John Deere S240 Lawn mower bypass

[@bpatterson1846]

I purchased a new JD S240 in May 2020 and put a whopping 5 hours on it mowing my grass last year. Its a great mower and I like that it has the Kawasaki engine. It always starts first turn of the key. Thanks for showing me how to disable the seat shut off switch. Its annoying to get off the mower to pick up trash or debris and have it shut off then have to restart it.

[@chuckradams3461]

This was the only video that addressed the 4 prong switch great explanation

[@richardklimesh4088]

Great fixes. Thanks for taking the time to post this info. It's fine for companies to add safety features and it's also fine for consumers to choose to disable or not use them. I paid good money for this product, it is now mine to do with as I please.

[@davidbrash5225]

I can confirm this works perfectly on the 2022’s as well! Thanks for the tip.

[@2strokeFORever]

my poor neighbor is only 5 foot and 100 pounds so she has a hard time mowing on any incline without the seat switch getting tripped. Thanks for this

[@nikalseyn]

Thank you very much. A much needed fix for my constant irritation(s) with my S240.

[@DanielA-vi3ud]

I just purchased mine last week and love it. This is awesome. Thanks for the intel.

[@idnryk]

I just got a D155 2017 model. The RIO bybass is simple: Undo the connector and bend a wire between both connections. The seat bypass is done by disconnecting the plug under the seat, and inserting two FLAT toothpicks between the middle two connectors on the plug. Look closely and you'll see a spring-loaded mini-flap on the middle two. Just make sure the metal of the flap doesn't connect the metal on the connector, and you're all set.

[@deereman8237]

idnryk Or, do something even simpler, and unplug the switch from the transaxle. Same idea, but no jumper wires.

[@Standammit]

I just disabled all safety switches on my JD. I just used trailer wiring clips that bridge 2 wires together. It worked great and was non-invasive, no wire cutting and easily removable.

[@teamslaiyans3808]

Link ?

[@desmetde]

What 2 wires did you bridge??

[@MountainGardenGirl]

Awesome...thank you, thank you, thank you. You are saving us from a real pain in the butt...seriously. After 3 hours mowing we can't move..tried a nice cushion and tractor started bucking and stalling and we thought it was bad gas..totally frustrated we threw off the cushion and tractor was fine. Then came to find out it was seat safety...couldn't figure how to jump it but your video explained it all. Thank you one more time.

[@tomcorr1267]

On the top of your clip does it say 5FU. I'm trying to decide if my clip is the same as the one posted in the video. My wire colors are slightly different, and I think my clip pins are different.

[@christievans1891]

Thank You!!! Great Intel and Great camera man. I agree that safety is important but if we pay a couple of grand then we should have the option to enable/disable because its our mower, our risk. The darn seat gives me fits and I told Ag Pro my 5'3" 110 lbs is not enough and I'm having to mow so slow through some of the bumpy patches > ughhhhh!

[@akretowicz]

Great video! Just did it on my S240 today. Works perfect! Or should I rephrase that by saying it didn't work perfect? LOL! Thanks for the very informative video.

[@Bajaheat]

Heck of a good camera man you have. Won't be long and he will be mowing for ya 👍 how's the mower treating you so far?

[@G56AG]

A couple of important points, the backup switch is there because every year several children are badly injured and even killed when someone backs a lawn over them with the mower running. I see you have a young child so this is particularly important, I have a hard rule, no exceptions, absolutely no children are allowed in the yard when I am mowing, and I always look behind me before backing up, do those things and disabling the safety switch is not a problem. Mowers also throw things, sometimes badly injuring people, which is another good reason not to have anyone around when mowing. Yes, my backup switch is also disabled, but I left the seat switch alone.

[@teamslaiyans3808]

Why does the reverse needs to be bypass ?

[@G56AG]

@@teamslaiyans3808 You have to push the button every time you want to back up, its a nuisance to have to do that.

[@teamslaiyans3808]

@@G56AG ok..... gotcha ! 👍🏼

[@teamslaiyans3808]

Just purchase the 2021 21HP Kawasaki engine, can’t wait till it arrives 🔥🔥🔥

[@AskUncleDavecom]

Be careful to keep your sons toes away from moving blades if you disable seat switch. This is good for when you clean blades with hose but you really shouldn't tamper

[@davidbrash5225]

What kind of connectors do I need to buy to make a jumper wire to mow in reverse? Just the flat terminal connectors? Im picking up my new mower tomorrow and want to have everything to take care of this. TIA!

