Stalling on my 1200 (remember a while back??)

[BigBill]

I notice that my 1200 is hard starting when i let it just sit with the gas valve on. I have the new replacement gas valve which is hard to get at. Well i had to remove the carb bowel to free up the stuck needle. It seems the needle sticks when the tractor sits for a long period of time. I have no clue why it does this yet. I need to pull the carb yet. I'm thinking its sticking when it stalls when i'm mowing for a while too. I hit the side of the carb with a piece of wood gently with the bowel off then the gas started flowing again.

Has anyone else had this problem before??

I do shut the gas valve off for the winter. The carb doesn't leak at all.

[Eugene]

Yes, same problem if they sit for a long time. I think the fuel evaporates over time leaving a thin layer of "varnish" sticking the needle valve to the seat.

I have been turning off the gas then letting the engine run until it dies of fuel starvation. Some times this works. Other times I've had to put some fuel system cleaner in the gas tank. This usually solves the problem.

[BigBill]

Now i found that problem and know how to avoid it. My 1200 died again(no electrical power) and it won't start when i turn the key. The PTO is off and the clutch/brake pedal is locked down and still no solenoid "click". I was running awesome with the battery charging too. I drove it around for almost 1/2 tank of gas. Then it shut off and died. I'm at the same place again this year.( i didn't touch it yet i just grabbed another running cadet) But the 44A mower cuts awesome. I also lost the belt in the deck too the three vee belt pullies need replacement.(rusted out). I ordered the three pullies but i need to find out why the electrical just drops out and goes dead when ever it wants too. We restored the tractor from the ground up but i didn't touch the wiring or the switches. I did all the mechanical new.
I'm going to go over the electrical system with an ohm meter to see were the juices stop flowing.

I upgraded a worn out 1000 to a 1200 with a 12hp AQS adding disc brakes and 1" front spindles and rims. I put in a new clutch setup, new gas valve kit, softer steering wheel, power steering bearing kit plus ball socket tie rod ends. It drives like a dream when its running. Ok i did a ground up restoration with all new mechanical parts but i didn't change the key switch, solenoid nor the wiring, Oppps its my mistake. Ok next time i'll change everthing electrical too. This tractor was sitting for over a year in boxes and i gave it to my son to put together as a learning experience. We were lucky we found all the parts because what goes on here the parts are all over the place. I'm going to get it running for now but i still have a 14hp AQS kolher with a creeper setup to put in it. One more upgrade.

[BigBill]

Ok here we go I used a volt meter and found 12.34 volts going thru the system all the way to the wire on the key switch. I think the electrical connection is dirty but i have another problem. There is no ground wire going from the frame to the engine??? With the ISO pads there sould be one right?`

This tractor was abused more than you could believe, with its seized/broken connecting rod and the blown clutch it was in worse condition than a parts tractor. But like some say just throw some $$$ at it and we can fix anything i guess.

[SundaySailor]

Bill,

This time I can give you a couple of good answers. Yes, there is supposed to be a ground wire coming from the frame to the engine. This is a known problem with the quietline tractors. The ISO mounts (being rubber) also isolate the ground, and therefore a secondary ground needs to be furnished. Mine came from one of the front lower nose piece bolts to one of the bolts on the starter.

Another thing, there is a hot wire coming from the stator from under the shrouds. It goes to the hot wire on the coil. On mine, the vibration caused the shrouds to chafe the wire and give me an intermittent arcing and therefore grounding out the power to the coil and then no running of the engine. It is very tight space wise around that area - coil, power charging circuit, etc. So, check in that area for grounding. Your DMM should show voltage showing up in strange places if this is the case.

BTW, thanks for the tips on my 1200. I'm now in the drive and test mode.

SS

[BigBill]

I took it out for a quick test ride and it stalled again its dead nothing happens when i turn the key. I'm install a ground wire now and then see what happens. I'm ready to park it until i can pick up all new wiring,a new PTO switch, a new solenoid and a new key switch then its all new. I'm trying to repair this till my other parts get here. I just want a perfect machine for the wife.

[SundaySailor]

Bill, by no means am I a master at these Cub Cadets. I'm learning on the fly, and have a steep learning curve.

I have been doing a huge amount of reading, and some of what I've read over and over is that the Cub Cadets ( Farmall Cubs too for that matter) need their grounds very clean and tidied up. Make no mistakes on that part. If there is any question, remove the cables and clean them up.

I've talked to Ken Updike at length about my 1200 Cub Cadet, and the whole deal about a heavy ground cable for the quiet line series tractors was stressed over and over. With the ISO mounts, you've already eliminated about 95% of the engine's grounding because of the rubber contained in the mounts. Therefore, you have to furnish another ground point after that.

Ken told me about owners who lost their PTO because of grounding problems. He even told me about someone that lost either or both his choke cable and throttle cable because the ground became brittle and broke. The only grounds after that were the choke/throttle/PTO. A bit costly either way. A good ground cable is good insurance.

Again, check the wire coming from the shrouds to the coil wire. With that tight area and most of that stuff being black too, it is hard to see if the wire is being chafed enough to cause a grounding out at that point.

I sure do wish the weather would cool off some so I could go back to trouble shooting mine. The best I can do now is to make a list of things to work on after it cools back off.

SS

[BigBill]

I have a spool of #4 welding cable and i purchased a bolt cutter to fabricate a crimper for the terminals so i can make up battery cables at any length. I'm thinking of making a half round on one side of the bolt cutter and a thinner half moon on the other half so it will crimp the #4 terminals. It should only take a few minutes with a hand grinder. Then i can make better quality cables than i can buy. I got to get going and forget about the heat. I also have a 12hp kolher to bore oversize too soon. BB

[BigBill]

I fabricated a wire terminal crimper to do #4 terminal ends on #4 welding cable that has 3/8" holes in the terminals. I purchased a small bolt cutter from ebay and used a 4" grinder to make two halfmoons a little bigger than #4 wire(copper part ). It came out perfect. The electrical pliers that crimps these and larger is so expensive. This bolt cutter was $10. There is more room to make it fit other terminal ends too. It crimps perfect. I can take pics if you want me too and post them.

Update;

I installed the ground wire on my 1200 today. After driving it all around it stalled again and again no power to the key switch. It just died like i shut it off. I ordered a new key switch today for it. Since i had voltage to the key switch and nothing comming out of the key switch when i turned it this is my first item to replace. I'm not getting any movement on the amp gage when i turn it on and off nor am i getting any click out of the solenoid when i turn the key switch. Yet there is power going into the terminal on the switch.