The two grounds before the headlight connector must be joined in case that was altered...

Thanks justalurker and tomplum. I thoroughly looked at all of the wiring underneath and cannot find any other wires which were even singed. The only wires I could find towards the front underneath of the tractor were the PTO wires. I also could not find the two grounds at the front of the tractor mentioned by tomplum.

A couple of things I have noticed:

Headlights work

PTO clicks when I turn the key on and pull the switch. If I do not have weight on the seat (operator presence), the PTO will not click when I pull the switch. I am thinking that tells me the operator presence switch is functioning.

On page 34 of the manual (wiring harness diagram), it shows three wires going to the PTO plug which connects to the PTO wires. As I mentioned, I only connected the red and black wires directly to the PTO wires. I didn't see another wire which could possibly be the ground. Is this plug a safety switch? If so, will it turn over without the plug?

I do have an multimeter however I am not an electrical guy and struggle with the diagrams. If you tell me where to place the multimeter, I can tell you the readings.

Sorry for the hassle.

Well, I guess I would start then with the basics of the crank circuit. Start with having the battery load tested and the terminals cleaned / secured. Most any auto parts store will load test for free. Alternatively, your starter solenoid is mounted piggy back on the starter and you could take a screw driver and jump the 2 big terminals. It will spark, so use common sense about possible fire hazards. Should it crank, that tells you the battery is solid, the starter itself is good, the engine isn't locked and the main chassis ground is good. You could also jump from the battery terminal on the solenoid to the small trigger wire on the solenoid. If that works, all the above is good plus you know the solenoid is as well. Report back.

everyone have given good advise, however, troubleshooting is difficult to explain. The diagram is also difficult to understand if you do not have electrical experience. You can use a volt ohm meter (VOM) or a test light to trouble shoot. The usual path of electricity for cranking is:

(1) battery + terminal, (2) fuse, (3) amp meter, (4) key switch battery spade, (5) key switch crank spade, (6) safety switch under the brake/clutch pedal - pedal pressed down, (7) pto switch - top row of spades - outer spades, not the middle spade, (8) starter relay - power into one of the small spades, (9) starter relay - power out of the other small spade to the ground connection.

Unfortunately, you can not see all these points with the battery tray in place and all the wires wrapped up. To speed things up, Pull the wire plug off the pto. Stick the test light into the top row of female spades on the plug - outer position - not the center position. One of these positions should have power when the key is turned to the crank position and the pedal is pushed down.

If there is no power, work backwards to the safety switch with the test light.

If you have power, check continuity across the top two outer spades on the pto switch with the pto button pushed in. The center row of spades (middle & one outer position) on the pto switch provides continuity to the pto clutch when the pto sw is pulled out. If the pto switch has starting continuity, work forward to the starter relay.

Some times, you will find power to the various spades, however, the Packard female spade has corroded and the pressure point on the female has broken - and does not deliver continuity to the male spade. On many of these, a 30 amp fuse is installed. This protects some parts of the circuits, however, in an event of a short, some items like the pto switch may burn out internally before the fuse blows.

Update: I tried putting the screw driver on the two connections. I got a spark and a crack. The engine didn't turn over though. Could be my problem though.

Just to make sure I am doing the power correctly, I put the red test lead to the plug and the black to the negative battery post.

As you can see by the below pics (top pic is key switch and bottom is PTO switch), The PTO switch does not have power on either of the outside plugs. Could you help me with where the safety switch is as it as it could possibly be the problem?

your comment: I tried putting the screw driver on the two connections. I got a spark and a crack.

I don't know where you put the screwdriver. I suspect you saw an arc and blew the fuse. Do not put screwdrivers on power connections.

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your comment: Just to make sure I am doing the power correctly, I put the red test lead to the plug and the black to the negative battery post.

I don't know where you put the red test lead. Check the fuse to make sure it is still ok.

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On the bottom picture, the two female connectors (where you have shown an arrow) are the terminals for the electric clutch. When the pto switch is pulled out, these two female connectors are connected electrically and power flows to the clutch. You have already stated the clutch is working, so this circuit is ok.

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on the bottom picture, the two female connectors in the right side of the plug are in the starter circuit. When the pto switch is pushed in, these two connectors are connected electrically, and the solenoid on the starter relay should be energized provided the brake pedal is pressed and the starter switch is held in the start position.

