Mownie - Your posts are fantastic. Thanks. I do have the JD manual but as you say, the schematics are not great. I do have the seat switch unmounted so no frame short there. Pink wire doesn't seem to be the problem - fuse blows with X3 and X4 connectors connected (ignition on, seat switch depressed, and all other components and switches disconnected) but does not blow when X4 disconnected and pink wire 800 isolated and connected alone to its post on IM. It's odd that with X3 connected, no individual wire in X4 will cause the fuse to blow, but when all the wires in X4 are plugged in, the fuse will blow when the ignition is on and the seat switch is depressed (and all other components and switches disconnected). Makes me think the IM is bad but I'm still not sure. Also, I did find that if X3 connected and X4 disconnected, connecting yellow-black wire 410 in X4 to its post on IM will cause fuse to blow (again with ignition on, seat switch depressed, and all other components and switches disconnected). 410 goes to ground. Again this makes me think the IM is bad. Also, I'm not sure how IMs go bad. I was just mowing the lawn, hit a bit of a bump (nothing unusual) and the tractor just shut down. I guess it's just as likely that a circuit board just dies as some other components. I figure a wire shorted due to a physical abrasion or corrosion would more likely be somewhat intermittent while my problem is not at all intermittent. Any additional thoughts before I replace the IM?

***"not necessary to disconnect both cables when working on electrical, just the negative/black?"*** That is correct.....So long as the negative/black cable is in fact, the GROUND cable for the vehicle electrical system. And in most machines built in the last 40 years or so, the negative/black is the ground conductor. But you must "cling to" every word of the description. "Negative", "Black", "Ground"! Each word must be considered as a separate and individual criterion when you are preparing to "put a tool" to the battery terminals. (this is a lesson, listen up) There are currently (no pun) no laws governing the colors of wires and cables used in AUTOMOTIVE applications. There are "generally accepted and recognized practices", but no REGULATIONS. Black is nearly universally used as the color (by OEMs) of the negative battery cable, Red for positive cable, but some OEMs might decide to use black cables for BOTH positive and negative conductors leading from the battery posts. And, additionally, you must always consider that the original RED positive cable.....might have been replaced with a BLACK cable. Furthermore, the OEM, BLACK negative cable, might have been replaced with a RED one (you see all kinds of things in "used equipment". The odds of finding a BLACK cable for the positive conductor are actually pretty good, while the odds for finding a RED cable for the negative conductor are slim (but I have found them more than once). Nonetheless, since it only requires that you "look at" the markings on the battery (positive+, negative-), that is what you MUST DO,.... each and every time you prepare to "put a tool" on a battery terminal. ALSO, when you identify the negative post/cable of the battery......trace the cable to where it connects next. If the negative cable connects to the vehicle frame, chassis, or engine block....it is the GROUND conductor. This configuration is what you will find on just about every machine/vehicle of recent manufacture. But, it makes sense to understand the relationship of "color vs. polarity vs. function" in a vehicle electrical system. IF the black cable is connected to the negative battery post at one end, and to the "vehicle ground" at the other end.........that is the only cable you need to remove from the battery in order to render the electrical system "inert" and safe to work on. Even that statement will have "limitations" if the vehicle has advanced electronics and engine/cab controls, but for MOST L&G tractors, it is the best, safest, practice. ................................................... Getting back to your Huskee. Before doing the next test, disconnect the GROUND cable from the battery. Leave all wires connected to the solenoid "posts",.... connected for the test. The black/blue pair will be removed but reconnected in this procedure. To further test whether the solenoid is defective (shorting inside the solenoid), if the first series of tests point in that direction, remove the mounting bolts of the solenoid (where solenoid mtg bracket fastens to chassis/frame. Reconnect the black/blue pair of wires to their same chassis/frame bolt and secure with nut. Use some kind of non-metallic, electrically insulating material (suitable piece of cardboard, carpet, even an old sneaker will do) to set the solenoid on so it can't touch a grounded surface (chassis). Once you have the solenoid resting on the non-metallic material, reconnect the ground cable to the battery negative post. Now, operate the ignition switch to the start position. If the fuse does not "blow" now, it indicates the solenoid has an internal short to ground (fuse DID NOT blow because no ground was provided for the "short" to use). Don't expect the solenoid to operate during the test. Access to the solenoid on my Huskee is somewhat "difficult at best", but I find I can get a better view of it by going in from the right side floorboard/step area (front end of center console and backside of engine). I have to lock the brake/clutch pedal down to get more room for my head. In taking the photos, I went through the battery access under seat AND from the other end I described above.

Anxious to see if it fixes the problem, I suspect a lotta magnetrons have been replaced when it was just a capacitor or diode. Just like fridges and freezers, they change the compressor when it was probably the start relay or the starting capacitor!, but that's how they make their money, and to tell the truth, most appliance service personnel are not competent enough to component troubleshoot and their bosses would not want them to do it, (even if they could)~~~~~they make more money selling and replacing compressors, magnetrons, etc etc. Gary

The only fuse is the one on the motor control board. There are no "resets." Tried to run it ... grinding noise. More details, please. When exactly did the noise occur? What phase of the cycle? Anything that moves could be a source of such a noise, and there's more than one moving part/mechanism that operate at various times. However, the most common source of a "grinding noise" is the pump. Either bad bearings on it, or a foreign object caught on the impeller inside the tub sump, or even debris (such as a stray softener sheet) caught on the pump's cooling fan under the machine. First thing I'd do is examine the pump. Look under the machine for something caught on the fan. Spin the fan with your finger, see if it rotates easily/freely or is in a bind. If there's evidence of leaking, the pump must be replaced. Check the pump with your multimeter. It should read 7 ohms. Be sure to interpret the meter correctly. 7 ohms would read 700 on a 100x meter range, for example.