147 Questions
 

I was thinking of rewiring my 147 and wanted to know if you guys had any suggestions on wire. I know I could buy a new harness, but what guage wire should I use?

I have another issue. My battery is draining while it is parked. Nothing is left on but it is drained come the next time I go to start it. Not sure what to make of it. The battery also does not seem to recharge when it is running. I have checked all grounds, but my wiring seems original hence the reason why I was thinking of rewiring.

I noticed this morning there was a gas leak coming from the air filter. I put it up last night and when i was done screwed the the fuel petcock all the way in to shut off the fuel or so I thought. Maybe I am calling this the wrong thing, but it screws into he top of the glass fuel filter.

Finally when I attach my mower deck and pto belt it wants to continually spin though the pto lever is not engage. Is there an adjustment I can make to have the blades stop turning?

Thanks in advance!

J,
Yep sounds like you own a 147 Cub:) I had most of the same problems.
Couple recommendations:
-On the wiring harness If you determine you really need one, you can buy it cheaper than you can build them and it will have all the right ends and gage wire. BTW you need to pull the engine to change the wiring harness. ( I built one, wired it up wrong burnt it up and had to build another one)
-On the fuel leak, sounds like the carb may need a rebuilt. Get a kit, take your time and rebuild the carb. ( I did not have the float set right and flooded the carb)
-The PTO should be able to be adjusted to stop the spinning. I think you may be able to fix that by shortening the linkage rod with the turn buckle. (Mine is spinning the snow thrower a little and needs to be adjusted too:))
I am sure others on here can help with many more details than I have given you.
Regards,
Chris

Chris hit it dead on the head, new wiring harness, and a good carb soaking and rebuild kit.
I did the same with my 147.

I've just went through all the wiring on my 149 restoration. I just sat down with the wiring diagram and with a meter checked each wire one by one. No need to replace the original wires if there not bad. Most the time its just replacing ends and straightening out previous owners mistakes. With the meter you can check switches and such also.

The thing I like about going wire by wire and checking everything is it helps build familiarity with the project. This knowledge comes in handy when you go to trouble shooting problems later.

I wanted to go thrifty and rework/replace my wire harness, but it was just too far gone. Insulation cracking from end to end, cloth fraying away, large exposed sections. I went to ACE Hardware to match up the various gauges of wire, and right off the bat I was up to around thirty bucks in wire alone. Add to that all the end connectors, mesh wrap and finally the labor, it really paid off to buy the reproduction harness.

The proper size of the wire should be 14 Gauge.