Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) Discussions

Really let down on this machine. I suppose any machine could have a hiccup though.
The first thing I notice is that it always seemed slightly in gear, always wanted to tug a little. It was like this for a couple hours.
Today, I was using it, and BANG! Then of course no more forward locomotion.

The drive plate sheared right off its axle inside! It looks like it is a press fit, and it walked itself right off.

Crap. The banks of the edge of the driveway are already 4 foot tall.
I hope they don't charge to pick it up.

The 8 year old ariens I sold to get this thing never left me high and dry!

PS: Total time on the clock: 5 Hours!

Too bad about that.  Is that machine one of their Pro models?  Unusual for a Simplicity although certainly not impossible.  Sounds like the machine had a problem from the get go if it never fully disengaged the drive system.  Could have been an adjustment problem but I doubt it.  Probably a manufacturing defect that slipped by quality control. 

I just got in from giving my Simplicity 9528 a good work out.  Chewed through twenty inches of fairly dense snow like a hot knife through butter.  I stay on top of adjustments and keep an eye on things mechanical.   Not that this machine has ever needed it.  So far, I've adjusted the tension on the wheel drive cable.  That's it other than oil changes & greasing.   Let us know what the service department says about what the cause of failure was.  I'd be interested in hearing.  

Good luck and best of the season to you. 

Tubby-

Thats the kind of experience that begs the question"Why me?". Those Pro Series Simplicitys are usually bullet proof. In fact I can't remember a post on this forum or any other forum where anybody reported a failure of any kind with a Simplicity since they changed over to Briggs power. That's got to be more than 5 years ago.

My son has a 1060 and his experience is the same as Borat's with the 9528---trouble free. As you know  every manufacturer will have some component failures and it was your misfortune to get one. It is definitely a waranty issue and it will be taken care of.

I know it's easy for me to say but don't give up on your machine. It is as you stated a "hiccup" and in the long run you will be very happy with your choice.

At least your problem is easily recognizeable and can be repaired by a simple part replacement. What drives me nuts is those intermitent, phantom, impossible to diagnose issues that sometimes you can never solve.

Marc    

FORD CHEVY TOYOTA HONDA? we all end up leaning toward one or the other. Hunts or Heinz? No matter what brand THE BEST or WORST someone will have positive and someone will have negative about it. Also they all have a bad one or a lemon sooner or later. Once you are soured thats it. Maybe you will get it fixed and love it. If not sell it and go back to Ariens. You just might be an Ariens guy. I myself am a Chevy Ford Toyota Ariens Toro Honda Simplicity Huntz Heinz guy. But lean toward my Ariens. HMMMM I also lean toward my Honda. :)

HEY Tubby your not alone!  I just bought my 1524PRO. in the fall. First snow storm hand warmers don't work. no big deal. But then I get pinned 3 times because drive does not disingage. Then I get knocked down into a snowbank. What the hell did I buy? I call the dealer tell them ,great response The day there supposed to pick up it's supposed to snow so I call up and cancel so I am not with out my brand new 1524P. Guess what now the electric chute does not turn. Out comes the electric Toro and a shovel.Can I return this thing?  So I guess you are not the only one out there.  Bill

Having trouble with the chute and hand warmers makes sense -- since they both draw on power from the same source... maybe just a bad wiring harness. But the drive, too -- that's weird. What are the chances?? Sorry about your trouble folks. Please report back with the solutions.

Sick,

The friction wheel-disk drive system used on the 1524 is such a simple system that it’s rare for it to not disengage when the traction control lever is released. On a new machine the adjustment could be off, but then it should be engaged all the time. Also there are spring that pulls the swing plate away from the friction disk, disengaging the friction wheel, and thus, the drive. If one or more of these springs is broke there might not be enough tension to disengage the drive.