With this plug disconnected, connect the test light to one of the female terminals and the ground lead of the test light to the battery ground. The starter switch to crank and the brake pedal pressed, there should be power to one of the right power connectors.

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The two female connectors to the left are usually in a safety circuit. These are connected electrically when the pto switch is pulled out. On some tractors, this would kill the engine if someone gets off the seat if the pto is engaged.

If you jumped between the 2 large connections on the solenoid and it did not turn, then possibly the engine/ starter/ clutch is locked. Can you turn the engine from the top screen by hand?

Sorry for the delay in response...my day job got in the way!

Tomplum....I took off the engine shroud and the engine will turn. Obviously a good sign.

Bluemower...I used the multimeter to test the right power connectors while turning the key to crank. Neither circuit had any juice running to them. The PTO switch was pushed in and the brake engaged. I see where there are four black wires coming from the left two female terminals. It sounds like somewhere the safety switch is not receiving the signal that the PTO is turned off.

As I mentioned to Tomplum, I took off the engine shroud. I did this to make sure there were no toasted wires underneath. Fortunately (or unfortunately) all of the wires underneath looked to be in good condition.

Is it possible to bypass the PTO safety just to see if that is the problem?

Bear in mind that you may have a safety line issue, but if you jumped the solenoid as instructed, had a good battery and ground- the fault lies there with the solenoid or the starter.

tomplum,

I took a picture of the solenoid/starter just to make sure we were on the same page. Are you saying to jump the two red plugs on the bottom of the solenoid?

If you jump the small spade terminal to that battery terminal, the starter should crank the engine. Does it?

Sorry for the delay. I just jumped the small spade to the positive terminal and it did crank. I didn't have the choke on but it sounded like a normal cranking. Where should I check for the safety on the PTO?

So now you know that you have a good battery, ground and starter. Though many times the ground for the safety line is at the rear body bracket bolt. For something quick and easy to try, a quick guess would be to grab a new PTO switch. They definitely get damaged with a short or surge from the clutch.

your comment: I used the multimeter to test the right power connectors while turning the key to crank. Neither circuit had any juice running to them

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When the original problem occurred, the pto wiring was shorted and a large current was drawn through the the (1) safety switch, (2) PTO switch and (3) ignition switch. Print the electrical circuit that was provided by Lurker. Examine the starter circuit from the "S" terminal on the ignition switch to the PTO switch. You previously stated you did not see any power on the two wires to the pto switch (bottom picture - two spade positions on the right side).

you can remove the plug from the ignition switch - then remove the ignition switch. Locate the "S" spade on the ignition switch. Plug in the wire harness. Now hold the switch in your hand, try to start the engine. Using a test light or your volt meter, see if there is any power on the "S" terminal. If you have power at the "S" terminal, follow the wire to the pto plug. This will go to one of the spades on the right side in your bottom picture. You previously said there is no power at the pto connection. If this is correct, look for a burnt wire . If you do not find power at the "S" terminal, your ignition switch is most likely bad. Another possibility is a bad female

oops, I rechecked my reply and the last line dropped off. I was going to comment that the female spades that are located in the plastic plugs have a tendency to break. if this occurs, there will be a loss of conductivity. Here is a link to a picture.

https://www.waytekwire.com/item/32079/Delphi-12052456-Metri-Pack-Female-Loose-Terminal-/

Ok, here are the latest findings...The S spade of the ignition switch was live. I then went back to the PTO switch. The top right is live when I turn the key in the ignition switch. I don't remember if I was turning the key the first time I checked. I don't really see anything that looks like the picture you provided.

I am sorry to be a pain but I really do appreciate your suggestions. Is there a way to not connect the clutch to see if that safety switch is bad? In other words, is it possible to just not wire the clutch? The wire going to the clutch is the only wire I could see that got cooked. There was a connector between the tractor wiring and the clutch wiring. I did not replace those two connectors but directly wired the two together. Could that be part of the problem?

Thanks again I really appreciate your expertise!

Success!!! I started tracing the white wire all around the tractor verifying that is was hot. A little by accident I found the brake interlock switch (safety) was melted. Since I didn't have an extra switch handy, I jumped the two white wires and the tractor started. Moral of the story, follow the juice and keep looking! Thanks for all of your help. I couldn't have done this without you!

By the way, I am not keeping the jumper in between the white wires. The new interlock switch in on the way. Safety first!

good man...