OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Repairs and Maintenance Questions On Ride On Mowers Questions on Greenfield Ride On Mower Frames Re: Greenfield Ride-On - Electrical Wiring

I have searched on here and found a bit of advice but am in need of some assistance please!

Cut a long story short-

My 2007 Greenfield 15.5hp 32 Fastcut was imported to the UK a few years back and left to sit in long grass for about 5 years so everything got seized/rusty.

When I got it running there was a scuffing sound (on tickover) coming from the 12" drive plates under the seat. Because of this "neutral" was near impossible to get. It was either shuddering forwards or backwards on tickover. Also the chain does not run straight/true/misaligned, so I thought some TLC would be good!

Greenfield told me "the bearings on the clutch shaft can be loosened and the shaft tapped sideways to align the chain and then retightened. Also the bearings on the axle can be loosened and also moved sideways slightly."

So having had the axle apart previously and seeing there is no room for adjustment down below due to the spacer behind the chain sprocket on the axle, the axle will not go any further in the direction i want it to, I thought I would remove the clutch assy, take it all apart and see what was causing the scuffing sound and see if I could adjust anything up top.


1st Question- How do remove the chain drive sprocket!!

It is on a woodruff key, I removed the 13mm bolt and washers, soaked it over night in penetrating fluid, got a 3 legged puller on it, no chance, warmed it with a torch (not too much as the bearing is close to it) got a 3 legged puller on it, no, it just will not budge!! Stuck tight.

So, I turned my attention to taking the clutch apart from the other side to check the cork lining (my Greenfield has only done 69 hours work) and they are fine, the nuts were tight as tight can be, springs were good, there was a black grease on the shaft, I would say the scuffing sound was from maybe swelling of the cork from years of sat around in the damp? Plus, the faces are not exactly machined dead flat? So I put a shim (from an MTD axle) on the side I could get at to give it a bit more clearance on the forward side (Right hand side).

Once reassembled it ticks over nicely with a bit more freeplay in the foot pedal before drive is taken up, I took it for a run and doesn't slip, but will keep an eye on it, maybe try a thinner shim at a later date, but I do need to take the sprocket off as that and the bearing behind it are stuck to the shaft (even with the tiny Grub screws removed).


My next question is-

What is the maximum wattage bulbs that a Briggs & Stratton 15.5hp Intek can run in the headlights? Or does it take the power from the battery, not from under the flywheel like the side valve Briggs?

Mine was built without lights, but I fancy having them, Greenfield say they are NLA but they were simply reverse lights from a ute/truck?

So, looking at photos of Greenfields for sale on eBay.aus I have a good idea of how they now fit and ordered some universal reverse lights from eBay.uk, just a case of finish making the bracket and heat shield and wiring it in, but what wattage bulbs do I fit? 5w? 10w? 21w?

I must just say that Greenfield service is brilliant, I emailed them needing an ignition key (mine came without one) and also needing a charging diode pack as mine had been filled with water over the years (hung in the loom upside down) and corroded, after its first run for many years it must have shorted out and made the hour meter run for almost a whole day so it is now reading 91 hours when it should only read 70 (Grrrrrr)

They said they would send it free of charge to me!!

So today I received the key, and a complete charging harness!!

Result!

Video of its first test cut the other week along with its other stable-mate (1988 MTD Lawnflite 504) which as you can see is just so slow compared with the new yellow beastie!



So, two bits of advice please, removing the drive sprocket, and bulb wattage

Hi Iceman,

First, here is the relevant page from the Illustrated Parts List, for your clutch shaft and drive axle:


Are you trying to remove the sprocket, Item 24, from the clutch shaft?

Have you removed all of the items on the outboard side of the sprocket, and removed the clutch shaft and clutches from the tractor? At that point, the sprocket can slide off the shaft. I don't understand your reference to a tiny grub-screw, please explain where it is.

I agree that sometimes when a sprocket is rusted onto a steel shaft, it can be fairly difficult to get it off. My practice when collars, bearings, sprockets etc, are frozen onto shafts has been to soak them in Penetrene or another highly effective penetrant (don't waste your time with WD40 or similar non-penetrating substances) then attach a split-ring behind the sprocket, put the shaft in a hydraulic press, and apply 30 tonnes of force if necessary. Even that won't work unless your penetrant has done its job, though.