Another possibility is operator error. I’m not saying this is true in your case, but it has been known to happen, particularly when a person first gets a new machine. The 1524 has the Easy Turn lever mounted on the left under the handlebar and a new operator might get confused and either pull or release that lever when they want to stop rather than releasing the traction control lever, which is on top of the handlebar. The Easy Turn lever only disengages the right wheel when it’s pulled, so in either position at least the left wheel is engaged. Please don’t be offended.

As for the electric chute and hand warmers not working, does the light work? If not, the plug from the wiring harness to the engine may be lose, in which case you have no power for any of these systems. There’s a red wire coming out of the engine near the electric starter that connects to the wiring harness with a small plastic plug. Also, make sure the black ground wire from the wiring harness is connected. This black wire usually goes under one of the engine mounting bolts. If the light works then follow the wiring harness and make sure all plugs are tight. If you have no power and all the wires seem to be ok, then it may be a problem with the alternator built into the engine flywheel. That’s a problem only the dealer can fix on a machine in warranty.

Mac

Tubby wrote:

Looking at the parts manual for the Simplicity Pro and their large frame models (which you can find on-line) it’s interesting to see that on the Pro series the dive pulley is connected to the friction disk by a shaft that’s press fit into the friction disk. However, on the large frame series the drive pulley and the friction disk are the same part, which avoids torque being transmitted through a shaft to the friction disk. This is a case where the cheaper model seems to have a more robust design.

I haven't looked at the mechanics of the Pro machines so I'm not familiar with them.  However, I'm wondering if the "power boost" feature is a part of the difference in design between the large frame and Pro series?  Another thing I've noticed is that both machines reported with problems are the 24" Pro series.   If I owned one (working well or otherwise), I'd contact Simplicity to see if there is a known issue with the malfunctioning drive system components.   

When I was researching machines a couple years ago, I noticed a difference in the directions for the large frame vs the pro model. The manual for the Pro indicates that you should disengage the drive before shifting. I was under the impression that was because the location and design of the shift lever makes it possible to drop into 5th gear pretty easily -- that is, a safety issue. Is there anything about this design difference that explains the instructions?

Curious though, why maintain and build two different drive systems if the newer is more robust?

Well, the place I bought it is really tying to help as best they can, they even offered me a loaner. So far, only  5 or 6 inches of light powder. so i did not need it.
We both agreed it was/is a very bad design. The drive wheel is pressed on, and has a lot of stress. This works it loose, and as it does so, it works towards the rubber drive disc,  That is why it always wants to pull, engaged or not.
I hope if anyone else here has problems they post about it. It is a major fix, you have to dis-assemble the entire guts to get to it. It is a major safety hazard as I see it. In reverse it keeps coming at you.

If this keeps happening, I see problems for Simplicity.

As I understand it, the old design had the wheel threaded on. It must have been much cheaper to build it this way. Smooth move simplicity.

Come on now Tubby.  It's not cheapening of parts "it's advanced production methods"  similar to the brand name box store machines.   

Let's hope that this is a one off situation/mistake for Simplicity.  If they go box store, we'll have no premium quality machines built in the USA left to choose from.   I'm particularly surprised/dismayed that they would choose their flagship line to put a piece of junk on.   Have you looked for an e-mail address to give Simplicity a blast?   If not, here's a link.  http://www.simplicitymfg.com/contact/  

Thanks for the link.

I let them have it. I now have a foot of snow in the driveway. Still no part to fix it, and quite frankly, if they replace it with the *exact* same part, I am half tempted to sell it. Unsafe and failure prone. It really is bad design.

Hey Tubby:

You're right on track with the safety aspect.  I'd be waving that flag high and often.  Keep it in their face and demand that a better quality component to replace the defective one.  If they can't do it, tell them you want a machine that doesn't have that type of failure prone mechanism.  Good luck to you.

Anyone else out there with a similar problem should be getting on the band wagon too.  Even if you haven't had the problem but own a similarly appointed machine, I'd be getting in touch with Simplicity for a fix before you have a mishap caused by a similar failure.  There's strength in unity.