When Cheria and I purchased our current home we quickly agreed that mowing our 3 acre lawn with a push mower would be out of the question. With that in mind, off to Lowes we went to buy a riding lawnmower. The model we selected was a Husqvarna YTH-2448 with a 48 inch cutting deck, and we have been very pleased with its performance and durability during its first 3 years of use. But mowing 3 acres of grass virtually every week through 3 years of springs, summers and autumns is sure to take its toll on any lawn tractor even if it is well-maintained, and ours is no exception.
We have actually had really good luck with our Husqvarna. Aside from routine maintenance per the owner’s manual and a couple of broken belts, the first real problem didn’t show up until just a few days ago when the blades refused to start turning when the blade engage button was pulled. Always one to look for advice when needed, I sat down at my computer and did an Internet search on the term “Husqvarna YTH-2448 blades won’t engage” without the quotes. I was given a number of web pages to consult, most of them being forums where regular users like you and me share their experiences and recommendations.
Overall, the forum posts about the blade problem seemed to suggest 3 possibilities: a bad switch, a broken belt, or a bad PTO clutch assembly. I knew the problem wasn’t a broken belt because I had checked the belts immediately after the blades stopped working. The other 2 possibilities ranged from relatively cheap to fix (replacing the switch) to relatively expensive (replacing the PTO clutch assembly).
Armed with this information, I headed back outside to take a closer look at the mower. I looked at the switch first and saw right away that it would be a snap to replace, even for me. Next, I took a look under the mower to check out the PTO clutch assembly, and what I saw wasn’t pretty. If it turned out to be bad, I would definitely need the assistance of a true do-it-yourself genius – namely, my brother Glen.
As I rolled over to get up from my prone position, I thought about the best way to attempt the repair. I decided right then and there that I would replace the switch first, then replace the PTO clutch assembly if the switch turned out not to be the problem. But as I got on my knees to stand up, I noticed a broken wire dangling in the cool October breeze. Apparently the pair of wires running from the blade engage switch to the PTO clutch assembly had come in contact with one of the pulleys that rotates the blades, and one of them was broken in two. After splicing the wire back together, the blades engaged and now the tractor mows like brand new.
I guess the moral of this story is that it’s always a good idea to check out the most obvious possibilities first. I had been so focused on determining how the clutch assembly mounted to the frame that I had looked right past the broken wire without even noticing it. If I hadn’t seen it while standing up I would have paid $20 to replace a perfectly good switch, and then Lord knows how much to replace a perfectly good PTO clutch assembly. My dad always said we learn by our mistakes, and I barely avoided making a big one!