From what you have said, your machine may be fairly substantially corroded due to neglect and damp storage. Your clutch problem may have been simply due to corrosion on the aluminium clutch disk, and it may have corrected itself in service.

With regard to the type of lighting you can run with that engine, please tell us the Model, Type and Code so we can try to find the alternator current rating from the engine workshop manual. Essentially though, the most effective way to do the job is to replace the filament type globes you are using with Light Emitting Diode type globes. This increases the efficiency from 5% for the filaments, to 50% for the LEDs, so you can use the same wattage as your old globes and achieve ten times the light output. Of course careful shopping is necessary to buy LED globes at a sensible price: I tend to spend some time on ebay before making a choice. Most likely something in the region of 5 Watts per light should be appropriate for giving you lighting similar to car headlights. If you really want to melt the bushes and blind your neighbours, though, you could look at something like this:

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/2PCS-18W...arts_Accessories&hash=item1c2f29d207

As grumpy says, can we start by posting the essential numbers from the engine? These Model, Type and Code numbers can be found on the top of the valve cover, on early Intek OHV engines. Or on a plate on top of the cowling, for later ones.

Most of our Greenfield maintenance threads here on ODK are found in the Ride On Mowers & Tractors section.

There is also our 'reference thread' on stripping and rebuilding a Greenfield drive. The pics there will be useful to you.

Grumpy, Greenfield has long used 'set screw mounted' clutch shaft outer bearings. The inner race is extended to form a collar, which has grub screws through it to lock it to the shaft. I think those are the 'tiny grub screws' in question. They are shown in the thread I've linked above.

Iceman, a good penetrating fluid and more heat are the next things to try on that sprocket. As the pics in the above thread show, the shaft is parallel, so it's just rust-bound, not locked on a taper.
If there is room to use it, a 'bearing separator' type puller is well worth a try.


As far as lights go, 12V LED reversing lights are available, and will be much easier to mount than conventional reflector lamps.

I see them in Deadly Dave's thread, Gadge, I've even heard of that kind of bearing before, I just didn't associate them with that problem.

Iceman, Dave's machine was an early one, with a long clutch shaft running the whole width of the frame. This seems to have resulted in excessive span between the bearings, causing fatigue failure of the shaft. For quite a few years now Greenfield have used a short shaft design, with the clutch shaft only about half the width of the frame, and the battery placed in the space saved. I haven't heard of a short shaft machine breaking its shaft, so Dave's problem isn't likely to happen to you.

I suggest you try to find a pair of LED lights that will fit into the existing recesses in the front end panel of your machine. This will look much better, and be much easier to fit. As Gadge said, reversing lights may be the easiest way to do the job, since the lights you currently have are also reversing lights, so you can probably find something made as an aftermarket replacement for them.

Hi yes, it is item 24, the sprocket, that I am trying to remove, tight tight tight!!!!

I had removed the whole clutch shaft and clutches from the tractor and had it on a bench so it easier to get at and soak penetrating oil downwards on it, but it is also easy to get at whilst still on the machine, except the shaft is now horizontal so penetrating oil will not soak in!

As for numbers, I realise that you guys go by these numbers to give advise, but sadly the metal rocker cover (valve cover) on the engine was somewhat rusty after being sat outdoors and the numbers are illegible in places. You can just make out the cover in the photo below. I have tried to be gently in cleaning it off so not to remove the numbers, but alas, it is heavily pitted where the numbers are.

I will write down what I can see, hopefully you can make sense of it!!

And LED bulbs sound a great idea, so will be looking in to that thanks!

I shall return with some numbers for you!

Crikey, that pic shows just how neglected it was!

For the rocker cover, give it a gentle rub back with fine [~400 grit] wet and dry paper, wipe off, then run a stick of chalk or French chalk [talc] across it, dry. It's surprising what this can reveal!

2006/2007 Model Intek, 15.5hp Briggs Stratton

What I can make out, possibly,, is-

Model ??1587 Type 011051 Code 060815?4

Hopefully you guys can make sense of that!

