My 68 John Deere was p[reviosly owned by some who smoked and installed an electic cigarete lighter next to the electric start switch, thus the mess. I have 3 white wirers, all disconnected, when I hook all three togeather, the engine starts, but when I try and shift grears, it quits. If while its running,I disconnect the one that appears to come from the vincinity of the gear box, it continues to run fine but the gear box becomes hard to shift.

Dick R., July 2009

Check with the John deere dealer. He could probably diagnose the problem and tell you if you need to replace a part. He also might be able to tell you how it is supposed to be wired. I figure that this problem is being caused by the transmission saftey swich. It is supposed to only kill the engine when you try to start it in gear, but in your case, the saftey switch is probably being grounded of crosswired in some way. It also could be the clutch saftey switch miswired in some way. If you have gotten to the end of your rope, and dont have any young children or pets around your house, you can bypass the saftey system by pulling the saftey wires from the keyswich. ( I think they are purple wires) Like I said, Ask the dealer. Well I hope this helps. Happy tinkering!

Jaylo, September 2011