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

I did a search and found a few references to this machine but no answers.  Any one have one of these?  15.5 snow max engine, heated hand grips, 30" wide.  I can't find a listing for auger diameter or impeller diameter.  I called John Deere and the guy that was suppose to be the snow thrower expert didn't know either. 

What is the Easy Steer drive system?  The literature says: 

Easy Steer® drive system giving continuous power to both wheels and auto speed adjustment

Is it similar to the Ariens auto differential? 

I've heard that the units are built by B&S which translates to Simplicity.  They do have cast iron gear cases like the Simplicity.  The chute control is different than the simplicity and so is the turning method so they are not exactly the same.  I'm trying to compare the Simplicity L1530E to the JD 1130SE.  Any help would be appreciated.

Rick

Is your engine speed correct? I do not have heated grips. They may have had to bump up your no-load voltage to avoid dropping too low with everything (grips) turned on?

The engine speed seems normal....to my ears anyways. haha. I sort of figure it's the regulator or the stator. The regulator is $50 and is the easiest part to replace. It looks like the regulator is just a capacitor in a metal box with resin holding it in place with a wire going in and a wire going out. Maybe I'll try going to Radio Shack and rebuilding it with a new capacitor. By the way, I've been using standard, automotive style bulbs.

OK. I got a tachometer and tested the voltage coming out of the stator. At 3600 rpms, I measure 30.8 - 31 volts. According to Briggs and Stratton, at 3600 rpms, I should have 28. I wouldn't think that the extra 2 volts would blow the voltage regulator.

Which alternator do you have? Briggs has both regulated and unregulated alternators, and AC and DC.

This thread will not die.  Will the moderator please lock this thread? 

Thank you aa335 it drives me crazy also..........

55utilitysedan wrote: Not that I want to keep this thread alive, but I'm slightly annoyed that I can't remember what this thread was all about.    Vaguely remember something about water and friction (maybe ice and friction), WD-40 / Superglue, then Honda timing belt, Obama is in office, outboard motor on a lawnmower, and now I think it's something about the ignition coil.   I'm starting to think that John Deere doesn't actually make any snowblowers or lawn mowers, but invented the internet and the iPhone.  Green paint and some stickers for $300 more than a red machine.  I do like green and yellow though.  Everybody has red or orange snowblowers, green is different.

Help me out here guys!  RickyCebu, FrankCA, Borax, DavidNY, MNSprinter, 55pickuptruck, Gangster, Air-Wolf???  There's got to be more since there's 300+ replies on this.

I think a full review of the Ariens Sno-Tek machine should be completed (in NJ of course) and then cross referenced with a Simplicity, Toro and Honda (throw in Yamaha - what the hell) and then we should be able to get at the root of the problem... Maybe we should include borat's old but very reliable and capable Craftsman single stage to be sure we cover all our bases?

I finally have my 1130 fueled back up and ready to go. Now I just need some snow.

Three years ago when I bought my 1130 I thought I was buying what was a well built reliable machine and would be the last snowblower I would purchase for along time.  I was so wrong ..... for 3 years this machine has been nothing but trouble.  Neither the dealer nor I could stop the friction disk drive slipping issue.  First Lowes came out when the machine was new and readjusted and cleaned the disk .... still slipped.  The off to the JD dealer multiple times, they installed the seal kit and varies adjustments and still would eventually slip.  I tried sealing with silicone sealant still slipped.  The other problem with the machine is the auger belt broke with frequency.  The shears pins (JD orig part) sheared once and I bet the belt broke 4 times.  Dealer tried to adjust and fix but continued to happened. 

Mass just had the blizzard of 2013 ..... JD 1130 ready to go ..... after the typical 30-40 minutes of use the drive started to slip in 1st, 2nd, 3rd, r1 and r2.   In most cases putting it into 5th or 6th would dry the friction disk enough for reverse to work and the lower ratio but not all and found myself dragging the machine backwards many time over the 5 hours that it took to clear my driveway.  In addition I could only cut 5 or 6'' of 30'' high snow each pass and the auger couldn't even throw it across my driveway with only a little wet and heavy at the bottom.  This meant that after working my way across the driveway I had to double back and clear the 3 or 4 inches that couldn't get thrown out of my driveway which is not a  full double width. 

My son plows snow but my driveway can not be plowed due to pitch and no where to push the snow.  With the machine being so fragile I can't let either of my sons use due to concerns it will break AGAIN and then I am in trouble if my truck is snowed in and snowblower is broken. 

So long story short ..... I have had with this JD product once and for all.  Yesterday I went out and bought a Honda HS1332TAS. Like I use to tell my customers when buying expensive Ski's or Bike .... once the ouch of the cost if forgotten I will be happy with the purchase for long time.

Good-bye JD..... very disappointed with the design and performance.