[@Birchrun5]

Any other ideas? That little piece is so deep seated that I can't even use tweezers to pull it out. Thanks!

[@G56AG]

I hate those govt mandated safety things they add to all the outdoor equipment these days, I disable most of them as soon as I try them and find them obnoxious, I disabled the backup soon after I got my most recent JD. But a sincere word of warning, you have a small child, several small children are killed every year when someone backs over them, it is extremely important not to let small children outside when you are mowing, not just the back up danger but also the thrown object danger. My 1996 JD had the seat safety, but it was way over sensitive, I disabled it for awhile, then put it back, I had NOT disabled the seat switch on my newer one, it isn't over sensitive so it isn't a problem. Also consider that several people are hurt every year when they fall off their own tractor and it runs over them, or sometimes the tractor overturns on a hill and injures the driver. Personally I don't consider it to be a good idea to disable the seat switch, and if you choose to disable the reverse mow switch you must be insistent that children are kept inside when you are mowing, you still look behind you when backing up. I notice at 2:36 when you back up with the mower engaged, you didn't look behind you.

[@janetkeener4424]

Where did you get the blue wire connector for the reverse bypass? Can you also post a video on how to level the deck please. Thanks!

[@The2012waiting]

He made the jumper wire for the reverse switch.

[@teamslaiyans3808]

@@The2012waiting why did he bypass the reverse?

[@The2012waiting]

@@teamslaiyans3808 so don't have to push that little safety button in to go in reverse

[@GrizzlyJ44]

What's the headlight bulb type? I want to swap for LEDs. Figured you'd know

[@Z71usa]

Are you still happy with the S240? I’m considering purchasing would like to know your impressions of the mower.

[@josephgangelhoff9775]

I've had my S240 for 4 years. Love it. Added the 44" snow thrower on this winter. 18 to 20" snowfalls were a peace of cake. Great investment. The Kawasaki engine is a beast!

[@tomn5880]

John: Does the seat switch wafer have a right way and wrong way orientation? I noticed a couple of tabs seemed to be bent like they operate like contacts.

[@tomcorr1267]

Maybe if you could post some close up pics of the seat safety switch that would be great. Mine does not seem to have the tab to pull out. I have what looks to be 4 independent slots for pins underneath my seat.

[@BoostedGXP]

So all you did was disconnect & pull the the metal clip out for the seat by pass? You didn’t jump any wires on the harness for that?

[@johneells7415]

Put the seat safety back in, use the brake hold if you want to run without being seated. All you need to do is step off on slippery grass and a foot goes under the deck, but it doesn't come back out. This has happened too many times. I know personally from experience. Use the seat safety please.

[@Brandon-ll3ff]

The problem with modern seat switches is, they do not allow for any lateral movement. On older tractors you could shift your weight for traction, turn over your shoulder for reversing etc. on new tractors the switch cuts power anytime you move from anything other than sitting perfectly on the seat. This flawed design leads to people needing to disable the safety feature.

[@jackstonington3772]

Well I tried to do this however my S240 does not have the clip you pulled out, my plug unit is different. I will have to go back to the jumper, I tried it once before and it won't hold up with a smaller wire it kept coming loose guess I have to make up some type of blade insert matching the plug. Interesting how they changed things from one S240 to the next, wonder if it's a mid-year change, I got mine in late 2015.

[@tomcorr1267]

Is this switch a 5FU switch. It should be printed right on the top of the switch. The reason I ask is that the wires coming into my switch are a different color. I have a white with a black stripe, a black with a white stripe, and the two on the right are just black and they appear to be jumped together. My lawnmower is a John Deere D110

[@WelderVp]

Hey thank you so much! My wife is about 5 ft and it shuts off all the time from a seat and I'm just annoyed about the reverse shutting the blades off. Can someone please tell me what that little jumper is called so I can look it up

[@mrbubetube]

do you still have that mower?

[@MEEMOSS77]

There’s no reason that you should have to override the seat shut off switch!!!!! I haven’t unplugged and overridden mine and I can still jump off with the engine still running. All you need to do is push your brake pedal in and set the parking brake then you can get on and off as you please.

