Briggs and Stratton Wiring Problem?

[Roanin]

When I plug in the wire connector that goes to the Stator on my 16HP John Deere Sabre Lawn Tractor, the connector gets real hot to the point of smoking. It appears there is a diode in the wire right after the connector. this connector has two wires one of which I think is for powering the headlights, the other has a diode in the line. If I leave the plug disconnected, the tractor runs and operates , however, I suspect the battery will soon go dead. Any ideas on what is wrong or how to fix it? Replace the diode? new stator?

Thanks,

R

[Ken]

Have you checked to see if the battery is OK? Is the diode still OK? I would think the diode might be for charging the battery.

[Dave M.]

Roanin,

If the connector is getting hot then I'd suspect the connector is failing. Does the diode get hot? Have you measured the DC resistance through each wire going to the connector? Here's a discussion of engine measurements.

Dave M.

[Roanin]

Checked the diode and it is shorted. Will replace it tomorrow, do some more tests and report back.

R

[Hank]

Disclaimer: Since I don't have a wiring diagram for your specific model, the following is just a educated guess.

One of the wires come from the ignition coil on the stator. This wire grounds out the igniton coil so that you are able to shut down the engine by grounding out the igniton system. It is also the wire that is going to all the safety shut down switches.

The other wire comes from the charging coil on the stator. This wire charges your battery (as you earlier suggested). It sounds like what you and the others suspect. The diode is fried. To check it.......... You should have continuity in one direction and not the other. You may have also fried the charging coil on the stator. To check that, you should have continuity from the connector to ground. If the wire is getting hot, your charging coil may be ok.

Hank

[Roanin]

FYI

Checked the stator and it was OK. Replaced the diode with another one and all is working fine now.

Now I wonder why the diode shorted out in the first place?

R