John Deere 318 Starter Won't Crank

[Tjaltz]

Hello All:
I have a 1989 John Deere 318 with an Onan P218G engine and a John Deere AM107421 voltage boost relay installed. The tractor has been starting fine for years. Today when I turned the key, nothing. No starter response at all. Have geed battery voltage, even tried a booster, no difference. Two lights on dashboard are lit, shift is firmly in neutral, parking brake is set, I'm sitting on the seat, turn the key and nothing. Possible the hard starting relay failed? Bad safety switch on the seat or shift? Is there a way to bypass the safety circuit to test it? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[kennyd]

Sounds like you need to use a voltmeter to check for voltage at the starter relay while the key is in the start position. You can also use it to check the seat and ignition switch.

PS. What is a "ratchet rack"? (listed in your sig...)

 

[ragkar]

I hope that you get good advice on your problem as I have exactly the same problem on my 2320. What a disappointment this morning. I'm out there at 6AM and the tractor is dead. The only signs of life are four indicator lights and a buzzing behind the dashboard.
I'd like to add 19-32 degrees, battery is at 12.77v and I checked the five fuses visually and electrically.
Maybe this is a good time to buy the service and parts manuals.

 

[Trails2004]

Have you cleaned your battery terminals?

 

[kennyd]

I hope that you get good advice on your problem as I have exactly the same problem on my 2320. What a disappointment this morning. I'm out there at 6AM and the tractor is dead. The only signs of life are four indicator lights and a buzzing behind the dashboard.
I'd like to add 19-32 degrees, battery is at 12.77v and I checked the five fuses visually and electrically.
Maybe this is a good time to buy the service and parts manuals.

Betcha $10 you need a new battery...The ones JD have been using the last few years are junk. Do a search for "battery" In the JD forum to see what I mean.

 

[Tjaltz]

Actually that was a typo. Suppose to be ratchet rake. Teeth that clamp onto th bucket with ratchets. ratchetrake.com

 

[Tjaltz]

Mine has a new battery, the terminals are clean and I alsi tried a 300 amp battery booster clamped to the battery terminal cables. Nothing.

 

[eepete]

The starter on my 1990 318 died this summer. There's an exact replacement (Mitsubishi?) the dealer found that was less than the JD replacement part. When mine died, it had been acting up for a year or two. Like Kennyd said, I'd check the voltage at the starter (both battery and wire from the switch/relay) 1st. Even when mine was dead, it made a clicking noise and dragged the volts down a bit (like the solenoid was there, but the contacts were shot). No volts = start tracking down the safety interlocks.

The new starter spins things so fast that it takes longer to start than it used to with the original starter running slow. I probably just need to re-learn gas and choke points and operation.

Pete

 

[jsb2b]

My 318 did the same thing. It was the Neutral Safety switch. I noticed I had to occasionally "slap" it into neutral before the starter would engage.

Could also be the Seat switch(easy to jumper out) or the PTO switch engaged.
The guys at Adams Power Equipment were pretty helpful but that was 6 years ago. Good Luck.

 

[Trails2004]

Mine has a new battery, the terminals are clean and I alsi tried a 300 amp battery booster clamped to the battery terminal cables. Nothing.

Sorry I did not want to sound elementary- I have seen some wierd stuff with lightly crusted terminals. Sounds like a safety switch or starting solenoid??

Good luck keep us posted!