The first two digits of a Briggs Model Number are the engine's displacement in cubic inches, so for a 15.5 hp version they will be 28 or 31. However I believe there are problems with some of the other digits you've given us as well, since the Briggs website assures me no such engine exists. There is a 311587, but it seems to be a special purpose engine for use on pressure pumps.

The Type you've supplied doesn't feature in their records in conjunction with that Model number. Note there should be a dash after the first 4 digits of the Type, followed by the last two digits.

If the Code you supplied is largely correct the engine was made on 15 August, 2006.

Rust has taken much of the numbers away!

But that would be the correct year!

So, going by these (illegible) numbers, any idea of alternator output for the lighting coil on the Intek?

And would you have any idea if the carburettor jetting would be the same for a UK engine and an Australian engine?

The reason I ask is we have rubbish (weak) unleaded fuel in the UK, I have a backfire issue when closing the throttle down, I know from looking at imported Vespa and Lambretta scooters they have different jets, mainly air corrector jets though.

Just an idea!!

3 and 5 amp alternators seem to be the most common. Above that output they seem to have voltage regulators mounted separately on the engine.

I'm only aware of Briggs having California emissions versions, and everywhere-else versions, of their emissions control systems. Even there, they are migrating toward selling the California version everywhere, so I think it unlikely the Australian version would be different from the UK version. The "usual" unleaded fuel in most countries is 91 Research Octane Number, with 95 and 97 or 98 RON available as premium products. However in the past ten years or so most of Europe, including the UK, has made 95 RON its standard-grade fuel. Hence your regular grade UK fuel is higher octane than our regular grade Australian fuel. If your engine is misbehaving I doubt it is directly a fuel problem. It may be carburetion, or an air leak, or a malfunction in an "anti-afterfire" solenoid, or various other things. Are you sure you don't have some water in the carburetor float bowl or the fuel tank?

Your Intek engine is prone to malfunctions that can cause problems related to what you are experiencing. In particular, they blow cylinder head gaskets, and wear out their crankcase-pulse-operated fuel pumps.

There's another way of checking the alternator type, in the Briggs Repair Manual for the OHV singles.
Start with this ID chart, and see what you can see.



Of the most likely options, the referenced Figures 10 [single pole connector] and 11 [two wire, two pin flat connector] have a single diode in the connector; Fig 12 [single wire into a two pin round connector] has two diodes in the wiring harness. Fig 13 has an external regulator/rectifier unit, so doesn't look likely.

For sure, finding Briggs info without at least the right Model and Type numbers is painful. Pity about the rust.
In that model number, xx1587, the 8 doesn't fit. As grumpy says, the first two digits will be 28 or 31, for that engine model. The other numbers, taken in order: 1 is feasible; it's the basic design series. So is 5, as 5-9 here are Briggs' vertical crankshaft designations.

Then the next one - 8 here designates 'Plain output Bearing, Auxiliary Drive (PTO) Perpendicular to Crankshaft'. Which is not what you have! The most likely numbers here are 0 [plain output bearing, splash oiling] or 7 [plain bearing, pressure lubrication].

7 makes sense as the final digit; it means 'Electric Starter, 12 or 24 Volt, Gear Drive, with Alternator'.


And as grumpy suggests, a thorough cleanout of the fuel tank and carby is indicated, if it hasn't been done.
Water contamination is highly likely, given its history, and will cause trouble down the track, if it isn't already doing so.

There's a spec sheet at http://www.mymowerparts.com/pdf/Briggs-&-Stratton-Spec-Charts/ which says that the basic model series for the 28/31 cu in Intek singles are 28S700 and 311700, FWIW.

The parts lists that site has for download do list the Type Numbers that were used, within those model series.

Interesting thanks, I imagine mine would start 31 and the 3 is missing on the model number.

RE the wires coming out from the engine, looks like a red and white wire, and also a black wire, going in to a white plastic two pin plug, but the black wire is not connected to anything on the other side of the plug so am I right to assume this is the lighting coil wire!

