Darkminion

I have bumped into all three of those sites and have looked at them. In the past I never found anything that was Cadet 95 related with the exception of the traction drive belt. I have two of those.

That I could tell, Kansas Wind Power doesn't have anything related to electric lawn mowers, much less the Cadet 95.

Of the other two: One has a lot of GE ElecTrak parts. Some used, some rebuilt and some NOS, but nothing showing for the Cadet. A lot of their stuff is simply in old boxes and not cataloged. The other has a lot of new items that are replacement items. But, again, nothing for the Cadet with the except of that drive belt. I might email both of these and see if they have a better in-house inventory system that would show something.

During my research with the original Indak manufactured switches, I have found suitable alternatives to the exact originals. If anyone is interested, I can provide those numbers and what the exact differences are.

ML

So, a year after buying the 95, and 6 months after the last post, I seem to be right where I started from. :bash2:

I had all the metal parts stripped and powdercoat painted. Had the three motors completely rebuilt. I made a complete wiring harness for the short term until I verify everything is up and running. Got three new batteries.

The traction motor key switch bench tested good. The blade motors toggle switch bench tested poorly with some good and not good outcomes. I opened it up, cleaned it and closed it back up. Re-bench tested and all worked well. Bench tested the 2 different solenoids and they appeared good. I re-assembled things and tested the traction motor. It fired right up and drove it around the parking lot. :beer chug:

There's where it all ended. :bash2: No power to the blade motors. The blade motor solenoid does not appear to energize. Per the service manual, I tested all the circuits and based on them all being good, the manual says to replace the blade motor solenoid. None were available locally but NAPA can order it and have it in this Wed/Thurs.

My question is: Why would it bench test good including energizing and then fail when installed? When I bench tested it I used 3 12v batteries that produced 37v combined output. Could low amperage been an issue? The three test batteries were not of the same amperage ratings. Two were rated at 34.8 ah, while one was at about 90 ah. The new matched batteries are all at 70 ah.

Any thoughts?
Mike

There is a BIG difference between "bench" checking and "Load" checking. The most accurate way to test switch(es) is using a Load Test.

Things can check out OK with a DVM (or VOM) but under load totally crap out.

:IH Trusted Hand:

Roland. Wouldn't having a 37v power source create a "load"? Do the blade motors have to be connected to create a "load"? Or, can I have the deck and motors removed and disconnected to check for power. Based on what you are saying and that the manual doesn't say, the blade motors should be connected when performing these various tests.

Mike

I know nothing of what is going on.
That said, is your solenoid's primary pull in voltage ( solenoid coil activation) 36V or is the control voltage 12V and the coil got damaged/burnt up when you applied 36 V. to it?
just a thought as I haven't looked @ any schematic.:bigthink:

I hope this diagram explains the difference between a power source and a Load.

George. The primary pull voltage is 36v throughout the entire system so there is no burn out possibility. Thanks for the consideration and thoughts.

Roland. Based on your info, when I get the new solenoid in, mounted and wired, I will have to mount the deck to check things out under full load. Kind of a bummer. As with most deck mounting, it is a bit of a bear to mount. As it is, I have to again remove the body to get working room on the solenoid. It is what it is.

Thanks for the help Again.

NO.... The load can be ANYTHING on your bench. You can make a load out of Headlights.

Mike I've read back in your thread and although I don't have a schematic for this I think I see how it works.

Question. Did you verify that your blade motor solenoid coil was getting both positive and negative control voltages when you ran it? Your coil has 2 control voltage posts indicating it needs a positive at one and a negative at the other which if you bench tested it you know that. I can't tell exactly but it was stated earlier that one of them comes from a thermal switch inside the blade motors. The other comes from a traction switch so I'm assuming when travel is requested with the blade switch on, the coil is signaled with that voltage. This should not be a frame ground system so what readings did you get that said the solenoid was bad? It's very probable that the solenoid is faulty just due to the age but Just remember that BOTH control voltages to this solenoid appear to be switched and not constant so if one of them is missing, it won't work. And then there's the power side of the solenoid so did you find a faulty control or power side issue with the solenoid? Would like to see a schematic on this one for sure.

Roland. Just to clarify my "Bench Test". I was only continuity testing and not voltage testing. Considering that this is a 36v system, I set up 3 batteries to achieve the required 36v and then simply powered the solenoid in order to hear the engaging click and then tested for continuity. I had already continuity tested without "power on" to insure that things were correct in both the power off and power on positions.

I do understand your "Load Test". However, in order to load test this solenoid I believe that I would need a 36v load. It is a 36v solenoid. My understanding from PFunk is that the system will not work with less than about 25v. Am I correct in that assumption?

Thanks
Mike