Hi endeavor

Glad to have you join us here, but man am I disappointed for you that you are experiencing this with a brand new tractor, especially with a Simplicity.....Have you spoken to the dealer about it?...I know you want to get to know the machine, but this is really not acceptable. This is probably something stupidly simple, but it should have been worked out before dropping it off at your house......for kicks, check the battery connections...also check that all fuses are in their receptacles securely....is there enough engine oil in it?...possibly an oil level sensor shutting it down?

 

Does it happen when you adjust your position in the seat? Not sure if it has one of those fancy mesh like simplicity seats or a standard foam seat where the seat safety is touchy due to the seat foam being stiff. Assuming it does not happen when the brake is on or set?

 

man am I disappointed for you that you are experiencing this with a brand new tractor, especially with a Simplicity

@MARK (LI)
Thank you for the nice welcome. Yes you have no idea how disappointed and disrupted I feel about this, I'm taking it personally. This was an expensive unit.

Yes I did swap out the battery for kicks since I had a brand new one on my bench. No difference, so I put the other new one back in. I went over all the fuses, in and out. I'll check it again.
I've checked the oil as you mentioned many times, brand new looking oil and it's right to the full line.
As far as the oil sensor you mentioned, I'm looking near the oil filter etc, and I don't see it yet? There is so much extra stuff there. I can take a picture? ..anyway I'll try to locate it and check connections, but I don't see it yet.
On my 20 yr old Conquest everything mechanical was straight forward known and simple, but this current Prestige with all its new fangled electronic gagets, I'll have to get used to it and what they all do. Also with this module and the electronics of it all, I would need to buy the $400 Onboard Diagnostic (19636) unit for it and learn how to use it. LoL, I just want to mow my darn lawn darn it. I'm so disappointed.

No I did not contact my dealer yet, I need to think about it to get my ducks in a row. How are they gong to troubleshoot something this intermittent and get it right the first time. I have to remember that pickup and delivery is Not included in the warranty so that's nearly $100

It's odd to me that the DOM on this unit is stamped as March 2022 and it's 2023 still in the crate at the dealer ...but maybe that's how it is and there's no actual 2023 version out yet? I see on the tractor frame the label says model 2691678 Rev 1

@ lx176mainer
Yes for sure I did check the seat connections, aamof, for temporary test purposes I nylon wired tied it closed (as always on) ...temporarily as test only. Yes I did check the parking brake switches, unplugged, and re-seated ...along with the PTO switch which as I understand is somehow wired in concert.
I did everything I logically knew how. What I don't know is what the electronics inside this module unit does, if when they get out of range, is it able to shut the unit down like that? I don't know this answer yet. I see there are these MIL (Malfunction Indicator Lights) small red and green led lights in the harnesses, but the red one goes out after it's started which as I understand it is good, not sure I've seen the green one on yet, but of course I can't see them when the hood is closed and I'm on the tractor mowing.

<edited next day to fix some wording>

 

After editing my post above just now to fix some wording and things said - I decided I had more I wanted to say, and so now will also type that here.

The difference between my 20 year old Conquest and this new Prestige is impressive it two ways, imho.

~First the suspension springs, etc, makes the ride about 30% more comfortable (less jolting)

~The difference between the K66 transmission to this newer K72 is also about 30% more impressive. It can climb inclines much easier, and the difference in HP with the Prestige being 27hp (which I don't really need, it drinks gas much faster too) but the extra power is noticeable. I never need to turn the speed lever up more than half way.

~The seat is nice too.

~Things I don't like at all - is all the fancy electronics - imho, is all more trouble than its worth.

~I especially don't care for the electronic Transport mode setup at all, because it won't stay up, it bleeds down quickly especially if you're moving. I realize you're not suppose to mow with the deck raised up and that's fine. However 25% of the work I do with the dump cart etc, I'm not using the mower, and to have that huge heavy deck and it's back roller bar rolling over the unruly terrain as I'm pulling a dump cart of dirt for instance, is ridiculous! It's banging against everything as I drive across the unruly terrain - is not a good design really this way. Especially when you need the back roller bar to be raised up, but with the electronic transport mode you can't leave it there as it bleeds down very quickly, compared to the manual lever style that manually hooks it high - it so much better for that!

Question:
Is there a way to convert from the new actuator electronic Transport Mode lift system, over to the manual Lever how it originally was that lifts the whole deck system up and manually hooks it into a catch to stay there? Has anyone found a modified way to hold that heavy fabricated deck system up, so that it doesn't bleed down?

Okay, I'm getting ahead of myself here though - I need to get this random engine cutting out fixed first! Last night I took it out for a 30 minute ride to see if I could pinpoint it, it worked fine all throughout this time, in all modes. PTO on, off, shutting off, starting, etc, all to see if I could get it to act up but this particular time it did not, that is until I pulled up in front of the garage and while it idled as I sat there thinking for 30 sec, it shuts off. You see, it's so random, it'll do it whenever it wants and I have not yet found any particular things in common like you would normally expect.
I'd love to fix it myself, but I will have to bite the bullet and have it picked up if I can't resolve this myself. I just need some guidance as how to pin it down better.
Having it shut off while mowing going up a hill is not ideal ! It seems to do it anytime and anywhere, with no commonalities I can decipher yet.

 

That is beyond aggravating.....I would just call the dealer, and follow it up with a letter or email, just to have it on record that your new tractor is experiencing problems "right out of the box"

 

Yes it is beyond that..