The other wires beneath it in the photos are to the carb fuel solenoid on the other side of engine. I had flushed the fuel system out, was clean, runs like a dream apart from backing off of the throttle. Locals always moan about poor quality unleaded fuel we have, but I run a diesel van so only buy petrol for my mowers! But yes, possible air leak, I did have to replace two lengths of fuel pipe due to perishing, (plus the tap and filter of course).

On the smaller alternators Briggs usually fits the diode right at the output connector. You can see it in your picture: red/white and black wires into the white/clear connector, with a diode in the red/white wire. The red/white wire with the diode is connected to a yellowish-white wire on the tractor-harness side: this is the DC charging current to the battery, and the tractor electricals in general. The black wire from the engine's alternator into the connector is not being used at present - it carries AC, and would normally be connected to the headlight switch on the tractor harness side of the connector. This coincides with Gadge's Figure 11, but the feed wire to the diode is red and white instead of red.

Greenfield, like many other tractor manufacturers, does not use the AC supply circuit. My guess as to why they do not use it is that they want the headlights to be available for use when the engine is not running. Of course, the AC supply will not produce any output when the engine is stopped, which to me seems like a good thing, since it prevents the battery being discharged foolishly by inappropriate use of the headlights.

When you replaced the perished fuel hoses, did you remove the carburetor float bowl and clean the inside of it, plus clean out the anti-afterfire solenoid, and the main jet? The material from the perished hoses has to have gone somewhere, and those places seem likely destinations. Note also that the anti-afterfire solenoid on Briggs engines has been a very unreliable component, though at the moment I can't relate a problem with it (other than its fuel passage being blocked with junk) to your symptoms. For diagnostic purposes people sometimes remove it temporarily, screwing in a suitable very short bolt instead, to see if that fixes something. If it does, the solenoid has to be replaced with a new one.

Here's Figure 11 from the Repair Manual:



Description:
Looks like a match, except of course for the white/red DC output wire colour. Wouldn't be the first time changes during the production run haven't made it into the service literature!
The tractor-harness side wire is of course whatever colour Greenfield saw fit to use...

Brilliant explanations there thank you!

Grumpy, I didn't take the carb apart as the perished lines were on the other side of the fuel filter so nothing should have got through,,, he hopes!! But yes, worth taking apart and cleaning!

As for the lights, I did not realise up to 100 watts could be powered by it!

I did wonder why the Greenfield wiring diagram showed a wire coming out of the ignition switch for the lights, still not sure which wire that would be on it, but I am like you, I would rather not accidentally leave the lights on after switching off while I go and have a cup of tea and come back to a flat battery with no pull start!!

Iceman, bear in mind that the output voltage from the AC circuit varies considerably with engine speed. It being a Greenfield mower, it should be run with the lowest engine speed that can pull the load, so as to minimise clutch wear. That means that quite a lot of the time you'll be mowing at 2400 engine RPM, and the lights will only receive 8 Volts, which is not enough to operate filament-type globes usefully: their colour would be dull orange and there would be little light. It will probably be enough to operate LED lights usefully, because their colour is independent of voltage: they just give less intensity at lower voltage. However I suggest you don't plan on cranking out 100 Watts. Mowing at 3,600 RPM with a Greenfield would either involve implausibly high mowing speed, or rapid clutch wear.

That would be so that the supply to the lights from the battery runs through the two switches in series.
Then if the ignition is off and the key removed, passing 'aimless fiddlers' can't switch the lights on and run the battery flat...

If the headlight current runs through the key switch, it should also mean that you can't leave the lights on, since they'd turn off when you turned the ignition off. If that provision exists, it might be easier to leave the headlights wired to the battery, so you don't have the problem of dim lights at low engine speeds. Personally I'd rather use LED lights running on AC, so I could use them as much as I liked without risking eventually discharging the battery (remember the DC output from the alternator is rather limited - only 24 Watts at cruising speed of 2400 engine RPM). However that's just me - I'm rather protective of batteries, because I hate the cost of replacing them after they've sat around part-charged, and become sulphated.

That sounds like a good plan, the diagram I have is this-

Looks like I have the yellow wire already in place in the loom! Will need to look at it in daylight but it appears to come out of the ignition switch, with a fuse inline, then in to a black sleeve then in to main loom, but the sleeve doubles back on itself and disappears where it is tied up, so I could be in luck here with one power supply, but I would like to run the lights off the AC as well, so have bought an On/Off/On Double Pole Double Throw Switch.

