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cheap starter swirtches

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Anonymous-0

Well-known Member
I have had a heck of a time getting my M to start. It was running for a few days and wont turn over again. I pretty much isolated the problem top the starter switch. A man whose knowledge I trust took the last one apart and showed me how cheap it was. He said I would be better off putting in a 6 volt solenoid and just forgetting the old switch. Do you all have any opinion on this advice? the switches I have been buying are from Fleet Farm and darn cheap in price (I guess I know why). When he opened it up he showed me the contacts were very thin and cheaply manufactured, he showed me how they were not even making contact. Does anyone have a source for better starters, or should I go with putting in the solenoid?

Thanks as always for any who offer advice,

Bill
 
You might wanan check with Jim in New York at Agri Services www.wiringharnesses.com for a switch. I would only go the Solenoid route if a GOOD switch was UNAVAILABLE just for originality sake, although hey, Id agree a solenoid can be superior electrically speaking. If the starter is bad and draws excess current that could shorten switch life........

John T
 
yep cheap starter switches are junk. learned this 40 + years ago if i remember right the original was a delco switch, suggest going to case ih and getting the right switch, it should last many years.
 
Bill - The copper terminal button on the starter case under the switch acts as part of the starter switch. It wears each time the starter is used. Over time the button gradually wears down so even a new, factory OEM switch will not make proper contact. A new switch thus quickly burns out.

The only fix is to take the starter to a starter shop and have a new button installed - about $25 or so. With a new terminal button on the starter even a cheap starter switch will now give many years of reliable service.

---

You CAN replace the saddle (manual) starter switch with a solenoid. But you'll need to have a threaded stud installed to replace the starter terminal button so you can connect a cable from the solenoid to the starter. You also need a separate starter switch and more wiring - ie. more stuff to go wrong.

If the tractor was mine I'd stick with the original style manual switch...
 
bob, on a 'm' the starter switch is not on the starter like a super m is. it is locaated in the middle of the rear fuel tank support. i think they are all made the same place and i always keep a spare one around.
 
The M does NOT have a switch on the starter like the Super M. the push button switch is remotely mounted and you could short across the terminals.
 
Thanks, Jim--but the M's I've worked on have the pushbutton back on the steering -lights upright post. I've been wrong before, though. Shorting across should be used only in an emergency.
 
On an M or Stage I Super M with an original starter switch, adding a solenoid would be easy because the threaded stud is already on the starter.

You could tuck the solenoid away somewhere and use an original-style starter switch to activate it.

The problem is that the starter switches were never designed to take the high currents. Even the good ones don't last all that long.
 
H & M Farmalls have had about 4 different switch arrangements over the years. (not including the personalization found on many). Wrenching the thing across terminals is not (opinion) a path to best practices. It is a see if it is the switch with that old beater GlobeMaster wrench. Jim
 
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