you said in your OP - you removed the switch and taped the button down. Based on that, my answer made sense. If a normally closed switch that opens when the button is depressed is removed and the wires are not shorted, the circuit would be open all the time and the button would make no difference.

If you've tried all sorts or different combinations, including having the switch physically separated from the button, then I can't offer any other suggestions without seeing how it's set up. I don't remember how I disconnected mine a few years ago, but I can check tonight.

[Van Chocstraw]

I just want it to stay running when I get off so I can observe the snowblower operating which I can do with the seat button taped down just hanging out from under the seat.

[Dimitrios Paskoudniakis]

Mine can be kept running by putting the transmission in neutral and setting on the brake, with the mower blades off. I can then get off the seat and the motor stays on. Don't they all do this?

[dpb]

On Jan 20, 6:29=A0pm, "Dimitrios Paskoudniakis" wrote: ...

No, some (as apparently OP's) the seat switch serves a deadman function...

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[dpb]

Actually, some are more sophisticated than that, too -- I have a JD tractor that will allow it to start and run w/o being on the seat but once started while sitting will kill it when get up no matter what. _REAL_ pita w/ the orchard sprayer as one example--to use the wand off the ground if switching from boom requires restarting the stinkin' tractor if get off. (Their too clever by far scheme has, of course, been bypassed for the sake of practicality rendering what benefits it could have had null and void...)

[hallerb]

You know that switch SAVES LIVES, inconvenient as it is.

have a friend whos tractor caused hill to collapse the tractor turned over on top of him, he nearly died and it caused him permanent damage.

if it werent ffor the switch he would of died for sure.

bypassing safety systems does tend to thin the herd:(

[Doug Miller]

I understand that. I'm asking you what you're doing in your testing, when you determine that it's not working.

[DerbyDad03]

Wow! That setup sounds really dangerous.

Imagine a situation where you are mowing along and you hit your head on a branch. On the way to being knocked off the machine your flailing limbs knock the gearshift into neutral, engage the brake, disengage the blades and flip up the hood exposing the hot engine and spinning belts.

Now, while you are laying on the ground behind the running machine moaning about your head, anyone could stumble into the unguarded machine and either burn themselves or get their tie caught in the belt. This in turn could cause them to fall onto the seat, while *their* flailing limbs knock the gearshift into reverse, disengage the brake and engage the blades. You're a dead man in that situation.

I can't believe they let that thing out in public.

[HeyBub]

There have been cases where a car reacted adversely to a case of beer in the front seat without it being strapped in.

In your situation, put a case of beer on the seat.

[sligoNoSPAMjoe]

I would guess it would not do any good to suggest there is a reason why the switch is there.

[DerbyDad03]

The reason it's there is because the lawyers said to put it there.

[dpb]

On Jan 20, 7:05=A0pm, dpb wrote: ...

And to not leave out the really perverse portion of it, even if started off so could operate from ground, when did sit down even still running, it would revert to shift your buns a fraction and the sumbitch dies under load... :(

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[hallerb]

ny good to suggest there is a

beyond which it saves lives, a minor detail where convenience comes first

[HeyBub]

Exactly. Remember the carnage from out-of-control snow-blowers before the safety additions? Whole neighborhoods were covered with red snow, widows were weeping uncontrollably, legions of orphans trod the frozen ground, unattended snow-blowers continued down the streets and by-ways, engulfing stray dogs, mailboxes, whatever, until they ran out of fuel.

Horrid, just horrid.

[jakesimpson]

You do realize that switch was put there to save your life, right? Removing it can and will kill you. It's not a matter of "if" it will kill you, it's "when". The engine will snag on a stick or some foreign object, and you'll get sucked off the seat and right into the carburetor. When that piston gets to TDC, you'll be crushed in the cylinder, at the same time you're electrocuted by the spark plug. DO NOT tamper with items designed to protect you, and ALWAYS wear a seatbelt when on the tractor. One never knows when a drunk neighbor might fall asleep while mowing his lawn and he crashes right into your tractor, killing both you, himself, and several dogs. As long as you're wearing a seatbelt, you will survive even if the tractor explodes after it rolls several times, the gas pours out, and one of the dogs that got killed was smoking a cigar or a joint.

Remember: SAFETY FIRST (both before and after you get drunk at the bar).