My idea is to run the lights from under the flywheel on AC, then if I need more lighting power or emergency lights without the engine running (but with ignition on) then flick the switch over to the battery.

Any idea if this is feasible and what wires would go where on the 6 pins on the rear of the switch!?

Bought some reversing lights, switches, wiring plug, found a bracket & a heat shield as the exhaust is close by to the right hand lamp.

But typical UK weather, cold & damp, so will wait for the weekend if the sun comes out!

Hello Iceman, to find the switching pattern I use a multimeter on unknown switches, switch it continuity "Bell", place your probes on any two contacts and rock the switch back and forth. Do all the combinations. Have a pad and pen handy. You will then soon known exactly how that switch works.

Common faults people make when testing ohmic values:
# poor contact with probes.
# wrong scale selected.
# placing what you want to measure in series with the probes.

Good luck with it.

As you've bought a 'centre off' switch, you can use that on its own if you like. No need for a separate on/off switch.

You will only need to use one side of it; an SPDT switch was all that's required as a selector here.
Wiring it up is simple enough; centre terminal to the lights, and the upper and lower terminals to the AC and DC+ supplies.

Just keep in mind how the switch contacts work, as to which supply is 'on'. I.e. toggle up = lower terminal supply is on, and vice versa.

An issue I'm unsure about here, is the suitability of the LED light modules [if that's what you've got] for direct AC feed.
The AC supply will need to be half [series diode] or full wave [diode bridge] rectified, if they aren't.

The LEDs are diodes, Gadge, and hence don't normally have any issues being connected to AC, in my experience. Of course they are only conducting half the time, so it would be a neat trick to wire one headlight in the forward current direction and the other in the backward current direction, but I don't see any other problems. I haven't actually done it with high power LEDs like these, but LEDs are quite fast-switching, and have a decent Peak Inverse Voltage rating like most silicon diodes, so I'd expect it to work.

However, Iceman's lights look like incandescent filament ones anyway.

Agreed; I'd just edited my post to reflect that.
As regards the LED modules I've looked at, they quite obviously have more circuitry in them than just the LED's - they're OK with 9-33V supply. So they have at least voltage regulation, and likely current limiting, built in.

If they have electronics on board, they are highly likely to require the right supply polarity. I wasn't thinking of a wide tolerance of supply voltage, just a design which had the same voltage tolerance as an incandescent globe - in other words, very little tolerance.

The separate switch in my photo is for something else

I bought a DPDT switch as I wasn't sure if an SPDT switch would do what I wanted, I know now

So what are the other side of the terminals used for on a DPDT switch?

Had a couple of hours free today so I knocked up the bracket and fitted the lamps and heat shield.

Dug out the yellow wire that was folded up in the loom and yay it does have power!!

Will sort the wiring out next time.

Yep, that's what I was thinking.
From what I read in 'Silicon Chip' magazine, these high intensity white illumination LED's have different characteristics to the small red/green types. They require higher voltage, and a constant current supply for decent intensity and life. Not just a matter of running a few in series from a nominal 12V supply via a current limiting resistor! There are various LED driver chips available, which can run MOSFET switching transistors in a buck/boost power supply so as to use that wide input voltage range. In wholesale quantities, these chips run about a dollar...

Well, they do have a bit of tolerance, but the light intensity drops dramatically under nominal voltage, of course.

Well, DPDT switches are often easier to get than SPDT anyway, particularly in high DC current ratings.

The other side is used to switch another electrically independent circuit at the same time. The DPDT configuration is also easily wired to be a polarity reversal switch, which has its uses.

Excellent cheers, I am a bit concerned about running the lights from the battery itself while running, I put a voltmeter on it to check the output while engine running to see what it is charging at and on tickover it is 12.3v and full revs it is 12.6v. It has a brand new battery.

This worries me as my other Briggs (11.5hp) puts out 12.9v to over 13 volts on full revs, and about 12.6v on tickover.

Not sure if I am missing a voltage regulator, I have tried looking for the location of one online but where is it meant to be on a 15.5hp intek?

