Starting problems with my L2350

   / Starting problems with my L2350 #1  

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Can anyone provide some help / infor to me regarding my recently purchased used L2350? Problem is: intermittent starting. I'm in Pennsylvania and it's below freezing out. Started fine day before yesterday. All I get now is a "click". Could it be temperature related? Battery is relatively new. Tractor came from Houston...warm weather last week. Battery posts and connections appear good.
 
   / Starting problems with my L2350 #2  
Battery posts and terminals can sometimes "look" good and not be making good contact, and in addition to the battery end of the cables, you need to make sure the other end of the cables are clean and solidly connected. Do you have a multimeter so you can check to be sure the battery actually is up at full charge? The "click" is usually a starter solenoid kicking in. Is it possible the starter is seized? There are lots of better mechanics than I on the forum and maybe they can help, but I'd just start with checking voltage at the battery, and at the starter, and checking all the cables and wiring.
 
   / Starting problems with my L2350 #3  
Mark, hook a voltmeter to the small black lead going to the starter (it's the one that actuates the solenoid). With the clutch in and all associated saftey switches in the proper position, turn the start switch to the start position. If you are reading in the neighborhood of 9 volts or less, the problem is high resistence from the starter switch through all the saftey switches to its final destination (the starter solenoid), which will cause a voltage drop. You could spend a ton of time cleaning connections, testing/replacing safety switches, the starter switch, wiring etc... Or you can purchase a low voltage relay. Wire it directly off of the batt lead on the starter a ground and run the starter lead through the relay portion. JD has a kit available for this purpose, that's the easy way, comes with instructions and already has a pre-wired harness that plugs in to the relay. I'll find the part number for the kit later and let you know what it is. This is a very common problem on the older machines with saftey switches. The newer machines come with this relay already installed to prevent this problem.

Check the obvious stuff like everyone else is suggesting, but when you run out of ideas this is most likely the problem. The only other thing it could be is the bar inside the starter sol., that makes the connection to the motor may be eroded/worn. But it's been my experience on NUMEROUS older tractors, that this kit will fix you up. The John Deere part number is AM107421. Heck, even if the connection in the starter turns out to bad, it's my feeling that this kit will prevent it from going bad again due to the availability of a full 12 volts to the solonoid. Years of low voltage may have caused the erosion/wear to begin with by not allowing good solid contact.
 
   / Starting problems with my L2350 #4  
I'd start with the battery terminals. I bet if you try wiggling them, one is just a bit loose.

Billy
 
   / Starting problems with my L2350
  • Thread Starter
#5  
In addition to the above suggestions, if you have a voltmeter, check the voltage right on the battery posts themselves [not on the wires or clamps] A fully charged battery is something like 13+ volts.

Have someone try to start the tractor while you are watching the volt meter. If the voltage on the battery posts drops real low when the solenoid for the starter clicks, you have a bad battery.

An almost new battery can fail. Don't judge the book...I mean battery by its cover...

Hope this suggestion is of some use to you...
 
   / Starting problems with my L2350
  • Thread Starter
#6  
Hi KubotaMark,

I had the same problem early on after buying a used tractor. The battery was almost new but all I got was the click. I checked with the multimeter and safety switches etc but what was wrong was that the ground to the frame from the negative side of the batery was giving intermittent contact. I removed the cable bolt to the frame and cleaned everything including the cable end and the point on the frame where the connection was made. I have had no problem since.

Might not be your problem but it costs nothing and is easy to try /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

<font color="blue"> Gary </font>
 
   / Starting problems with my L2350 #7  
On my L4150 and L5450 there is a fusible link (a master fuse) located near the starter - it's a short piece of special braided wire with red insulation that comes out of a plug and loops back into it. The wire can corrode and then won't conduct enough current to run the starter. I don't know whether your machine has it - worth a look. The fix is a new fusible link - you can "test" it by connecting a piece of hard copper wire in its place to see if it cures the symptom.

