new to sight and bcs

[farmerboybill]

Splitty,

If there was a "mainline" sticker on it, you'd see it. They were red and the size of a bumper sticker. It usually was mounted to the hood of the tractor and one on each attachment. That would make yours between a 1983 and a 1985 model. There is no registry for serial numbers.

 

[splitty]

Common simple keyswitch pretty much only needs 3 or 4 wires depending on battery or mag ignition. B or Bat terminal hooks to B+, to give everything else power when the key is turned, S or ST goes to the starter solenoid and only has power when the key is cycled to the start position and I or Ign powers the ignition, and if a mag ignition it will need a G to enable shutdown by the keyswitch.

I went back out to the barn with a buddy of mine and he took the wire off that was just a jumper from one terminal to the other and moved one wire from one terminal to another one and everything seems to be working now except it don't shut off with the key. The previous owner replaced the ign. switch so the terminals don't have letter markings there are numbers identifying them only. There is a kill switch on the handlebars but it is not hooked up. The kill switch don't feel right so I think the previous owner just unhooked it and I don't know where to hook it back up at. The wire coming off of it is long enough to make it down to the little box mounted by the starter but I am not sure if that's where it goes.There is also a little white button down on the motor that shuts it off, which is what I used tonight. So now there is only two wires hooked up to the ign. switch. I don't know if this is right but it seems to be working. Whether or not it charges the battery is another question also.

 

[splitty]

Farmer boy bill,

There is no mainline sticker or any signs of one ever being on it. this tractor was very well cared for it looks like so I don't believe there was ever a Mainline sticker on it. One other thing There is a clutch lever, Two brake levers, Throttle lever, and a plastic lever that is right in front of the throttle lever. The plastic lever has a cable that runs down to top of the chassis and hooks up to a small arm that has a shaft that goes right into the top of the body. The cable is froze up, but the lever moves back and forth when pushed by hand. Do you know what that lever does? I am trying to find a local guy that knows about the bcs tractors so I don't have to bother you guys so much. Thanks for the help guys.

 

[farmerboybill]

You're not bothering me. This is why I'm here.

The T-bar on top is the differential lock. You flip it forward to unlock the wheels and make maneuvering easy, and you pull it back to lock the wheels for added traction.

While it wouldn't be "stock", I recommend you add an OPC. A Operator Presence Control will make the machine much safer as the engine will kill if you release the handle. As you machine is now, if you let go, it'll keep going with or without you. The closest to stock is a cable system. There's a metal bracket that mounts a spring loaded switch on the Acme. Yours probably doesn't have one. I should be able to scare up all the parts if you want me to look.

 

[oldmech]

Hi. I have a 735 BCS as yours ( 61858 is the serial number) Mine is a 1982 sold by Mainline Before BCS America. I have a diesel and rope start. I add a pict of Wiring. This is a Charge and start system only. For stop You must use the kill switch on handle bar. You can try( When engine is running just pull or remove the key) I recommend you to repair the kill switch on the handle bar for safety.
SAFETY Never tolerate somebody front a tiller. If tines hit a big rock or a big root the tiller can jump one feet in the air and six feets front in less one second. Good luck! Oldmech

 

[splitty]

Thanks FBB, I agree with you and old mech. This thing is to fast not to have a dead man switch. If you don't mind helping me out I will buy and install all the safety parts. I am not the only person that will be running it probably and I don't want someone else getting tore up by this beast. I started it yesterday put it in fifth gear at half throttle let out the clutch and it spun the tire on my concrete floor. IT can definitely get away from you. What do you guys think about only two wires being hooked up to the ign. switch? I tested the two brown wires that come out of the engine and run up to the little box by the key switch and they are putting out 13.64 volts. I am guessing that the voltage must be making it back down to the battery through the red wire that goes to the little box by the starter. I will try to decipher from the schematic old mech. sent me to determine where the kill switch was wired. Thanks guys I really appreciate your help.

 

[splitty]

I have started it numerous times and it only messed up once. The starter stayed engaged even with key off. The starter screeched for about 6 seconds and quit. Other than that one time it has worked flawlessly. I changed the oil(motor), and freed up the diff.lock cable. It was frozen when I got it. The diff. lock works excellent. I cleaned the outer cable sheathing(for lack of better word) in my parts cleaner I hope it dont make it brittle or ruin it. I blew it dry with air and filled it with white lithium grease and slid the cable back through it. I reinstalled it and it works great now.So far I am very happy with my new tractor. The tires have some pretty wide dry rot cracks, One seems to leak down after a week of sitting but only a few pounds. I might just slime them. I might try to find new tires not sure yet.

 

[mkeith]

[...]One seems to leak down after a week of sitting but only a few pounds. I might just slime them. I might try to find new tires not sure yet.

A common problem is that the tire slips a bit on the rim, pulling the inner tube with it. The valve experiences kind of a shearing force due to the movement between the inner tube and wheel.

To avoid this problem, fix the inner tube (patch or replace) and always check the tire pressure before operating. Chances are your innertube is bad at the place where the valve comes in. Of course, when changing the inner tube, check the inside of the tire with a rag in case there is some piece of metal or glass stuck in the tire that caused the leak in the first place. (You sound like you know what you are doing, but other people may read this forum after searching or whatever.)

I've read here on this forum that some people put water in the inner tube to add weight to the tractor. I don't know if slime would interfere with that, but you may want to avoid the slime to keep that option open in the future.

Personally, I hate slime due to bad experiences with bike tires (it makes a mess if you ever have to deflate the tire).

One more thing. I've changed two inner tubes. I found the tires kind of hard to take on and off of the wheel without good tire irons. After the first one, I ordered some tire irons from amazon that made the job MUCH easier. Soapy water helps, too.

--McKenzie

 

[splitty]

I have only used the tiller once, the day I brought it home. I didn't even put air in the tire yet I just noticed it is slowly leaking down. I didn't look at the stem so I didn't know it had tubes so slime is out. I will take it off and break it down and repair or replace the tube. Thanks for the heads up.
I am sure them old hard tires are going to be a bugger to get off, im not looking forward to it.

 

[splitty]

I started the tiller yesterday and the starter stayed engaged again. I had to hurry up and take the positive lead off the battery to get it to stop. Does anyone have any idea why this could be happening? I am guessing the solenoid must be sticking. I don't believe it is the ign.switch because I turn the switch all the way to the off position and the starter still don't stop. I don't want to burn up the starter. It doesn't grind on the fly wheel, the gear disengages with the fly wheel when it starts but the starter continues to spin. The other time it did it the motor started but stalled immediately and the starter just kept spinning but the bendix was not engaged with the fly wheel. so the motor was not turning over but the starter was spinning away. Any ideas?