G1900 went over a bump and quit

[coss]

I drove my G1900 over a bump in the lawn, and it instantly quit, with no lights on the dashboard and no response when turning the key to restart. I don't see any loose connectors, and the battery cables are still tight. The battery is nearly new and just retested at greater than 100% of its rated power.

My best guess is that something electrical got shaken loose, such as the seat safety interlock, or some other Yes/No item.

Has this ever happened to you? What would you suggest I do to troubleshoot and repair? Does anyone know how I'd get at the seat switch? Is my notion of a loose connector way off base?

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

I drove my G1900 over a bump in the lawn, and it instantly quit, with no lights on the dashboard and no response when turning the key to restart. I don't see any loose connectors, and the battery cables are still tight. The battery is nearly new and just retested at greater than 100% of its rated power.

My best guess is that something electrical got shaken loose, such as the seat safety interlock, or some other Yes/No item.

Has this ever happened to you? What would you suggest I do to troubleshoot and repair? Does anyone know how I'd get at the seat switch? Is my notion of a loose connector way off base?

If you have nothing it's not a seat switch, it's a main power issue.
Check connection on both ends and start looking around the starter for a blown fuse on the main line.

 

[coss]

Wolfman is a genius so far. One of the 10 amp fuses in a block on the left side underneath the steering console was blown. After replacing the fuse, it ran fine until I hit a bump, and the fuse blew again. It did it one more time while I was limping back to the garage (I guess I wasn't careful enough to avoid bumps).

Any idea which circuit this might be?

Does anyone have a wiring diagram for a G1900?

Thanks,
Coss

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

I don't have the WSM for that model and You can't download one for free, looks to be a dealer only item.

One quick fix till you can find the issue is replace the fuse with a circuit breaker.

It will make it much easier to find the intermittent short.

 

[100 td]

This may be of some use, g1800 & g1900 are similar

 

[chim]

A guess is that there's a wire with damaged insulation. Maybe a spot where the insulation is worn through from rubbing on an edge.

You could rig up a 12V light to connect across the fuse terminals. It sounds like while the tractor is at rest there's no issue. With the light connected, turn the key on and the light shouldn't be lit. Follow the harness / wires around the tractor and wiggle them to simulate going over bumps. Good chance you'll get to a spot that will make the light blink on. That's the spot that needs taped up.

 

[coss]

Found it!

The wire from the headlight switch had worn insulation, and when I went over bumps, it evidently came into contact with the metal frame of the steering wheel pedestal, and shorted out. Electrical tape fixed it.

The reason why the wire became worn is that the welds for the stamped metal braces for the steering column broke in multiple places , and the wire got pinched as the column moved around further than its usual travel path. For a machine that is otherwise built like a tank, the support structure for the steering column is pretty flimsy. I put in some plywood reinforcement panels as a temporary fix, and a friend of mine is a good welder, and he is going to work on it when he gets the chance.

Has anyone else had their G1900 steering column braces break?

 

[lugbolt]

Has anyone else had their G1900 steering column braces break?

Yep. Very common. Especially if it's been used on rough ground. Weld them back, paint, go on with tractor'ing.

Unfortunately, getting to some of the spot welds for welding isn't exactly "easy". I've done a hundred or two of them so I'm used to it but the first ones...sucked! While you're in there, clean all the pins on the wiring connectors and apply dielectric grease before reassembling them.

 

[coss]

I thought I'd post an update: after using it for several mowings with the plywood panels holding things together, my friend, who is an excellent welder, got everything back together in solid fashion. Lugbolt was correct--some of the pieces were difficult to reach, and there was a fair amount of delicate work.

However, it is now more solid than at anytime in the several years that I have owned it.

Thanks to all who provided suggestions.