Greenfield have an added charging harness which is brand new on mine, numbers 5 and 6 are the harness and charging diode. Would this be what is making the output so low? I am concerned the lights will draw more current than the alternator can put back in!!

The voltage you measure with that test is the battery voltage, not the charging capability of the alternator. Hence all you have shown is that your new battery has not completed its plate-formation process yet, and it won't achieve higher voltages until it has. The only thing you know about your alternator is that it is putting out enough charge to raise the voltage across your battery by 0.3 Volts. From memory, it is a 3 Amp alternator.

I would be very surprised if your engine has a voltage regulator for a tiny alternator like that. All it will do, is put its puny 3 Amps into the battery when it is running flat out, and proportionally less at other times. 3 Amps will not hurt a battery that size, even if it is fully charged already.

On another subject, those mesh screens in front of your headlights will be costing you about 25% of your light output. I don't understand why you used them. They won't protect anything against bumping into solid objects, and I doubt your ride on mower will encounter many small stones thrown up by vehicles at highway speeds.

Cheers, nicely explained, so running headlights should be ok with that amount of charge going in to the battery. I was thinking the battery would drain faster than it could recharge!

The reason the wire mesh is in front of the lights is for two reasons, well three reasons really

It was already in place and I had just painted it as it was rusty,,,

Also, the new lights are a different shape to the holes already in the bonnet as I could not get original items. So to make these lights a snug fit I would have to trim metal off of each side of the headlight hole and weld a strip along the top and bottom of each hole and make the bracket to mount them so the lenses are just protruding through, with a rubber trim around the opening and obviously paint the front of the bonnet. I like the "simple is efficient" rule!

As for stones flying up, when it is on a trailer on the back of my van going to and from jobs, yes it is quite possible, which is why I left them as a type of stone guard, I live on a small island, 26 miles long, and approx. 13 miles wide, (146 sq miles) and our roads are horrendous

It doesn't have one, as was determined earlier in this thread, from the Briggs Repair Manual:

The 'charging diode' in the harness is only there for the hour meter; i.e. so that the meter will only run while the engine is running, and generating power.


Yep, with such a low DC output, it is easy for lights to exceed that, and draw the battery down.
Hence grumpy's [and my] attraction to the much more efficient LED lights, which also draw much less current [<0.3A, or 3.6W, each].
If your lights use standard automotive globes, it is quite easy to get 'LED globe' plugin replacements, and this would be a good way to go.

Just as an example, this mob in the US have a good variety, including some that are OK with 12V AC; https://www.superbrightleds.com/cat/tail-brake-turn/

First, good point about the trailer-work, Iceman, I hadn't thought of that, and as an ex-caravaner, I agree, it would be a problem without stone guards.

Second, on the subject of whether your alternator can keep up with your headlights so your battery is not discharging when you run the lights, we need more information to resolve it. What is the wattage of the globes you have in those lights? Let's say they are ordinary car turn-signal globes, which are usually 18 Watts each I think, but may be a bit more in some cases. Two 18 Watt globes is a total of 36 Watts power consumption. 36 Watts divided by 12 Volts is 3 Amps consumption. Your alternator has to be cranking out 3 Amps to just break even on maintaining the battery's charge. However, you only get 3 Amps when the engine is running full scream, so realistically, you will be losing ground on battery charge any time you run a pair of 18 Watt globes. See why I recommended using the AC line? You'll get dim headlights, but the battery will actually be charging all the time, not discharging slightly.

I think that mower, like most, was designed to use DC for the lights because it was expected to only have the lights on occasionally for short periods, so the battery could recharge the rest of the time, when the lights were not on. Briggs provided the AC output as well, to cater for people who wanted to use the lights a lot.

Going from an expense point of view, I would have thought it would have been easier/cheaper to run a wire from the ignition switch to the hour meter, rather than have extra wires, a wire harness, and charging diode in place! More to go wrong! But I guess no risk of the hours going up if you accidently leave the ignition switched on!




The standard bulbs in the new lights came at 21w. I have got a pair of LED bulbs for it (equivalent to 21w) but testing them in my van rear lights they are dim dim dim, so I think I was sold some dud ones!!

