Peg Perego John Deere Power Loader doesn't go
Posted: Sat Jul 14, 2018 7:38 am
I was given this many years ago for Ian. Just bought a new AGM battery and modified the wiring to accept my Battery Tender as a charger, and it was good to go. Much fun was had. It also came with a trailer. It has 2 speeds forward and one reverse.
It has had intermittent issues and lately I reinstalled the 2nd gear lockout because Owen is reaching an age where he can use this. Seemingly after I did that it started being completely dead in the water. This was a clue but I didn't realize it until later.
For some reason I zeroed in on the throttle switch. I mean it is kind of a wear item so I ordered a new one off eBay for like $10 shipped. A bit of a pain mostly due to prying some plastic snaps off from around where the gas pedal mounts. I never really tested the switch. I should have.
Got my switch last night, and threw it in. No change whatsoever. Grrrrr. However, in 2nd gear, the right motor did run but that was the only thing that seemed to work at all.
So then I was like....well it must be the shifter switch. So I began disassembling the machine so I could even get to it. Not too many screws. Mostly just understanding what unsnaps from what which was somewhat tricky.
Anyway eventually I got the shifter out completely and it seemed like maybe it did have an issue according to some continuity checks. But then I decided to double check that work and jump out the harness on the machine to confirm that at least it was working properly. I did that (the shifter was labeled for positive, negative and left and right motors which was handy). And the left motor just would not turn. So I'm like....so this has a bad shifter switch AND a dead left motor?? Is this even worth fixing?
I continue disassembly because I wanted to see if I could get closer to the motor to inspect it. You can order them anyway. Eventually I figured out how to remove the seat. And through a small opening I was able to instantly see that one of the left motor wires was completely disconnected from a terminal. No way. So I reconnected it, temporarily connected the shifter plug and wouldn't you know - everything works perfectly. It probably didn't even need a throttle switch but for $10 it is brand new and I still have the old one.
I think what the switch does (guessing) is run the motors in series for reverse and 1st gear. Then 2nd gear (which did work before for the right motor) runs them in parallel. THIS is why I had the functionality I had before. In series, with the left motor disconnected, nothing low speed worked. Because circuits. Now everything is fine. Anyway I'm happy I got it fixed, though there was much dripping sweat (I was still completely in work clothes) - it was worth it.
Pics in a bit.
It has had intermittent issues and lately I reinstalled the 2nd gear lockout because Owen is reaching an age where he can use this. Seemingly after I did that it started being completely dead in the water. This was a clue but I didn't realize it until later.
For some reason I zeroed in on the throttle switch. I mean it is kind of a wear item so I ordered a new one off eBay for like $10 shipped. A bit of a pain mostly due to prying some plastic snaps off from around where the gas pedal mounts. I never really tested the switch. I should have.
Got my switch last night, and threw it in. No change whatsoever. Grrrrr. However, in 2nd gear, the right motor did run but that was the only thing that seemed to work at all.
So then I was like....well it must be the shifter switch. So I began disassembling the machine so I could even get to it. Not too many screws. Mostly just understanding what unsnaps from what which was somewhat tricky.
Anyway eventually I got the shifter out completely and it seemed like maybe it did have an issue according to some continuity checks. But then I decided to double check that work and jump out the harness on the machine to confirm that at least it was working properly. I did that (the shifter was labeled for positive, negative and left and right motors which was handy). And the left motor just would not turn. So I'm like....so this has a bad shifter switch AND a dead left motor?? Is this even worth fixing?
I continue disassembly because I wanted to see if I could get closer to the motor to inspect it. You can order them anyway. Eventually I figured out how to remove the seat. And through a small opening I was able to instantly see that one of the left motor wires was completely disconnected from a terminal. No way. So I reconnected it, temporarily connected the shifter plug and wouldn't you know - everything works perfectly. It probably didn't even need a throttle switch but for $10 it is brand new and I still have the old one.
I think what the switch does (guessing) is run the motors in series for reverse and 1st gear. Then 2nd gear (which did work before for the right motor) runs them in parallel. THIS is why I had the functionality I had before. In series, with the left motor disconnected, nothing low speed worked. Because circuits. Now everything is fine. Anyway I'm happy I got it fixed, though there was much dripping sweat (I was still completely in work clothes) - it was worth it.
Pics in a bit.