[@mandasdave]

!!!!!! 2 years old and you’re still wrong! My teen son is tall enough and strong enough to run the mower. I have to put a 10 lb weight on the seat with him for him to run it. So yeah, there is a good reason to bypass.

[@dfolk9994]

EXCELLENT_ BUT LET ME IMPROVE THESE INSTRUCTIONS AND HELP THE READERS. Do exactly as he says to disable the seat safety. When you are done removing the metal clip in the connector. THEN GO AHEAD AND RE-ATTACH THE CONNECTORS. This is better than leaving both ends unconnected because now both ends are fully protected and won't collect up dirt and grime on the connector ends. The seat safety will remain disable even though the connectors are attached.

[@edgdula8549]

A buddy of mine disabled the seat safety switch. He went into Diabetic Shock, passed out and fell, luckily off the mower to the back, left. His son immediately reattached the safety switch! I don't think people should imperil the lives of others with this type of advice. There are reasons these safety devices exist.

[@ralphl5441]

Agree

[@dfolk9994]

Addendum: I later had a problem, so I have the connectors back to fully disconnected and have never had a problem since.

[@ralphl5441]

Be careful

[@yogib37]

I wonder if you disable it and you wind up getting a limb cut off severely injured if you will try to sue John Deere. you wont have a leg to stand on if it was not already cut off cause you modified the safety equipment. I would think that could also void the warranty . They put that in there for a reason.

[@samsacre]

Thanks Buddy!!

[@katherinemonroe6387]

Mine is slightly different. I put a small piece of credit card but now my blades won't engage on the S240

[@SandW6384]

couldn't you just put the parking brake in? does the same thing

[@azirian1]

troll

[@SandW6384]

no, just know what the parking brake does

[@OCevenflow]

No. it bypasses the switch in the seat so my son who weighs 87 lbs can mow, and when I shift my weight sideways to mow across a hill it won't cut out. So, no. Not the same as a parking break at all.

[@iwanaGoFast2010]

OCevenflow What is the little fella falls off?

[@TheKerryzzz]

I hope they are better than they look when he raised that hood.. because I was thinking of buying one.

[@conradsutton]

Just bought one myself. The engine is a v-twin 18.5 Kawasaki. Premium mower engine....much better than Kohler or Briggs.

[@douggracy2909]

I have it on my very short list? Did you get the 42 or 48? And did you get a bagger? Thanks

[@TheKerryzzz]

@@douggracy2909 i got the e130, 42 inch cut. Didn't get a bagger.

[@iwanaGoFast2010]

It’s good to bypass the reverse safety but the seat switch should never be bypassed. If you fall off or get off the mower with the blades it’s going to be ugly.

[@g00glechr0me8]

can someone tell me the exact wire and ends used for this? I want to do this mod but I"m not sure where to get the wore and ends.

[@joegeorgejr.3228]

Thank you!

[@DONALD1951]

About to buy one of these. Does anyone. Have the bagger for it? If so do you like it. My 110 bagger works really good. Hope th3 s240 does also.

[@douggracy2909]

How is the new bagger working for you? Do you have a 42 or 48 S240 ?

[@aircobra8880]

Dude, put a light on the ( HOOD OPONED )subject you are showing us. The jumper for the reverse/forward you cannot see what you are trying to show us TX.

[@MountainGardenGirl]

Okay we followed your directions but our clip was not as nice to get out of safety seat switch. Did finally come flying out and we followed directions of one of your commentators who said to reconnect after pulling clip out...wrong, doesn't work. Just tape up with electrical tape to keep clean. Hurray!

[@rjustice6652]

You really need to slow down to let viewers to see what wires you connect / disconnect. The most important part of your video goes far to past the most important parts.

[@nelsonpastran1251]

como cambiar la banda delas cuchias

[@bobbybearden9166]

Audio is very weak can't hear

[@ralphl5441]

Darwin Awards go to this guy. Fucker tells his kid to shut up as he teaches them that bypassing safeties is ok. Hope you don't kill a your kid or hurt yourself Captain.

[@scottspooner6070]

not a good idea...

[@MrVespaGuy]

You told your kid to shut up. That equates to an instant channel change.

[@dennisdavila1045]

He didn't tell his kid to shut up, what he did say was that the screen on the video camera just shot off, in response to his kid saying that the screen was black.