Hope this helps.

Dick
 
   / Starting problems with my L2350 #8  
I had a similar problem after I installed a ROPS last summer. It turned out that I had not tightened the ground cable to the frame as well as I should have. So check your connections. For example. put one end of a jumper cable on the starter body and the other end on the negative battery terminal and then try your starter. If it then works, you know you have a bad ground connection somewhere.
 
   / Starting problems with my L2350 #9  
If I may, let me combine the excellent advise of the others with some of my own.

How to tell for sure where the problem lies? Run a couple of voltage drop tests. Will take 5 min, tops.

First, if you don't have one, get a multimeter. Every mechanic and/or weekend warrior needs one.

Connect the meter to the battery POSTS, not the cable clamps, and check voltage. Should be 12.54 at 72 deg, less at lower temp, but above 12.3 at any temp. Turn key to start mode, voltage should stay above 10V. If less, recharge or replace battery.

Next, check ground circuit. Connect meter leads to bat. neg post and starter motor housing. Makes no difference which lead goes where, just ignore neg. sign in meter reading if it occurs. But must have good metal to metal contact, use sharp probes, or clean paint as needed. Turn key to start position, meter should read less then .5v. If above, clean/tignten neg. connection points. You can locate which point is the problem by repeating the test at each such point in the circuit.

Now check the exciting circuit for the solenoid. (the black wire kubmech mentioned) Connect multimeter to this point and to POSITIVE battery post. Key to start position, meter should read less then 1.5v. If meter reads battery voltage, you have an open switch somewhere in the circuit. (safety switch, ignition switch, ect. Locate bad switch by repeating voltage drop test across each suspect. If voltage reading is between 1.5v and 3.0v, then the relay kit kubmech mentioned will probably be your best solution. But first, just for grins, remove and clean battery cable clamps. Must clean oxide layer off, use something that will scrape to bright metal on both posts and clamps.

If voltage drops so far are within specs (.5v on ground side, 1.5 on solenoid circuit), then go to heavy guage cable running from positive battery post to starter motor solenoid. Repeat test, key in start mode, one meter lead on positive battery post, one lead on UPPER heavy guage connection point at solenoid. Meter reading should be below .5v.

Finally, check the contact bar inside the solenoid. One meter lead to heavy guage connection at top of solenoid, the other lead to the lower one. Again, key in start mode, meter should read less then 1V.

If all checks good so far, the problem is in the starter inself.

Note that in voltage drop tests lower readings are good, higher readings are bad. Readings close to 0 indicate no problem, readings above 0, but less then 12V indicate high resistance, reading of 12V indicate an open circuit condition.
Also note that the number of connection or contact points in the circuit will affect the voltage drop readings. That's why a drop of 1.5v is acceptable in the solenoid exciting circuit, it has more places in the circuit where the current flow has to cross from one piece of metal to another. The usual rule of thumb is a drop of .3v across a switch and a drop of .1v across a connection point is acceptable.

Also note that all voltage drop tests are done with the circuit being tested in the loaded condition. (i.e. all starter tests are done with key in start position). This is one of the reasons drop tests are so valuable, they tell you what's going on under the actual conditions the circuit has to endure. Resistance tests with an ohm meter, on the other hand, will fool you.

HTH,
Dave
 
   / Starting problems with my L2350
  • Thread Starter
#10  
Many thanks to all who have offered up ideas and tips on how to troubleshoot my starting issues. I have performed most so far to include disconnecting, cleaning and reconnecting all connections. Battery is 12.5 volts...when in starting position (clicking), drops to 11.3 volts. Dave- I'll now move into the more detailed voltage drop checks you have posted. Appears to me that it's pointing to starter mechanism.. maybe solenoid assembly? Was thinking of removing it and taking it down to dealer for bench testing. Again, thanks for everyones help. Hopefully we'll get her going soon.

Mark
 
 
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