I’ll start this out by saying that all my fixes, fabrications, and improvements are brought on by a problem of some sort. This one is no different. The Machine is John Deere 220 E-Cut. The problem is with the park brake cable. It rusts and with it’s location is prone to being hit with another mower if you use the 22B WBGM double greens mower trailer.
This photo shows how it is originally. As you can see I added the rubber nipple on the end of the cable to help with moisture. I use a water resistant spray grease with a straw on end of spray tip. Stick the straw inside the cable housing and fill it up. Put the rubber nipple on and no more rusting cable problems.
The double trailer for our greens mowers aligns the front reel pivot on one greens mower with the park brake cable of the other when they are loaded on this trailer. (No, They aren’t loaded on a trailer in this photo but it shows how they align to cause damage to the brake cable.)
After one good whack on the park brake cable the housing bends or breaks and the cable will bind when its engaged. Since the park switch is under the handlebar assembly the controller will think the brake is disengaged when the handle is released. So, the operator engages the mower with the park brake band still tight because of the sticking cable and I get heat, slow traction speed, poor cut quality due to clip rate being off.
As you can see by this photo, the cable actually broke at the adjustment nut.
My solution to this problem is a simple spring I purchased through Grainger (part number 1NBX5 pack of 3 that are 12″ long for 10.00) cut and installed on the park brake cable end just like the traction cable has. I cutting them into 2.125 inch lengths. The spring is strong so it will release the park brake band even though the cable may be bound up pretty bad.
I’m still not happy with the location of this cable but this is a simple band-aid until I find time to come up with a better solution or a better way of teaching operators not to hit them.