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Always the simple things

R

rustyacres sd

Member
Had the finish mower on the mf135 and parked in the shed. Went to mow the other day. No go. Just got a click sound. Put on battery charger. No luck. New battery. Same crap. Ok Selenoid on starter. Replaced starter. (PIA on a 135 because you need to remove carb.) No luck. Got 12V down to the starter and fuel shutoff solenoid. Talked to one mechanic. Said short, Massey mechanic said to replace battery cable ends. Had a ground cable on the wall also, so new ground and new positive cable end. Fired first crack. 500.00 and it could have been saved with a 2.49 battery cable end. My LUCK.
Started to mow the edge of the property, and got rained out. not enough to measure in the rain gauge, but it did settle the dust.
 
Yep, sometimes it is simple. Had a similar problem: good battery, but no fire to the starter. Finally, using a cheapo lighted probe tester, I found that I had juice to the cable clamp, but not at the backside where the cable comes into the clamp. No obvious corrosion, but I took the clamp apart and brushed the cable end. Bingo!

Also, lately I've been having the same problem with the 8N--no fire to the starter. My sis-in-law asked if she could try--the tractor likes her, she said. Sure enough, it started. Later I tried, several times, nothing. She came up and again, it cranked right up. I asked myself "What is different?" I climbed in the seat, turned the key, pushed the starter, and it cranked. I figured out that the key switch is bad--jiggle it and the tractor will crank. I had been trying to crank it standing beside it. Sitting in the seat changes the hand angle on the key. Yeah, simple things.
 

I used to teach my techs to never condemn any electrical component without first determining that there was no juice to it.
 
Cable ends are one of the most overlooked parts on a vehicle. Actually, that is where one should begin looking for a starter problem. Generally, it is the last place looked. When I worked at a dealership I can't remember the times a tech. would come into parts and ask for a starter, a few minutes later he would bring the starter back and say, "I need a cable end." There are still a few honest techs. out there.
 
Yep! Been there, done that! Got BIT by it.

It"s amazing, though, lacking $$$ test equipment out in the field what a guy can figure out with a simple test light.
 
Just went through this the other day. Generator on the MF65 wasn't working half the time. I cleaned connections, replaced wires, changed batteries, did every test I could think of. Everything said the gen and VR were good. Finally one day I notice the ground cable for the bat is little loose and some strands of wire were broken. Long story short, the cable was corroded down an inch or 2 inside the jacket. Cut off the wire and old brass terminal clamp and put on a $1.00 clamp on post end. Viola! :shock: She charges right up all the time now.

Sad part is I'm the guy that ALWAYS says, "Have you checked your ground?" for any 12V electrical problem when it's somebody else!

:oops:
 
I have often said that the most expensive way to fix a problem is to start throwing parts at it. An hour spent on diagnosis will often save hundreds if not thousands.
 
I went through the same thing a couple of years ago with my 1755 - would start fine when cold, but wouldn't turn fast enough to start when hot. Replaced the batteries, got the starter rebuilt - still no good. Turns out it was a bad crimp connection at the connection to the frame - it looked ok, but if I had done some research with a meter, I might have found it
Look at it this way - hopefully you saved the next guy some trouble
 

I was having trouble starting an older diesel. I was boosting it from my truck, when I happened to notice that the cable to the starter was very warm. Investigation showed that despite the connection looking very clean there was actually a coating of gray oxide on the plated terminal. I cleaned it up and it cranked faster and started.
 
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