Blades engage intermitently - Snapper 20 HP Lawn Tractor 2690578

If you are sitting on the tractor seat and the engine stalls when engaging the PTO mover blades I would check the switch under the seat.

This seat has a saftey switch to assure that the operator is in a safe location before engaging the the blades. Also if the blades are engaged and the operator leaves the seat the blades will stop. If a young rider with insufficient weight the blades will not engage.



Hope this helps?

Do Ray:
If the blade engagement lever is in the disengaged position, the belt will be loose, allowing you to turn the blades by hand. If you place the blade engagement lever in the engaged position (with the motor off) it will be hard to turn the blades because of the tension on the belt. If the blades are still easy to turn with the blade engagement lever in the engaged position, you need to replace the blade drive belt!

Blades Engage via a pully system. Once you move the lever to engage the blades, the belt tightens and the blades engage. It is possible that your belt is broken or has gone out of track with the pulleys. If you know the belt is ok, then it is probably a bearing in one of the blade mounts.

Micro switches will just stop the engine if the blades are engaged and the operator leaves the seat, or will stop the engine cranking if the blades are engaged, it will not stop the blades from engaging.

There are two safety switches that work off each other when the blades are engaged. The seat switch and blade engage switch. Someone has to be in the seat when the tractor is not in neutral and or when the tractors blade engage lever is engaged. Other reasons for the tractor dying would be that the blades are hitting the deck. That could be caused by bent pulley shaft or bent blades or even a bent deck. First check the blades and make sure they spin freely by turning the tractor off and the blades are not engaged and spinning the blades (with gloves on so you do not cut your self)
Test the blades by measuring on side of the blade to the inside of the deck then rotating the blade 180 degrees and meandering it again (same side of blade 1st time measuring the blade is pointing towards the outside of the deck 2nd time of measuring the blade it is pointing to the inside of the deck). Do the same to the pulleys.If the blades are bent you may want to check the pulleys as well. sometimes both may be bent and the cost of replacing bothe is not worth it. You may want to check with a service repair person. If I can help further please contact me

THIS IS MOST LIKLY DUE TO A FAULTY ELEC. CONNECTION TO THE STARTERS POWER

With blades on and engine off reach under and wiggle each blade up and down. If you have excess play you will need bearings.

On most riding mowers flipping the handle to engage the blade causes an idler pulley to engage the drive belt, which takes up the slack in the belt and pulls it against the drive pulleys. A few odd-balls have an electric clutch to engage the blades.

No permanent solution, but you probably can get by once by "riding" the clutch engagement lever - pushing it only part way forward and holding onto it.

sounds as though you are on the right track
but be sure to check the wiring directly from the electric clutch on the front of the motor back to the switch
a wire could be pinched in the frame and shorting out intermittingly
look around and find those wires and move them around and look for chaffing and tightness
and what you could also do is to unhook the clutch at the connection to it at the front of the motor and engage switch and ride around and see if fuse blows and if not you may have an electric clutch issue