227-5 reference for electrical restoration

[Olivier from Belgium 5]

Hi there,

 

As explained in my introductory post, I am restoring a recently acquired Wheel Horse 227-5 (exact model is R217K503), starting from nearly no know-how and daily learning new stuff (mostly thanks to this forum!).

 

One of the previous owners of the tractor drastically transformed (degraded) the electrical system, which I would like to restore as close as possible to its initial state. The point is that I hardly find correct reference blueprints to base my restoration on.

 

I read in another post on this forum that the 227-5 has an electrical system similar to the one of the 212-5 model illustrated in the Demystification guide. Browsing through the guide I identified two potential candidate models quite close to what I see on my tractor : the 1988-89 212-5 series illustrated on page 5-1, and the 1990 212-5/212-H illustrated on page 5-21. Unfortunately, none perfectly matches the equipment I see in my own tractor.

Moreover, the two candidate models mainly differ from each other around the starter circuitry, one using a solenoid and the other one using a start relay. However, the 1991 227-5 Illustrated Parts List corresponding to my tractor does not list any solenoid nor any start relay component, so I am quite lost.

 

What I can visually notice in my tractor :

- The electrical wiring harness is present, but some of the cables have been cut

- There is no more PC board

- I properly identified the ignition switch model to be a 103991 (with B, A, M, R, G and S pins)

- But the "S" cables have been cut off from the ignition switch, which the previous owner was only using in OFF and RUN positions

- No solenoid nor start relay found on the tractor

- The starter is directly connected to the battery, only going through a 30A fuse and a push button switch added to the tractor case

- A voltage regulator is present in the tractor and connected somehow to the harness, but no idea if it is functional or not

 

Does anyone have any advice on how to recover the correct information to base my restoration work on?

 

Many thanks,

 

Olivier

[ri702bill 8,387]

6 minutes ago, Olivier from Belgium said:

The starter is directly connected to the battery, only going through a 30A fuse and a push button switch added to the tractor case

Welcome!

Your comment reminds me of the way 701's and 702's were wired. They had a 2 position (On, Off) key switch to power the coil, and a HD momentary Push Button Switch to activate the Starter. The long-term problem with that method is that all the amperage from turning the starter goes thru that PB Switch - it does not have a pleasant life. They have been known to "weld" themselves in the On position - the starter stays engaged. 

I added a solenoid to my 854 to move the heavy amperage load out of the ignition Switch to a device designed just for that purpose. No issues. 

[953 nut 55,393]

I do not own the model you are wiring but would like to help as mush as possible. The solenoid on the engine you have is mounted on the starter if this is the Kawasaki engine it left the factory with. If the solenoid is on the starter then the 1990 wiring would do the job very will. The "SWITCHING RELAY" shown is a standard automotive relay and socket that can be purchased at any auto parts store. Hope this helps and if you need further information please continue asking on this thread.

 

 

[Mackler 11]

Hi Olivier,

 

I had difficulty finding the correct diagram for my 227-5 Model No E217K502 so I modified one that was close to it.

The Starter solenoid is integral with the starter on the Kawasaki FC540V engine. I would guess that the previous owner

wired it directly to bypass the safety switches which is a bad idea with a mower deck fitted.

 

My Tractor does not have the circuit board with all the lights on it either, so I have removed that from the circuit diagram,

it does not affect the operation of any other part of the circuit apart from the Oil pressure light which can be replaced with

a simple indicator lamp on the main control panel. 

The circuit is attached. Ignore the cable colours which are written in by hand as they are the cables I replaced.

 

I hope this is helpful

[Olivier from Belgium 5]

On 11/27/2024 at 3:30 PM, 953 nut said:

I do not own the model you are wiring but would like to help as mush as possible. The solenoid on the engine you have is mounted on the starter if this is the Kawasaki engine it left the factory with. If the solenoid is on the starter then the 1990 wiring would do the job very will. The "SWITCHING RELAY" shown is a standard automotive relay and socket that can be purchased at any auto parts store. Hope this helps and if you need further information please continue asking on this thread.

 

Many thanks for that!

Here is a picture of the starter on my tractor, it looks like the genuine one and I guess that the grey part is the solenoid and the black part the actual starter, then?

 

By the way:

• the blue wire is the one coming directly from the battery+through the push button switch added by the previous owner
• the big black wire goes straight back to the battery- 
• I did not find yet the exact path followed by the black and red wire, but there I found electrical continuity with one of the pins of the voltage regulator connector

[Olivier from Belgium 5]

21 hours ago, Mackler said:

Hi Olivier,

 

I had difficulty finding the correct diagram for my 227-5 Model No E217K502 so I modified one that was close to it.

 

Hi Mackler,

 

Many thanks for the drawing! Quite helpful indeed.

 

However, I do not completely understand the wiring around the (integrated) solenoid on your scheme : one end seems wired to the battery+ and the second pin seems connected to the ignition switch "S" pin. If I am right, when you turn the key in "start" position, the switch then make a connection between the "B" and the "S" pins, so in the end the two pins of the solenoid are somehow connected to the battery+ ? How is that integrated solenoid grounded? Through the engine itself?

 

Sorry if my questions are dumb, I am pretty newbie !

 

Olivier

[Mackler 11]

Hi Olivier,

 

Yes, the Solenoid is grounded to the Starter and so to the Engine and then to the Chassis or Frame.

 

I have connected my Battery Negative cable directly to the Engine using an empty M8 threaded hole just above the starter,

this eliminates any bad earths between the Engine and frame. At the moment I have no accessories which need a chassis

earth or ground so there is no problem.

 

It might be a good idea to run a seperate ground cable cable from the engine to the instument panel, this made a big difference to the

reading on the voltmeter gauge when I did it!

 

As they say on a lot of forums the only dumb questions are the ones that you don't ask so don't worry abotut it.  

[953 nut 55,393]

On 11/28/2024 at 6:24 AM, Mackler said:

The circuit is attached. Ignore the cable colours

@Mackler, welcome to Red Square. I have taken the liberty of enlarging your drawing so my old eyes can see it better.  It appears that everything should function well including the seat and PTO safety switching.

3 hours ago, Olivier from Belgium said:

• he blue wire is the one coming directly from the battery+through the push button switch added by the previous owner
• the big black wire goes straight back to the battery- 

The Blue wire is the one that will go to the normally closed NC portion of the PTO switch and then on to the S terminal of the ignition switch.

The big Black wire should go to the battery  +  terminal. The battery  -  terminal should go to ground. As @Mackler pointed out, it is best to ground directly from the battery to the engine block and extend the ground to the instrument cluster where the ignition switch is located.