1862 Power issue
 

I have been working on my old 1862 for the past few weeks. Rebuilt the steering column and replaced fuel lines. Hooked everything back up today and got nothing when I turned the key. No lights on the dash, no clicking. Nothing.

Took the battery to the shop and it is a good battery and fully charged. I’ve checked the wires inside to see if anything is visibly unplugged but didn’t see anything. Any ideas on what process I should follow to track down the problem? Battery is hooked up correctly. Weird that I would have no lights on dash when turning key.

check the fuse by the battery.

Fuse looks fine. I did power wash the mower after taking apart the steering assembly. Forgot to disconnect battery. Could I have fried the electronics that way?:bash2:

wiring on the ignition switch , and the switch itself, try wiggling the plug when the key is on to see if you get lights

Now would be a good time to get a meter on your circuits, or at least a test light and forget about the visuals.

Good advice and I will do that today. Any idea if there is a walkthrough in the manual?

I have 12.8 volts at the battery. Don’t read any voltage drop between the battery and the battery cables. No volts at the solenoid when I turn the key. Could the solenoid be shot or maybe the wires connecting the ignition key to the solenoid? Any advice on how to check those wires?

Correction, I get volts at the solenoid but even with the key off I only get Volts when I am connecting from the battery positive terminal to the side of the solenoid past the fuse and connecting to the starter. I get no volts from the battery positive terminal to where the battery positive connects to the solenoid. Regardless of if the key is turned On or not. Strange that I get 12 V between the battery and the side of the solenoid connecting to the starter but not on the side before the fuse. If that makes any sense.

Looking at the schematic, with a meter you should have 12V on both sides of the fuse. Then from there, the same holds true with the black wire on the key switch. Using the legend in the schematic, you can find where 12V is supposed to go based on the position of the key switch. I have included them for reference. Hopefully they will be readable. If not, I can email them to you if needed.

Attachment 104421

Attachment 104420

rf
The fuse is open. If you connect the lead from the positive to the input of the fuse you're
On the same wire and not across the load. When you are on the output side of the fuse and the battery you are reading the solenoid coil to ground 12v
Check the fuse for continuity.

Thanks for the helpful feedback. One other question: with the mower off I am not able to turn the tires anymore. The steering wheel just spins and spins in both directions. I can move the tires by hand. Does the mower have to be on for the power steering hydro to work?

Engine needs to be running for the steering to work.

Thanks. I recall that I was able to turn the tires when the mower was off in the past. But maybe there is some excess pressure in the system that has long since faded away as the mower has sat for a few years.

You may have some air in the system that eventually may go away. You should be able to turn your wheels with the steering wheel with the motor not running. (power steering won't work as mentioned above).