Lawn mower PTO shuts down engine.

[richdell]

I swapped a 670 Predator engine into a John Deere zero turn mower. It starts and runs well, but when I activate the electric PTO, the engine shuts down like turning off the key, even with the belt off. I did all the standard checking of switches etc.with no success. Now it gets weird! I disconnected the plug from tractor to PTO clutch and connected a 12v jump box to just the clutch. I started the engine, applied power to the clutch and the engine shut off just like before. I literally have no clue what to do now. One thing I noticed was that the shaft coming out of the engine is a magnet. Any ideas?

 

[James]

Check you are sat on the seat and the seat safety switch is working correctly.

 

[brianmoooore]

Check you are sat on the seat and the seat safety switch is working correctly.

It would be an unusual machine that hadn't had that annoying feature long since disabled!

 

[richdell]

Check you are sat on the seat and the seat safety switch is working correctly.

The clutch is not connected to the tractor's electrical system in any way, I applied power from a separate battery. The safety switches are not in the picture.

 

[brianmoooore]

Check out anything that moves when the PTO is engaged to check it isn't fouling any wiring