Fried my 149 Hydrostatic
 

As I was installing a pin for the lever that connects to the hydraulic lift, I must have been touching some electrical contacts with my vise grips-- the sight and sound of smoke followed shortly by the heating of the vise grips in my hand.

Now, it seems I'm getting no electrical flow-- no starter, no lights.

I'm going to check/replace the fuse (which I cannot seem to find), but my initial search on this site suggested that the fuse impacts the lights only (and not the starter, for example).

Any ideas, insights, or guidance would be very helpful, and I would appreciate it very much.

Thanks.

First, welcome to OCC ----- :Welcome2:

Go to the Technical Library Section and on Page 5, download the 1x8/9 Wiring Diagram. Take a VOM or a DVM and set the dial to at least 12VDC scale. Start at the battery, hook up the Black Test Lead to the Battery Negative ( - ) terminal. Place the Red Test Lead on the Battery Postive ( + ) terminal. You should about 12VDC. Advance the Red Test Lead at each device connection until you see and absence of power. There is the problem.

You let the smoke out of the wires!!
That will do it darn near every time.

Roland, thanks for the kind welcome, and for the lead on the diagnostics. I'll be digging into this tomorrow, and am hoping for some success (today was one of those days in which it seemed the technology gods were really testing my meddle).

#1 to do before you work on these is to disconnect the battery and spark plug wire.

Finscruskw: Ha! I'm grateful that it was wires and not integrated circuits (or my own nervous system) that got smoked!

AND it was not just any smoke, it was Magic smoke!! :bash2:
When you let the magic smoke out, it will never be the same.
The crank will never crank again, the valves will never valve again, the Carburetor will never carb again and the worst of all, the piston will never piss again.:angry:
Just parts it out, it is done!

Darkminion-- Good advice that I plan to follow from this day forward.

Re-trace your steps.
This time, w/the battery disconnected.
Must have been a bare wire somewhere that you touched.
Or was the end of your vise grips up under the dash where it shouldn't have been??

Progress/Confusion of Fried 149
 

Some progress, and plenty of confusion...

Things I verified.

1. Battery is putting out 12.47v.
2. 12.47 volts constant at battery pole of solenoid.
3. Jumping the solenoid poles engages the starter/alternator.
4. [X] Turning key to start or ignition positions sends no current to activator pole on solenoid.
5. Turning key to start and ignition positions sends 12.47v to charge indicator + pole.
6. PTO and Neutral safety switches provide continuity at the switch poles when engaged.
7. Fuse is okay.

Confusing parts: I THINK I measured 12.47v at the Neutral safety switch when I turned key to start and ignition positions. Then, I got nothing doing the same test at the PTO safety switch. It seemed odd because it looked like the PTO safety came BEFORE the Neutral safety in the circuit (but I may be misreading the diagram). Also, when I went back to verify that the Neutral safety behaved properly, it then showed NO voltage when engaging the key.

I went over this same sequence two more times and got no voltage to either safety switch, but continued to get voltage to the charge indicator.

The fact that after frying the system I lost power to the lights AND to the starter plus the fact that I'm getting 12v on/off by turning they key makes me suspect the voltage regulator. But I am so new to this (first attempt to diagnose/fix any kind of electrical system), that I have little confidence in this suspicion. (I must need some kind of real DUMMY's guide.) I love this machine, and I think I'll love it even more as I learn to repair it

Any ideas, guidance, referrals would be great, and I'd very much appreciate it.