Craftsman 917.255914, PTO switch replacement?

[dart451]

Greetings,

Working on the above craftsman tractor which is an old one! It has a frozen pto switch so I tried to replace it with what Sears says is a 532407863 PTO switch. The old switch lowers the deck electrically. Anyway, the two switches have no markings on them for pin and they are configured differently. Anyone know how I might use the new switch? Played around with it a bit but couldn't get it to function. On the old switch there are 4 wires. Grey which is a ground, goes to D. Double Orange wire goes to A which is hot when you turn on the key. Yellow goes to B and a single Orange wire goes to C.

[KE4AVB]

The old switch is dual pole double throw reversing switch.

Looking the IPL for the model number given it doesn't have a mower lift motor; it has a manual deck lowering / lift handle. Apparently you have the incorrect model number present.

[bgsengine]

You sure you got a PTO switch there in first pic? You mention it "lowers deck electrically" - which I take to mean your machine has an electric lift in which case the switch would match up with what you are showing in first pic. - Power, Ground and Up & down terminals. a PTO switch is gonna be a different animal and there's many types with same pin patterns, but the internal contacts wired differently. Gonna need a bit of clarification here and double check you are messing with the right switch to begin with.. I know of no PTO switch that will raise or even just lower the deck electrically so all I can think is you are assuming that the deck lowering is engaging PTO (which it may be not supposed to do) due to change in belt angle...

[dart451]

Ok, I double checked the number on the tractor under the seat, it's definitely 917.255914. And, I do know that this switch did lower and raise the deck...in fact when I was trying to get the new switch to work, the deck lowered electrically and stopped. I've worked on this machine before and it does have electric lift...surprisingly, it also has the manual lift handle! And, it does have a separate switch for the PTO so the switch I'm trying to work on is for the lift only...however, it might power part of the PTO, customer states that switch doesn't work either.

[bgsengine]

Hmm when 2 switches are involved , I'd usually be looking for something electrical besides the switches (I'd be using continuity testing across terminals to see if switch is making contact internally and correctly) but generally it is relatively rare for 2 switches to have failed at the same time without some related cause (loose grounds, worn out packard terminals, broken wires, loose connections, among others) also be sure you have full battery voltage (burned out regulator and a weak battery combined, for example) not just at the battery but at the power to switch, and power coming out of switch. many things that can cause the problem besides the switches, and the fact that both are having trouble, somehow I doubt you have 2 bad switches all at once, even with such an old machine.

[KE4AVB]

Okay Searspartdirect has the wrong IPL linked.

What they sold is a PTO switch for the electric clutch not the deck lift switch.

What you need is the Carling Technoloies 6GO53-73/TABS switch.


Description

6GO5373TABS
SWITCH TOGGLE
DPDT
15A 250V
SWITCH OPERATION:(ON)-OFF-(ON)
CONTACT CONFIGURATION:DPDT
ILLUMINATION:NON ILLUMINATED
PRODUCT RANGE:G SERIES
CONTACT CURRENT MAX:15A
CONTACT VOLTAGE AC NOM:250V ROHS COMPLIANT: YES

https://www.grainger.com/product/CARLING-TECHNOLOGIES-Reversing-Toggle-Switch-3-10C580

How switch is wired. Of course the positive and negative connection can be reversed. Just change which direction motor operate. And of course in your case the ignition switch is in positive side of the circuit. Diagram is a simplified version.

[dart451]

Wow! You know...you guys always seem to save me from myself! Sorry I didn't get back to you until now but I had a cancer treatment out of state. How were you able to find this particular switch when I couldn't even see it on the diagram? Course, the diagram wasn't for the unit I have but still... Anyway, I ordered this new switch and it should get me going...I really, really thank you guys for all the help you've given me through the years...

[KE4AVB]

If it wasn't me working on forms handling equipment I probably would not know about the reversing switch setup and I haven't seen one since 2006.The time delay gave me time to research the switch and had make it had a monetary position at each operation so it would spring returned to center off position so you don't burn up the motor.

Too bad Sears didn't have the correct IPL and a wiring diagram for this mowers setup online. In cases like this here I use the number off the switch to do the digging but the pictures helped out as to what I was looking for. Now I can only fix the tough problems I got here. The ones I here are ones that no one knows anything about on the net, got to find my own solutions.

Sorta like the Honda ATV that kept locking down the front brakes after sitting the hot sun for a couple days. I had to depend on my gut feelings on that one. Anyway a new after market master cylinder fixed the problem. I would had gone with OEM one but it was NLA. I had the correct amount of end play even with backing off the brakes. Now I got to readjust them after I get another couple sets 3T jack stands. Current ones are under another Kawasaki 750 that front end is completely apart.

[38racing]

Okay Searspartdirect has the wrong IPL linked.

What they sold is a PTO switch for the electric clutch not the deck lift switch.

What you need is the Carling Technoloies 6GO53-73/TABS switch.


Description

6GO5373TABS
SWITCH TOGGLE
DPDT
15A 250V
SWITCH OPERATION:(ON)-OFF-(ON)
CONTACT CONFIGURATION:DPDT
ILLUMINATION:NON ILLUMINATED
PRODUCT RANGE:G SERIES
CONTACT CURRENT MAX:15A
CONTACT VOLTAGE AC NOM:250V ROHS COMPLIANT: YES

https://www.grainger.com/product/CARLING-TECHNOLOGIES-Reversing-Toggle-Switch-3-10C580

How switch is wired. Of course the positive and negative connection can be reversed. Just change which direction motor operate. And of course in your case the ignition switch is in positive side of the circuit. Diagram is a simplified version.

I follow the logic of your wiring picture. I've done that using simple DPDT momentary switch with 6 terminals. I'm puzzled by the carling switch because it has only 4 terminals. Is the reversing accomplished internally?

[bgsengine]

Okay Searspartdirect has the wrong IPL linked.

What they sold is a PTO switch for the electric clutch not the deck lift switch.

What you need is the Carling Technoloies 6GO53-73/TABS switch.

I follow the logic of your wiring picture. I've done that using simple DPDT momentary switch with 6 terminals. I'm puzzled by the carling switch because it has only 4 terminals. Is the reversing accomplished internally?

Huh? if you look at the switch you see the 2 copper cross-bridges between upper and lower terminal pairs? if you'd follow the color coding in the diagram - Or a close look at the switch itself - you can see how one you might achieve + to - connection through the switch to either pair of wires to the motor - Since it is D.C. the motor and switch wiring don't especially matter - if you wire the motor or the switch "backwards" the motor (and lift) would still operate properly, just in an opposite direction. Which is why internally the switch has that cross-over of the contacts - Think about it . if your internal contact (which is how a switch works) moves upwards, completing the connection between the two upper poles on either side (the DP part of DPDT) you'll have contact from left side upper to left side lower, and likewise with the right side pins - See? When you throw the switch the other direction, because of the internal cross-bridge then suddenly the right side "outer" (bottom) contact then becomes the ground instead, thus reversing polarity of the power going to the middle right side of the switch (which goes to motor) , which obviously reverses current flow in the motor, and thus direction motor moves, giving you "up" and "down" lift direction by way of the motor's worm & sector gearing to lift link.