What a nightmare and it's still not fixed.

[dennishoddy]

On a serious note, check the key for the flywheel. I had one of those do that and the key had sheared causing all kinds of issues. A 13 cent part fixed it. Might not be your issue, but it's something to look at. I also had a push rod bend. Sitting at the front of the tractor, right side under the cover.

Oh yeah that key can be an issue, but electrically the fuse for control power was melted down.
Speaking of that key, I had a friend contact me several years ago because his push mower wouldn't start. He said it backfired before not starting.
Told him it was probably the key.
Said I'd be on the way to help him replace it. When arriving I witnessed him using a 16 lb sledge hammer to beat it into submission.
Apparently he replaced the key, it backfired once again and he had been pulling the rope for awhile on a hot day.
The sledge hammer was the obvious choice for him.

 

[GlockPride]

A 9 yo old on a ZT mower?!

Good luck getting it fixed. Sounds like a thermal issue, which it sounds like you may have pinned down to the fuse box. That’d be my next step. You may also want to check your seat safety switch as though can be prone to getting dust and dirt in them and causing shutoff issues.

 

[Dumpstick]

PTO clutch is going bad. As it deteriorates it pulls more and more amps to engage. Probably the bearing.

Check the draw on the clutch over time. Leave it engaged for more than a few seconds, maybe rig up a tester to stay in place for 10 minutes.
My bet is that as it heats up the amperage draw skyrockets.

I had a similar problem. Finally replaced the ($250) clutch and it was cured.

 

[cowadle]

check the interlock system for wires shorting to frame bad switches etc. when you engage the drive and the engine dies but runs fine until engaged sounds like a fault or dead short to frame in the interlock???

 

[Timmy59]

Yep. I was so frustrated yesterday with finding everything that was wrong and tracing it backwards to hopefully find the root cause that I was ready to grab my checkbook and head to the dealership.
An online search had the checkbook put up and the meter come out.

Our zero turn went up $1400 in less than 2 years. We know who to thank for that.

 

[cowadle]

don't get me wrong here but the blame for this inflation etc doesn't rest solely on brandon. we have been printing currency like a mad man since 2007. there have been plenty of reds and blues involved and the citizen enjoyed the stock market on cocaine.

 

[-Pjackso]

PTO clutch is going bad. As it deteriorates it pulls more and more amps to engage. Probably the bearing.

Check the draw on the clutch over time. Leave it engaged for more than a few seconds, maybe rig up a tester to stay in place for 10 minutes.
My bet is that as it heats up the amperage draw skyrockets.

I had a similar problem. Finally replaced the ($250) clutch and it was cured.

This is the answer.

The PTO clutch rarely fails outright. They wear out slowly and start pulling more amps.
The higher amp draw is what probably melted your fuse holder.

Other symptom/indicators can be:
-Failing/Melting the blade engage switch on the dashboard controls. The engage switch will fail (melt due to the excessive amp draw). The customer buys another switch and everything works again, but the same thing happens again after a short while.

-It's hard to start the blades without killing the engine.
(Of course, start by verifying easy spinning jack-shafts, no junk tied up in the blades, and engine runs right.)
If you have a weak battery (low cranking amps) and the PTO is worn - the excessive PTO amp draw can exceed the generator output and pull the battery voltage down low - which if bad enough it can drop enough voltage where the plug coils are not generating enough spark and (occasionally) kills the engine during blade startup. (with the additional load of trying to start the blades spinning)

Edit - Another symptom/indicator:
Constant problems with dead/low voltage batteries. The mower charging system shows good charging voltage (blades dis-engaged) - but you still have problems with low or dead batteries. A bad PTO (excessive amp draw) can pull more amps then the charging system can provide. Over time, the battery looses voltage (discharged). This can kill batteries over extended time, and may explain (if/why) your batteries don't last as long (i.e. the usual 4-5 years battery life).



It can be confusing, because the PTO is still working right (engaging/disengaging the blades), and given they're so expensive, people will overlook the PTO.

 

[-Pjackso]

...Took it to the yard, ran fine for less than a minute although there was some difficulty getting the blades started, finally coughing, sputtering and finally throwing the belt twice. Very rough blade engagement.
Turned off the blades and it started up running fine.
...
Fired up the engine and engaged the blades after removing the belts to make sure there wasn't a mandrel bearing going bad. All loose and no slop.

See the 2nd symptom/indicator above.

I think it's the PTO. Yeah, the price hurts.
Best of luck.

 

[dlbleak]

I’m with @Dumpstick and @-Pjackso on this one.

 

[Snattlerake]

Is there any possibility of changing the 30 Amp with a slow blow or circuit breaker?

It could then be used as a diagnostic tool trying different things.