You bought a pair of 21 Watt LED bulbs? You are definitely planning to melt the bushes. A couple of points, though. First, are they rated for AC as well as DC, or only for DC? Second, remember that they use the same amount of power as the original incandescent bulbs that were in those lights, they just produce ten times more light when they do it.

Did you get the correct type of bulb base? There are twin filament bases, with two solder terminals on the end of the base and either symmetrical or offset pins for the bayonet base, similar-looking single filament bases with two solder terminals but only one of them connected, and single filament bases with one central solder terminal and symmetrical pins for the bayonet base. If you have bought single filament bulbs with twin solder contacts, you may not have been applying power to the right contact. If you were forcing a symmetrical-pin single contact bulb into an offset-pin twin contact socket, anything could happen.

That plastic fitting on your engine looks like the mounting for a voltage regulator. Since you did not get a large, regulated alternator, nobody installed a regulator in the mounting.

Mmm, he could just mean that they were sold as 'equivalent to 21W', i.e. claimed similar light output to a 21W conventional incandescent bulb. More likely, I'd reckon, particularly if a FleaBay seller.

+1 on the correct bulb base info, of course.

As an aside, I'm rather impressed with the light output of some of the multi-SMD LED festoon 'bulbs' now made to replace car interior lighting bulbs. The better bayonet cap ones should be good too.

I haven't tried any automotive LED lights yet, mainly because to replace the bulbs in most of my lights you have to dismantle half the car. For example, to replace a parking light or front turn signal bulb you have to begin by removing the front bumper. I think the rear lights are about as difficult. The joys of modern cars.

I remember the old days, when one morning I noticed a parking light was out on my car, replaced the bulb in the time it took to get one from the shed, then went to work and left the parking lights on all day. If I hadn't replaced that bulb I'd have been able to use the starter, but adding the load of that fourth bulb meant I had to push. Luckily, cars of that era were very easy to push start single-handed.

Ah yes, i have the correct fitment and the LED bulbs were listed on eBay as "equivalent to 21w".

Been too wet to wire it up, but as my two mowers do not have any form of ignition lights or "idiot lights" as they are known here, I decided to buy one of these




Quite handy on old bikes and in old cars, and will hopefully show me if all is well with my charging and the battery too.

So that will fill my third hole on the "dashboard" of the Greenfield.

Not so! I found today that if it is removed then no charge goes to the battery!

Finally got around to wiring in the lights, severe wet weather lately and no time to play!

So, first photo, lights on tickover, running off the AC supply.

Second photo on 3/4 throttle running off the AC supply.

Third photo, still at 3/4 throttle I flicked over to the DC supply from the factory fitted wire on the back of the ignition switch.

Fourth photo, There were already 3 holes in the metal body (dashboard) under the sticker, these holes had punched through the thin sticker sheet so I thought I would make use of them, two switches (lights and horn as I may be going road legal next year) I fitted an LED warning light http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/321561833001?_trksid=p2059210.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT to show charging status, red on tickover and very low revs.

Fifth photo, LED changes to green when revs rise above 1/4 throttle. This LED has a battery checker in it to show flat battery, overcharging etc.

Sixth photo, a little sticker I had made up, this is where it was originally sold.

Great thread fella's, it has been very illuminating

Iceman, I love seeing an Aussie mower over in the UK.

Before this thread, I was never aware that you could have AC and DC supplies from a ride on engine and you have shown the difference in great detail. Love the charging light.

Thanks to all.

How far do you have to have the speed control advanced from idle to have your light go green when the headlights are on?

That's a bit weird. The only reason I can see to have a diode in the mower harness is as a blocking diode, to prevent the battery running the hour meter. The diode on the engine side of the plug is already performing the rectifier function.
Unless there's more than two terminals in the diode plug, and it has more than one circuit?

That wiring diagram isn't really clear enough to be a good circuit diagram, so I had to speculate a bit about the exact circuitry in that area of it. Whoops! That owners manual isn't in the ODK Ride-On manual library, either.

When the headlights are off, it is a quarter throttle to make the light go green.

Headlights on- AC switch- this would obviously make no difference to charging, I forgot to say, I retained the original 21w bulbs which came with the lamps.

