8 Causes of Cub Cadet Mower Blades Not Start?

You have a riding mower or zero-turn mower with inoperable blades. A mower with non-engaging blades is useless.

The deck belt, tensioner arm, spring, pulley, PTO switch, clutch, battery, or fuse can prevent Cub Cadet mower blades from engaging or turning on.

Before completing any repairs, always observe the safety recommendations outlined in the Cub Cadet operator’s manual. Never leave the key in the ignition or the spark plug wires connected.

Trouble Starting or Engaging Cub Cadet Lawnmower Blades

Cub Cadet Deck Belt, Used With a Lawn Mower

Old Cub Cadet mower deck belts might slip on pulleys and stop mower blades. Look for cracks, fraying, or a glossy belt.

If the belt is worn, it should be replaced. Even if the belt isn’t the primary cause of your blades not engaging, you should replace it as it begins to wear.

The tightness of the belt’s hold on the pulleys determines how quickly the blades spin. Creating suction under the deck to raise the grass for an even cut requires a high blade speed.

On a Cub Cadet Mower Deck, the belt came off the pulleys.

Your mower’s blades may have stopped spinning because the belt became dislodged from the pulleys.

Idler Tensioner Arm and Spring from a Cub Cadet Mower

Idler pulley alignment is maintained by a tensioner arm and spring. One side of the bracket will normally house a pulley, while the other will house a spring.

Both the spring and the hole in the bracket where it is fastened are susceptible to wear. The belt may become loose and fall off the pulleys as a result of this.

Cub Cadet with a Faulty Pulley Bearing

Bad bearings in your pulleys can cause a Cub Cadet belt to come off your mower. When a bearing fails, a pulley can move and no longer rest level and parallel to the deck.

The pulley must be level on both sides of the deck. A pulley that isn’t operating flat can cause the belt to roll off. If a pulley’s bearing turns out to be faulty, you should swap it out.

A Cub Cadet Mower with a faulty PTO switch

The PTO switch is often a knob fitted on the mower that allows battery  to operate the clutch. The blades will not turn on if the switch fails.

The switch’s continuity must be checked. Substitute a switch with a continuity break.

Cub Cadet Mower Clutch Failure

As the engine generates power, it is transferred to the blades via a drive belt via a PTO (Power Take Off) clutch. When a worn or malfunctioning clutch fails to power the blades, it must be replaced.

Check out A Look at How Lawn Mower Clutches Work fyi!

Clutch cable worn out on a Cub Cadet with a manual clutch

There is a clutch lever and cable on Cub Cadet mowers with a hand-operated clutch.

Verify that the clutch is engaged and that the clutch lever, cable, spring, bushings, and linkages are in good condition by inspecting them for wear and squeaks and other signs of deterioration.

Take the time to replace any broken parts.

Cub Cadet Mower Battery Failure

The battery is what powers an electric clutch. The clutch solenoid cannot activate the mower blades when the battery is too weak to supply enough power.

Using a multimeter, battery volt must be measured. A fully charged 12-volt battery should measure around 12.7 volts.

When you receive a reading less than this, charge the battery. If your battery keeps dying, you can identify frequent causes in 5 Things That Are Draining the Life of Your Lawn Mower Battery.

Use a battery charger to recharge your Cub Cadet’s battery. Put on protective eyewear and clothing to shield your skin from potential electrical burns before you continue. Here’s how to hook up a charger to the battery of your riding mower or zero turn mower:

• Obtain access to the battery and connections. To access the battery, you may need to use a screwdriver. The battery can be found beneath the hood or under the seat. Remove the battery from its case.
  
• You should start by plugging in the positive cable to the battery charger. This is the red cable, often known as the plus sign cable. Connect the cord to the positive terminal of the battery.
  
• Make sure the negative end of the battery cable is plugged into the battery’s negative terminal. This is the black cable, often known as the negative cable.
  
• To avoid electrocution, avoid touching anything that does not have a rubber coating.
  
• Set the volt and amp levels on the charger to the required levels. Lawn mower batteries typically have a volt level of 12 volts. A higher amperage charges the battery more quickly. Start at 2 amps and escalate to no more than 10 amps over time. When charging, slow is better.

If you discover that the battery is no longer holding a charge, you must replace it. You can find batteries for lawn mowers that run on 12 volts at any home improvement or auto parts store. Batteries are also available at your local lawn mower dealership.

You might as well bring the used batteries with you. Unless you bring your old battery, most shops will charge you a core fee. The average core fee is $20.

An Issue with a Cub Cadet Mower’s Faulty Safety Switch

A Cub Cadet’s operator presence system includes a seat-mounted safety switch.

The seat switch is fitted beneath the seat to detect when the mower operator is seated.

The lawn mower blades will not switch on without the operator in the seat as part of the safety system. If the seat switch fails to function, the operator may not be correctly sensed.

If the seat switch fails, the safety mechanism will keep the blades from turning. You can use a multimeter to test the seat switch, or you can temporarily bypass the safety switch to discover a broken switch.

To ensure your safety, never operate a mower without the safety switch attached.

Always keep your safety switches fitted and operational on your equipment.

Cub Cadet Lawnmower Blown Fuse

A blown fuse could be the cause of no power from the battery to the clutch. The fuse protects the electrical circuitry of the Cub Cadet.

Use another fuse of the same amperage rating to replace the blown one. If the fuses continue to blow, I recommend taking your mower to a Cub Cadet service facility or a lawn mower repair shop to determine the source of the electrical problem.

More about Cub Cadet Mower here..