Blades on a Ferris Zero Turn Mower Won’t Engage or Turn On: FIXED

When worn or failed parts prevent you from spinning the blades, your mower is useless.

When the deck belt, idler arm, tensioner spring, pulley, PTO switch, clutch, battery, safety switch, or fuse of a Ferris zero-turn mower are all worn out or broken, the blades won’t engage or turn on.

Take all the necessary measures, such as turning off the engine and disconnecting the spark plug wires, as outlined in your Ferris operator’s manual. Hold tight until every moving part has stopped.

Before diagnosing, repairing, or operating, be sure you’ve read and understood all of the safety recommendations in the equipment’s operator’s manual.If you don’t feel confident in your ability to conduct the repair safely on your own, it’s best to call in an expert.

Blades On A Ferris Mower Won’t Activate or Engage

Faulty PTO Switch on a Ferris Mower

The clutch of a lawnmower is powered by the battery and can be engaged using the PTO switch. When the switch stops working, the fan won’t spin.

Ensure the switch has continuity by testing it. In place of a toggle, you can use a continuity break instead.

Bad Clutch on a Ferris Mower

The blades receive power from the engine via the drive belt after the Ferris PTO (Power Take Off) clutch has engaged. When a worn or broken clutch can’t turn the blades, it needs to be replaced.

Weak Battery on a Ferris Mower

A battery must be used to power an electric clutch. If the battery isn’t strong enough, the mower’s clutch solenoid won’t be able to engage, and neither will the mower’s blades.

Use a multimeter to see if the battery is weak. You should see around 12.7 volts from a fully charged 12-volt battery.

If the readout is lower than this, it’s time to charge the battery. Read 5 Things That Are Draining the Life of Your Lawn Mower Battery if your battery keeps dying for no apparent reason.

How to Recharge a Ferris Battery: Plug It Into a Battery Charger. Put on safety glasses and gloves to guard against electrical shock before proceeding. To use a charger on your riding mower or zero-turn, do as follows:

• Get at the terminals and batteries. To get to the battery, you might need a screwdriver. The battery is either underneath the seat or in the engine compartment. Don’t take the battery out of its case.
• Start by plugging in the positive cable to the battery charger. The plus sign cable, or the red cable, is this one. Connect the cable to the battery’s positive pole.
• Connect the negative end of the cable to the battery’s negative terminal. This is the negative-sign cable, sometimes known as the black cable.
• To avoid electrocution, avoid touching anything that isn’t covered in rubber.
• Alter the charger’s settings to suit your needs in terms of voltage and current. Most lawn mower batteries have 12 volts of power. More amperage means a quicker battery charge. The recommended starting point is 2 amps, with a maximum of 10 amps. It’s best to charge slowly.

If the Ferris battery is unable to retain its charge, a new battery must be installed.

Batteries for 12-volt lawn mowers are available at most home improvement and auto parts stores. Batteries can also be purchased at a store that sells lawnmowers. To use an electric clutch, you’ll need a battery with at least 300 CCA (cold cranking amps).

The used battery should be brought along. If you don’t bring in your old battery, most stores will charge you a core fee. The average cost of the core service ranges from $15 to $25.

Bad Safety Switch on a Ferris Mower

As part of its operator presence system, a Ferris zero-turn utilizes a number of safety switches to keep the operator protected. The switch for the seat, which is located under the seat, is one example.

When the operator is not in their seat, the blades will cease spinning thanks to the safety mechanism. If the seat switch is malfunctioning, the blades won’t spin.

You can use a multimeter to test the seat switch, or you can temporarily disable the safety switch to see if the problem persists. Please don’t risk your life by using a mower if the safety switch isn’t in place.

Make sure that your machinery has functioning safety switches at all times.

Blown Fuse on a Ferris Mower

When safeguarding an electrical system against an overload or short, a fuse may explode and cause damage. This can prevent juice from getting to the clutch.

If a fuse blows, use another fuse of the same amperage rating. If the fuse keeps blowing, I suggest taking the mower to a Ferris service dealership or a repair shop so the problem may be properly diagnosed.

Worn Deck Belt on a Ferris Mower

Blades won’t be able to spin with a worn deck belt because it won’t have enough grip on the pulleys. The pulleys could get hung up on it.

Check the belt for damage such as cracks, stretches, fraying, or a glazed appearance that indicate wear. Another telltale symptom of a worn belt is if it has shrunk in thickness and now lies low in the pulley grooves.

The Ferris belt needs to be replaced. When the belt shows symptoms of wear, you should replace it regardless of whether this is the primary cause of your blades not engaging.

Blade velocity is determined by the belt’s grip on the pulleys. To create suction under the deck and raise the grass for an even cut, a high blade speed is necessary.

Worn Idler Tensioner Bracket & Spring on a Ferris Mower

The idler pulleys stay in place thanks to the tensioner bracket and spring. A pulley is usually attached to one side of the bracket, while a spring is attached to the other.

It is possible for the spring’s attachment hole in the bracket to wear out, or for the spring itself to break. The blades may stop turning if the belt comes loose and slips off the pulleys.

Worn Bearing in a Ferris Pulley

Bad bearings in the pulleys of the mower deck can cause the Ferris belt to slip off of them repeatedly. The pulley will no longer be flat and parallel to the deck if the bearings break.

There shouldn’t be a difference in height between the pulley’s deck mountings on either side. If the pulley isn’t quite flat, the belt will slip off. If the bearing in a pulley is worn out, you should replace it.

If the belt on your Ferris zero-turn mower has come loose, the blades won’t spin. For more information, see “8 Causes Of A Ferris Zero Turn Belt Coming Off.”