[jsaw]

I'm still struggling/learning how to get the front PTO on my 317 with Onan working. It did have a Kohler motor and was replaced with onan at some point.

With that said. The wire that comes out of the PTO clutch has two wires that go to the connecter plug. I just realized that the connector plug only has one wire coming out of it (the ground wire). It was brought to my attention that when the Kohler motor was in the tractor it would only have a single wire connector.

I am trying to trace back the yellow wire from the PTO switch and see if it got lost at some point (by puling out the battery and battery tray) I might also use another wire and run it directly to the front connector plug from the PTO switch to see if that will power the PTO.

Hope I'm going in the right direction? I also used a test light and I am getting power from the yellow wire to the PTO switch.

And at some point the wiring harness was worked on as there is a lot of black electrical tape used to organize all of the wiring.

 

[drew]

Seems like you are chasing ghosts. Have you tested the PTO to make sure it is good?
Try a hot wire from the battery to the PTO and see if it engages, that would be the best place to start.
I don't recall the specifics of a 2 wire PTO, but one is likely a ground and the other a hot. Use a VOM to test, I don't know that I'd use the test light for that.

 

[dhager4692]

I don't have a 317 but do own two 318 and have dealt with this problem on a 318 Onan.

On systems that used only one wire, the power ran to the PTO from the switch and grounded to the engine via the bolts holding the PTO on.

On my 318 the black wire from the PTO runs through the connector and go to the engine block and gets grounded. The blue wire goes to the PTO switch.

I am thinking that the PTO is not being grounded as you have two wires coming from the clutch but only one continues and I am guessing it is to the PTO switch. In which case the PTO is not being grounded.

I would check that one wire that goes in and out of that connector and see if it indeed goes to the PTO switch. If it does trace back to the PTO switch, I would try adding a wire from the engine block to the connector on the side that has no wire coming through the connector.

 

[450deeres]

Hi
You can get a wire harness AM104901 from Deere.
It has the two wire plug on one end and a ground wire and plug for the wire coming from the switch on the other.

 

[dhager4692]

Deere in the Kansas City area lists that at $13.16 plus tax.

I made my own because I had both the tools, terminals and connectors and experience working on wiring harness.

 

[jsaw]

Thanks guys. I looked that harness up. I have it already, it is connected to the PTO clutch correct?

The wire I am missing is the one from the PTO switch to the PTO clutch.

What color is that wire typically? Black? Yellow?

 

[jsaw]

Found this diagram, hoping it will help.

 

[dhager4692]

To start with, a pto creates a magnetic pull which pulls the rotor and the armature together. The armature has a pulley attached which enables power to go to mower deck via a belt. This happens when power comes in the windings and is grounded

Quote "I just realized that the connector plug only has one wire coming out of it (the ground wire)." I disagree with calling it a ground wire. This wire should be applying power to the windings. The difference between a 317 Kohler and a 317 Onan is that the Kohler takes power from that single wire going to the windings in the clutch and completes it by going to ground through the mounting bolts.

The 317 Onan has two wires coming from the windings in the PTO which means that toh Onan pto does not ground through the mounting bolts but instead comes back through the plug to be grounded in the engine compartment.

To get the PTO to work you must complete the circuit by providing a ground for the Onan PTO.

The diagram you posted shows a black line coming out of the PTO and going to the triangle which is the symbol for ground. The light blu wire is the power coming to the PTO from the switch. But you said the two wires are in the plug but only one continues in the engine compartment. Thus you have power going to the PTO and returning via the two wires but stopping at the plug and this is where you need to focus.

You have a seat switch and a neutral safety switch in the system. Making sure you have it in neutral and someone setting in the seat or it temporarily bypassed, try running a wire from the wire in the plug with the switch on but not running and touch it to a bolt on the engine and you should hear a click when the clutch engages. I believe this will correct the situation. This is the wire that was left out when the Kohler was replaced with the Onan.

 

[jsaw]

Made some progress!Looks like I will need to get the harness that Randy suggested. I found a stray black wire that was stripped almost like it was ripped out of place. I connected it with another wire (yellow) and ran it to the front PTO harness and pushed the wire into were the wire is missing. Started the tractor and flipped the PTO switch and got a tiny bit of movement from the pulley/pto.

and also tested the wire with a test light with the PTO switch on and off and there is power to it only when the PTO switch is on.

I did not hear any "click" from the PTO.

Hoping the new harness and connecting the black wire properly will fix the PTO and bring it back to life.

 

[jsaw]

To note the yellow wire I connected the black wire to was extra wire I had and was not a part of the tractor wiring. Thanks for you help everyone. If you have any other thoughts on this let me know!

 

[dhager4692]

The only other thing I would do is check the air gap and adjust the PTO. There are numerous post on this site about this. Its important to proper operation.