The randomly shut off issue is not normal for sure

However it's possible the bleed down of the electronic Transport mode after you raise it to it's high point, run by the simplicity 84003773 deck lift actuator (I think that is run by both fluid and electric...?) ...anyway I think we will find that with all these simplicity lift actuator units, unfortunately, they are not designed to hold the whole fabricated heavy deck up while you are driving around ...the jockeying of a few hundred pound deck gravity pulling down on it, seeps or draws / weighs it back down pulling the actuator out again resting the deck back on the ground via the back full bar of rollers.
Unless someone tells me they have the power deck lift for Transport Mode and with theirs when they put it in Transport Mode with rollers up, that they stay up even while driving the tractor around for 30 minutes or more.

I HATE having to go back to the dealer like this. You have no idea!
I never had a problem with my Conquest that I could not fix myself....

I could maybe tie the deck up and lock it in position somehow, maybe even revert it to the original manual lever way - but the main problem with random shutdowns has me stumped!

 

Yeaayh! ..I found the problem!! ...fixed!!!

After taking off the complete hood, and sitting in front of the tractor and just looking at it pondering where to start, as I focused lower I could not believe my eyes what I saw. I could not have seen this unless I actually took the hood off because of its location.

On the hood there's a cross brace, and when the hood was closed that cross brace pushed tightly into a wire harness, and the slight sharp edge of the brace rests tightly on the harness in such a way that it sliced into the wire harness, causing intermittently shorting to ground on 2 of the bundle of wires (17) in that harness. That wire harness of wires goes into the fancy fuel delivery setup you see.

(I'm not used to this forum software yet, but I see you can ''open in new tab" as you click on each picture - if you want to see them in a larger and original size)

Here's some pictures I took that day:

1: Prestige with hood taken off to the side:

2: Looking low and straight on low into at the front of the tractor

3: Closer up and 'circled in red' ..where the wire harness abrasion taking place

4. More closer up, to see the bare copper of wires showing (did not know picture taken was blurry, sorry)

5. Picture (hood is off by itself) ..but in this picture circled in yellow, is where on the top of this thin brace, slices back into the harness, and you can clearly see where the etching into the metal is where the shorting is/was taking place:

_

(note: fwiw and fyi ...now I've read in the pdf's that at the factory when they pack the tractor into the shipping crate, they pack the steering wheel, etc, into the hood for it to be installed later at the receiving dealer. Now I only mention this thinking, did the brace get forcefully pushed into the harness during shipping, etc. I say this because remember, my tractor shutting off intermittently happened on the same day of delivery - the tractor had less than an hour on the meter, so either packing stuff in the hood forced the brace into it, and/or the brace is designed to be way too close to this harness anyway)

~To repair I unplugged, snipped wire ties, unplugged, unwrapped and spread the wires in that harness, then professionally soldered fray firm, taped, re-wrapped with same type heat tape, re-plugged, re-wire tied.... etc, etc
~To Prevent that brace from bothering that harness again, I bowed the brace out in it's middle a few inches, and now it's inches away from that harness when it closes.

Case solved, and I'm happy to report it's been working flawlessly and not randomly shutting off anymore for 12 days of everyday use now, for the first time since it arrived at my house - It's a Huge relief quite frankly.

Thinking, you know, I'm sure this same problem could/will present itself on other new 2022/2023 'Prestige' models since they were all made the same, with the same wire harnesses all secured in place at the same predetermined permanent pre-drilled pre-grommeted locations, with its inserted tie holder and wire tie into it, and so obviously this is the way they permanently do it, and so point is - going forward this may not be an isolated incidence with just my Prestige unit I'm sure... <shrug>

Anyway, this Prestige is a great tractor, I have a lot more to say but this post is too long as it is, so will end here for now. I wanted to post this reply to help others who might run into this issue.

 

Glad you found the problem...did you bring it to the attention of your dealer?

 

I did finally go in there and tried to explain the problem with it intermittently shutting off, yes.
(this was Before I fixed it myself)
Their stance was they would come pick it up under warranty yes, but I would have to pay the $100 round trip pickup/delivery.
If I worked on it not being a licensed Simplicity technician, I could void the warranty. I could easily also catch the vibe of the owner who was not keen on me standing around talking to the tech, taking up his time costing him $ when he should be working, when their bread/butter is to do the work themselves. You get what I mean.

Honestly, being somewhat technical knowledgeable, the way it was intermittent I was Not At All Confident they would figure it all out on the first try, and 'after the fact' now that I see what the problem was, no way! ..I see now if they had the hood open it would of never shut off on them. And again I see now with the hood open or closed, but still physically attached (not completely removed) ...you could never see that low to even find/see the problem.. It would of been a lot of time and hard feelings if they delivered it back to me, and it still wasn't fixed. Saying to me something like, we left it running for an hour but it never shut off...(with the hood open, or etc, etc..)
Also honestly I did not appreciate how I was treated at some points of the conversation was a bit domineering. I also realize they have a business and if all their many customers come in all the time taking up a small shops technicians time, the owner will never be able to have him work steady to keep the business open.
I was a licensed electronic tech in retail electronics for many a year before retiring, so I get the gist of it all, but I also get the other side of the coin.

Anyway, I'd rather fix it myself, it's the feeling of accomplishment you get. All techs know what I am talking about with your own equipment, or stuff. It's worth waaay more than money or the cost of your time, its the feeling of accomplishment and me doing it myself and being self-sufficient, and succeeding.

...did you bring it to the attention of your dealer?

I have not contacted them yet to tell them I found the problem no. I explained it here first where I can do a better job of it.
My above repair post is my way of bringing this to the attention of the entire Simplicity tech and consumer base first is more productive, but not yet via my local dealer. I will the next time if I go there.