Don't have any idea what Engine this has but might try opening the low speed adjustment screw 1/8 turn, if it has one.

Walt Conner

Thanks for the reply. Engine is Kohler command 23HP. Also I failed to mention in my original post that I have the 3 point hitch and a Simplicity tiller from a 1978 Simplicity 7117 that I use on this new one. PTO starts tiller up fine when tractor is first started.

About the description of your problem.....you are saying that the problem occurs when you engage the electric PTO when you are "trying to mow", is this correct?
How difficult is it for you to remove the deck drive belt from the engine PTO pulley? While the deck drive belt is removed, try engaging the PTO. If this produces the same results (I don't believe it will), the trouble is going to be found in the PTO switch or related interlock system circuits. If the bogging disappears, you will need to check all the spindles on your deck to make certain they are free and easy to spin by hand. Any idler pulleys need to be checked too.

Thanks mownie. Re my follow up post to walt202 about having no problem using the tiller. Hopefully I will have the time Sat to remove the belt and check your idea. Even though I service the mower deck before start of mowing season (sharpen blades, greese spindles, ect.). I will be removing the mower deck sometime within next month to mount tiller in order to till garden, I will go over everything again. But it seems heat related. Earky in spring I would have to let it warm up for 15-20 minutes and then as temps warmed up the engine warm up was less. During July and most of Aug. the mower would start up fine as soon as I pulled it out of shed. Today however temp got down to 57 last night and it took about 5 min before the PTO would engage without bogging the engine down. By bogging down I mean the blades start to turn but engines bogs down before they get up to speed and will stall the engine if I don't disengage the PTO. Outside temp was about 70 when I started to mow.

Is it possible that the lower crankshaft seal is leaking oil down into the electric clutch mechanism? That could possibly cause a problem like you describe.

Charlie, I was trying to find out if you were saying that engaging the PTO to drive the tiller did not cause the engine to bog down, BUT........engaging the PTO to drive the mower deck DID cause the bogging.
Still, it does sound like it is fuel related.Your carburetor may have accumulated some crud, varnish, or other anomalous junk that is partially restricting the slow and main fuel circuits in the carb. Here is what I think is taking place (if there is nothing about the deck that would be imposing too much "engagement load").
Cold engines, by their very nature, require a much richer mixture to crank up from the dead, and to keep running after they begin to run (and "rich" means RICH IN FUEL). That is the purpose of the choke in a carburetted engine. When a carburetor is in good condition, with clean jets and a steady supply of clean fuel, it takes only a brief application of the choke to make the mixture rich enough to awaken the dead engine. After the engine is running, the governor closes the throttle plate enough to limit the RPM to the setting you chose for the "throttle control lever", most of the time, the governor will have the throttle plate almost closed.........until you connect a load to the engine. When the load is connected to the engine, the RPM drops and the governor simultaneously pulls the throttle plate open in an effort to restore the RPM by feeding additional gasoline to the engine. The only way gasoline gets out of the carb bowl is by being drawn out through the jets. If the jets are good and clean, and the fuel level in the carb is at the correct height, the additional fuel easily feeds the engine and RPM is restored to the setting of the throttle control lever.
BUT.......if an engine is being fed by a carb that has partially restricted jets, a low fuel bowl level, or both, the engine might not be able to draw enough additional fuel to restore the RPM (or even keep running), until the engine gets hot enough to operate on the reduced amount of fuel that the faulty carb can provide. With the fuel delivery volume reduced, when the governor tries to feed more fuel to restore the RPM to its previous value, by opening the throttle plate, there is no additional fuel volume available from the restricted jets, and the mixture becomes too lean to restore the RPM (or, the engines just dies). You might also try this to help differentiate between a low fuel bowl level caused by a weak fuel pump or clogged fuel filter.......and restricted jets.
Does the engine idle (slow idle) well when cold? If it does, do this. Let the engine idle at low RPM for a couple of minutes after starting the engine. Next, move the throttle lever to the fast position and engage the PTO as soon aas the engine reaches Max RPM. If the engine does not immediately bog like it has been doing, you have either a weak fuel pump or a partially clogged fuel filter (or the wrong filter). The reason this will help determine whether the problem is related to clogged jets or not is explained like this.
IF, the bogging is due to the fuel bowl level being too low (whether pump or filter related) at high RPM, idling the engine a couple of minutes will allow the fuel level in the bowl to rise (because the engine is consuming less fuel, and the bowl fills to a higher level, the correct level) When you move the throttle control to high RPM and engage the PTO, the higher fuel level that you created, will feed the engine properly when the governor calls for more fuel, and the bogging will at least be delayed until the fuel bowl level drops too low. If the engine still bogs after doing this, you have partially clogged jets, OR, your fuel bowl level is too low for all but the warm or hot engine temperature ranges. It will probably be best to try this simple test first and then check the deck pulleys.