Fix for a sensitive seat kill switch

[smittydog27]

I used a piece of rubber fuel hose. I just cut about 2” -3” and slipped it over the white lever.

 

[bronc076]

here was my "fix"...

before and after photos.

View attachment 50176

after: View attachment 50178

LoL! You win!

 

[Tim Horton]

The seat switch on our tractor is very sensitive especially in very cold weather.. Even with my bulk it seems it takes some time before the seat limbers up enough I can move around the slightest with out it shutting the tractor off..

I have thought about setting a couple old bowling balls in the seat when I'm not there..

 

[sheepfarmer]

The seat switch on our tractor is very sensitive especially in very cold weather.. Even with my bulk it seems it takes some time before the seat limbers up enough I can move around the slightest with out it shutting the tractor off..

I have thought about setting a couple old bowling balls in the seat when I'm not there..

Ditto on the cold weather problem. Sometimes it takes me 5 or 6 tries to get the B2650 out of the barn.

 

[mikester]

The only fix I found that worked was to bypass it completely.

I was thinking of adding a timer relay switch that automatically resets after 1 minute or when the tractor is power cycled. Generally I don't mind having it but at times it makes thing, hard to move to the edge of my seat making a pick withe the forks without the engine shutting off.

 

[dlsmith]

Nothing a couple of tyraps wouldn't fix.

 

[Louisianna]

ByPASS SWITCH COMPLETELY - IT IS UTTER NONSENSE - i HAVE SAME SWITCH ON B2601 AND IT SHUT ENGINE OFF GOING DOWN 45 DEGREE HILL - WHAT WERE THEY THINKING - AND SIR NO ILL FEELINGS BUT KIDS DONT BELONG ON TRACTORS - THIS IS WHAT MAKES THE 6:00 NEWS

 

[Crash277]

I find when Im driving backwards for a bit that i sit too far forward on the seat and the switch gets tripped. It needs to be a little longer IMO.

 

[B737]

I tried living with it, but didn't last a month. I unplugged the wire, used a 4" piece of wire, crimped on two male blades and shoved them into the end of the plug.

 

[bpainchaud]

ByPASS SWITCH COMPLETELY - IT IS UTTER NONSENSE - i HAVE SAME SWITCH ON B2601 AND IT SHUT ENGINE OFF GOING DOWN 45 DEGREE HILL - WHAT WERE THEY THINKING - AND SIR NO ILL FEELINGS BUT KIDS DONT BELONG ON TRACTORS - THIS IS WHAT MAKES THE 6:00 NEWS

Totally Agree. It happened to me suddenly for the 1st time during my 1st hour of use on a bx23s the moment I depressed the reverse pedal with the nose pointed down a 10deg slope. Being still very new to this machine, I was rapidly rolling downwards towards a much steeper slope before I found the brake pedal. Very dangerous safety feature. It also doesn't help that the operator manual makes no mention of these switches and how to test and if necessary fix/adjust them. Never had this issue with any other Kubota or tractor while in the seat.

 

[Henro]

Totally Agree. It happened to me suddenly for the 1st time during my 1st hour of use on a bx23s the moment I depressed the reverse pedal with the nose pointed down a 10deg slope. Being still very new to this machine, I was rapidly rolling downwards towards a much steeper slope before I found the brake pedal. Very dangerous safety feature. It also doesn't help that the operator manual makes no mention of these switches and how to test and if necessary fix/adjust them. Never had this issue with any other Kubota or tractor while in the seat.

I agree too. I think. When does the seat switch come into play in real operation? When you tip the tractor on the side. At that event, might be useful. BUT if the tractor is on its side, with a rear differential, nothing changes much anyway. The free tire just turns harmlessly. Possibly less engine damage, but not real personal damage, all things considered.

No seat switch on either of my tractors. AND I actually tipped my B2910 on its side once after over ten years of use. I just turned the engine off. Simple as that.

Dump the seat switch and enjoy life. It likely will not prolong your life in the real world.

 

[skeets]

Ditto on the cold weather problem. Sometimes it takes me 5 or 6 tries to get the B2650 out of the barn.

Well shoot sheep, you aint bit a little wisp of a thing to begin with

 

[sheepfarmer]

Well shoot sheep, you aint bit a little wisp of a thing to begin with

It's ok skeets, I fixed it with a piece of styrofoam between the sensor pad and the seat. Works fine now. Hopefully it won't hate the cold weather which has set in.

 

[bbxlr8]

This phenomenon got me also shortly after I took delivery. I really truly thought something was very wrong with my NEW tractor and took me a bit longer than I would like to admit to figure it out.

I am on a ridge & have many trails and there was one section and at a specific point it would always almost stall out. Only happened at that one place, unloaded & going uphill - super weird right? Turns out it was a deep rut that consistently bounced me a bit; hardly at all to take notice, but just enough to unweight the switch, even though I was in low & going slow

While not heavy, I am solid and will certainly not blow away in a wind, so this never even crossed my mind! I got so frustrated after figuring it out and then having it happen in other places that I went the wire tie route -one quick snip and back to stock.

 

[Trimley]

Since getting my 23s, that seat switch has gotten me many times. I have a hill I traverse, and if I do not have both hands on the wheel, a firm grip pushing my butt into the seat, along with my feet on the floor pan while pushing back on the seat, the tractor dies. Next thing I know I slid to the bottom of the hill while my foot is on the brake. The HST only works when the pump is spinning.

I'll be making a jumper or using a ziptie to fix that.....if I remember.

 

[GrizBota]

An older thread, but I’ll bite. On my Kubota tractors, the operator presence switch shuts the engine down if I unweight the seat while depressing the HST treadle (the focus of most of the discussion above) or if I unweight the seat while either of the PTOs are engaged (which seems pretty reasonable).

A couple of the experiences above sound pretty unsafe due to the “safety” switch. That’s pretty crazy in terms of unintended consequences. Sounds like some pretty reasonable desensitization mitigations to keep the system viable, but decreasing the likelihood of unintentional/unwarranted activation. I’d like to think Big K reads some of these near miss stories and makes revisions before someone gets injured as a result.