I haven't seen under the hood of one yet but if you jumper the RIO button that should work....another posted you can disconnect the relay it's attached to.???
anyway...Just make the button think its depressed at all times(like a Craftsman)
{{gwi:322918}}

These don't have the push button. It is in with the PTO switch, lift up to engage PTO, then lift up again to keep engaged in reverse. I have jumpered the push button before but not sure on this one.

find the reverse switch on the tranny. jdparts.com will have a full break down drawing, so you can identify it quickly. then just loosen the bolt holding it in place, rotate it out of the way, and retighten. this way you can easily hook it back up if you hav eto take the unit in for service. if you forget, you can say it must have never been tight and just rotated on it's own! ;)

How do you by pass the safety switch on the seat?

I may be dense; however, I still am not sure how to undo the RIO button.

John

FWIW - I wouldn't recommend disabling the RIO switch. It's a good safety item and you'll be amazed at how quickly you'll get used to it. The time saved (if any) simply isn't worth the safety trade-off in my book. All it'll take is just one accident ... think about it.

{{gwi:322919}}
While your at it, use these to remove your seat belts from your car.

but you can run the mower in reverse without bypassing can't you? I was told you can with the X300.

Yes, you can mow in reverse without bypassing anything. With the blades already engaged, pull up on the PTO switch before you press down on the reverse pedal, then release the PTO switch. As long as you keep your foot pressed on the reverse pedal you can continue to mow in reverse. If you lift your foot off the reverse pedal, you have to pull up again on the PTO switch before pressing down the reverse pedal again. If you don't pull up on the PTO switch before going into reverse, only the blades will cut off, NOT the engine.

Thought so thanks! I am leaving now to pay for my X300, have it home in a couple days.

I'm sure your car does not have a switch that you have to "hold up" on when backing, so why does your mower? Both vehicles will hurt or kill if you back over someone......

There reasoning is the blades will chop them up.I do not like the Rio awitch but learned to deal with it.Its not that hard and after you get use to it you do not even realise your doing it.

To each his own, Personally I think the RIO could be as dangerous If not more as not having it. I'd bet there are more people paying attention to lifting that switch instead of looking behind them before backing up! I tried using it a couple times hated it and disabled it.

"I'm sure your car does not have a switch that you have to "hold up" on when backing, so why does your mower?"

One must prove operator proficiency with a test prior to obtaining a license to operate a car; and state laws requires liability insurance. The public must be protected against untrained, uninsured, and unlicensed lawn mower operators. ;~)

t

It isn't very hard to lift up on the switch and look back at the same time. Both are simple disciplines that can easily be learned - like using your turn signals in the car when turning. Then again........some folks are to lazy to do that too.

I will follow-up on the post which said to look under the footrest, below the reverse pedal, to turn this safety feature off.

I have a 2006 JD X320; just used it for the first time yesterday, 4-30-07. When moving forward, blades engaged, the PTO switch is in the elevated position. When I press the reverse pedal, the blades stop, tractor moves in reverse, but THE PTO SWITCH REMAINS IN THE ELEVATED POSITION; IT DOES NOT SNAP DOWN. So, these posts about holding the switch up while moving in reverse in order to keep the blades spinning do not seem to be accurate. The PTO switch is in the elevated position the whole time, all on its own. To re-engage the blades, you have to push the PTO switch down, then pull it back up to its elevated position.
Anyone else agree that the 2006 model operates in this fashion from the factory?

mxvr4,

there is elevated, and there is pulled up. they are different levels. the lever will stay up. you have to pull it up a bit more to mow in reverse.

-gh
(hated it, disabled it...)

Greenhobby is right,
It looks as if it is pulled up, but you actually have to pull up and hold before pushing reverse. Then after pressing reverse, you can let go. If you stop and try to reverse again, you must again lift up. It doesn't take long to get used to, but annoying anyway.
Stolly
X320

I definitely say use it a while, and see if it still bugs you. I have an X300, and only have 10 hours on it. After 1 or 2 times mowing, I was able to use it without any problem. It just takes a slight lift up on the PTO switch from its elevated, engaged position (it doesn't seem like much at first, but it works). Also agree with leaving the seat switch. It will continue to run if you disengage the blade, and put on the parking brake. I am a surgeon who has taken care of too many mangled limbs from lawnmower injuries. Its usually a cute 5 year old girl that falls off while Grandaddy is giving her a ride. That, or someone slips/gets run over by the running blade. These safety items may be a pain, but they came into being a good reason. And its the sort of thing you would never think could happen- until it does. Can you spell "hamburger"??

Amen

Hey everyone, thanks for the follow-up posts. After my original comment, I went outside to finish the mowing that I hadn't completed yesterday, and I started reading the stickers on the mower, that are placed around the deck height adjuster, which explain the buttons/switches on the console. Well, low and behold it explained how to mow in reverse. Just like you guys said, with the PTO switch already elevated (blades en-gaged), you pull it up a little bit more (only gives about an 1/8" - very slight movement), and then push the reverse pedal, and the blades stay engaged while backing up. Also figured out that you don't have to hold that PTO switch during the entire backup, but, if you let the switch go, and then ever so slightly lift up on that reverse pedal, and then push it back down, the safety mechanism does kick in, and dis-engages the blades. So, at that point I really felt like a heel for having made my initial post up above. LOL If all else fails, read the directions. I can't tell you how many times I skipped that step, and then ended up eating crow, like today. LOL

Ok, so now that I know how to manually over-ride the safety device of blades dis-engaging in reverse, where is that hardware located? As explained in a post up above, I looked under the right foot-rest, by the reverse pedal, but I didn't notice that it triggers/touches any other part when the pedal is depressed, which would make the safety mechanism kick in. Do I need to look up by the PTO switch, under the hood?

It's there, It is easier to find if you remove the deck. move the reverse pedal by hand, there is a small push button that the reverse pedal mechanism pushes in. If I remember right it takes a 10mm socket to loosen the bolt and slide the whole thing back and retighten the bolt.

"To each his own, Personally I think the RIO could be as dangerous If not more as not having it. I'd bet there are more people paying attention to lifting that switch instead of looking behind them before backing up! I tried using it a couple times hated it and disabled it."

I agree. If the mower was set up to cut off the blades when you back up and NOT allow you to push a button or whatever to keep them spinning, THAT would be a valid safety feature. How does the RIO switch make it safer? With the switch, Johnny Homeowner is mowing and pushes the switch to keep the blades engaged and backs up over little Johnny. Very bad situation. How did having that switch help??

The RIO feature is UNSAFE!!! I have had my JD for several years and I find that it is not only a pain but after using it a while it naturally takes your attention away from the rear to the front where the switch is located. This feature looks like it was designed by a politician.

Now the seat switch is another matter. That works well and prevents you from doing something dumb. I would never disconnect it.

Pulling up on the PTO switch for mowing in reverse does become a habit that you do without even thinking about it. But it has also led me to pull up on it when I wasn`t mowing purely out of habit. Now couldn`t you say there`s a safety factor there that nobody realized. Remember the opti-grab?

I purely do not like the idea of putting down my beer to mow in reverse. Just purchased an 08' X300.

My God, we're talking about someone getting cut up after you've fully RUN THEM OVER with the tractor. How about looking where you are going? Why not a simple backup alarm like every other pc. of heavy machinery has? Pulling up on the switch can obviously be learned but is truly a PITA and a distraction, especially when going repeatedly back and forth in certain situations. You sometimes can't help getting out of sync and shutting off the attachment. Another modification resulting from stupidity. It's like the talk about putting guards around boat propellers. Are you kidding me????