DC switch- full throttle and the light is still red.

This doesn't concern me as the LED colours are-

�Less than 11.1V = Slow Red flash

�11.1V - 12.6V = steady Red

�12.6V - 15.4V = steady Green

�15.4V - 16.1V = steady Yellow

�Above 16.1V = Eye catching Yellow flash sequence

I have not got a test meter on it yet or run it for a long time with the lights on DC to see what the battery does, but to be honest my initial plan was if I did need to use it in the dark/dusk I would use the AC side, unless low engine speed or tick over was needed then use the DC side to make the lights brighter.



Yes I would imagine that if there was some kind of emergency and the diode failed I could always bypass the hour meter all together and run the wire from the engine side of the plug to the ignition switch/battery , this is how it runs in my 1988 MTD Lawnflite, no other wiring at all

Does that mean you didn't fit the LED light bulbs you bought? Those results are exactly what I'd expect with incandescent bulbs, but I thought you were using the LED ones, which is why I asked the question.

I didn't fit them, honestly the ones that I had are total rubbish at night, obviously cheap does not mean good when it comes from China through eBay!!

If they give less light than your 21W incandescent bulbs, it seems they may be stretching the truth, and you need something with more than "21W equivalent". I see that the 30W LED bulbs are nearly all headlight bulb type, with the wrong base for your lights. I only saw one person on ebay selling them with a bayonet base.

As you know, when your red light is on, your battery is discharging despite the engine running at maximum speed.

very nice and informative thread.
I have the same engine and the battery is not charging and neither the hour meter working.


we can see that the ac/dc is not connected.
neither the orange from ignition or the purple wire going to hour metre.
this is not the original engine and obviously they didn't do the modif properly.
how can i fix it?
thanks
Jerome

the drawing i have is not really clear.


*Now if i connect the orange wire from ignition directly to DC output, will i charge the battery this way?

*Also i don't understand where they take the positive power for hour meter looks like a red wire from the body (that doesn't make sense.)

That diagram does not make much sense by itself. It seems to be just part of the mower's wiring diagram.

The Briggs engine has a single wire that should be black, and a pair of wires that could be various colours, that connect to the mower itself. The single black wire is the kill wire: its only job is to stop the engine when it is grounded. People sometimes make the mistake of connecting this wire to +12 Volts when the engine is running: don't do it, that will destroy the ignition module.

The other pair of wires are the alternator output. They are connected together at the alternator, but one of them has a diode in it somewhere along its length - usually near the output connector that connects to the mower's wiring harness. The wire with the diode supplies DC, the one without the diode supplies AC.

If your engine has an electric starter, there will be a heavy wire from the starter motor. Most likely the mower's wiring will have a solenoid to operate the starter, but this is not a part of the engine.

[quote=Iceman][quote=Gadge][quote=Iceman]



In this picture could you please tell me where the orange wire is connected.
I believe that the wire with red terminal and diode goes to the key switch and the other with black sleeve should go to 12v+ pin on hour meter.
Can somebody confirm this is the correct way to do it.



I definitely have a diode connected on the red output wire (DC output) and nothing on black output Wire (AC output)

thank you all for your precious information.
jerome

Here is the wiring diagram for a Greenfield Evo 3 Mk 2:



As you can see, it is not exactly wired up like a 787, it is pretty rudimentary stuff.

Here are some Evo 3 models, including one with an hour meter:



Can you match one of these diagrams to your mower?

Thanks grumpy.
no nothing like this. But my mower is Evolution 2000 MKII with 15.5HP B&S.(originally B&S 16HP)

here is my configuration. just with harness 5 and 6 messed up by previous owner.



I successfully connect DC output directly to Key switch so now its charging at least and also I connected the Hour meter to key switch to.
So the clock tick now as soon as i turn ignition on. i don't really worry so much as i don't leave contact on if I'm not mowing. i may Add a Diode later on so the hour meter will only tick if engine is on.
Cheers.

I think you were very fortunate that the previous tenant did so little damage to the wiring.

yes i know especially when everything else on this mower is assembly up side down... this one was an easy fix. but only because of this forum.
thanks again guys.

jerome.

I'll close this thread.