PTO won't stay engaged

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The PTO on my tractor will not stay engaged. I was knocking down some small cedars with the rotary cutter while feeding hay this weekend and the PTO started disengaging. It will start up and run for maybe 5-10 seconds and then just cut off. It is a model that uses electronic control to engage and disengage the PTO. Someone told me that a weak battery might cause this (the battery on the tractor does need to be changed). Do you think it is the battery or some other electronic problem?
 
Sounds electronic, not mechanical, since it will work 5-10 seconds. Rural King has good prices on batteries, I would eliminate that first, then check connections, what wiring I could see if needed. There could be a build up of debris preventing from staying engaged since I assume it started happening at once and not getting worse over time.

If the battery has bad cells and past charging that could very well be it as sometimes they go out like a light bulb or corroded and not a good positive connection or ground.
 
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Is it setting any codes?

Many will shut it down and set a code if it detects any slippage.

Could also be the solenoid valve.
 
Not so many years ago, the electrical system on a tractor was a starter, alternator and lights. Now, fuel injection, solenoids, transmissions, displays, sensors, wires that the mice eat, switches, drives, clutches and a thousand error codes and limp modes. Thirty year old tractor is reliable, almost anyone can diagnose and repair, will last almost forever, rebuildable, and in demand more than a new one. A five year old tractor has way more parts, more problems, more comfortable maybe, sometimes even the manufacturer can't find the problem or the parts, causes more stress, costs more money, takes a long time to repair. Battery in the 90's would last maybe 10 years. Battery now last 3 years. Can we just go back to the old days?
 
Not so many years ago, the electrical system on a tractor was a starter, alternator and lights. Now, fuel injection, solenoids, transmissions, displays, sensors, wires that the mice eat, switches, drives, clutches and a thousand error codes and limp modes. Thirty year old tractor is reliable, almost anyone can diagnose and repair, will last almost forever, rebuildable, and in demand more than a new one. A five year old tractor has way more parts, more problems, more comfortable maybe, sometimes even the manufacturer can't find the problem or the parts, causes more stress, costs more money, takes a long time to repair. Battery in the 90's would last maybe 10 years. Battery now last 3 years. Can we just go back to the old days?
Exactly, sometimes I wonder if that comfort is worth it. That goes with vehicles also. I know flipping a button to engage a PTO is nice, but pushing a manual lever back and forth to engage/unengaged is not that bad.
 
When our T5.115 was new the pto would occasionally disengage. Dealer made several trips out but could never get it to fail while mechanic was on site. One day while I was using it I happened to be looking right at the dash when the pto kicked out. The dash went blank for a split second. I realized that what caused the pto to disengage was a brief lack of power. I found the main power wire in the fuse box under the hood was not tightened down properly. Easy fix but took a long time to figure out and was very frustrating.
 
Mine kicks out the pto occasionally if it errors out. Has a fancy switch on the fender for the pto that I'll never use but that's what the code is related to. I just have to acknowledge it and I'm good till I shut the tractor off.

Since it's electrically engaged could be lots of things depending on make/model. It sounds like it reliably turns on then shuts down so I'd start with any sensor or switch that can shut off the pto. Some tractors shut down the pto if you get out of the seat... something like that. Is it one where you switch between 540 and 1000 in the cab as well as switching the shaft? Maybe it'd detecting overspeed because you're running 1000 and it thinks it's in 540.
 
The PTO on my tractor will not stay engaged. I was knocking down some small cedars with the rotary cutter while feeding hay this weekend and the PTO started disengaging. It will start up and run for maybe 5-10 seconds and then just cut off. It is a model that uses electronic control to engage and disengage the PTO. Someone told me that a weak battery might cause this (the battery on the tractor does need to be changed). Do you think it is the battery or some other electronic problem?
It's telling you to stockpile fescue instead of feeding hay.
 
Alternator putting out the correct voltage? Aside from that without knowing exactly what tractor it is and its specific wiring its hard to guess. Pto speed sensor, seat switch, pto switch, weak hydraulic pressure, the list is endless.
 
My Town Car steering got stiff, I WD40'd linkage spots, no improvement.
took it to the shop, they scanned it. "Steering- low voltage batt" came up.
New battery and steering was fixed. Old battery cranked the car fine!
 
Wh

What make and model tractor is it?
It is an AGCO GT65a. It has been a really good tractor. It is not the PTO rpm speed, I checked it last night as I was afraid that the lever might have gotten bumped, but it is on 540.

I have a feeling that it might be the battery. I am planning on replacing it this weekend. It is a chore to change them out on this model because I will most likely have to remove the front brush guard to get to it. The pto problem started when the battery started showing signs of wear.
 
It is an AGCO GT65a. It has been a really good tractor. It is not the PTO rpm speed, I checked it last night as I was afraid that the lever might have gotten bumped, but it is on 540.

I have a feeling that it might be the battery. I am planning on replacing it this weekend. It is a chore to change them out on this model because I will most likely have to remove the front brush guard to get to it. The pto problem started when the battery started showing signs of wear.
Charge the battery, then leave the charger on. Start the tractor and engage the pto. If if acts up, it's probably not the battery.
 

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