tractor won't start... help me troubleshoot it.

[MikeS_in_GA]

My '96 M5400 wouldn't start this past weekend.

When I turn the key, the glow plug light comes on, the tractor lights will work, but the starter does nothing. Not even a click.

I put the battery booster on it and nothing changed. I put jumper cables on it from my truck and it did the same thing.

At first I was thinking my battery was bad, but with a low battery shouldn't the starter at least try to engage?

Any ideas on this one?

Thanks!

 

[Mikefromcny]

Clean your battery terminals thoroughly

 

[MikeS_in_GA]

Clean your battery terminals thoroughly

I checked those and they are in very good shape.

 

[Mikefromcny]

With the tractor in neutral, can you jump the start post on the solenoid to the positive terminal on the solenoid?

 

[xcgreene]

The starter relay should be pretty easy to check, and sounds like it may be the culprit here. I'm not sure where the starter relay is located on your particular tractor, but it should be pretty easy to find.

* If you've got 13~ Volts at the battery, then move to the starter relay.
* If you have 13 volts on one side of the relay, then hold the key over to start and see if you get voltage on the other side of the starter relay.
* If still no voltage on the other side of the relay, while holding the key over, then the starter relay or ignition switch may be bad.

If you don't have a voltmeter to check this, and you are still stumped, just purchase a new relay. Take the old relay into any autoparts store or the dealer, they should have a match in stock as its a pretty common item, they only cost a few dollars. Even if this winds up not being your issue, its something good to have on hand.

Let us know what you find out!

 

[RedNeckRacin]

check and make sure your pto lever is not partially engaged.

 

[scdeerslayer]

Check any sort of PTO and Neutral safety switches you have.

 

[MikeS_in_GA]

Thanks! I
Made sure it was in neutral, and the pto was off, but I haven't looked at any of the contacts associated with a safety switch.

I have always heard about the starter bypass mode, but I have never done it. My starter has a positive and negative terminal with a second small wire near the positive terminal.

 

[dalola]

I checked those and they are in very good shape.

Not sure what your version of checking is (just looking at them for signs of corrosion?) , but I would take them off and scrape or wire brush the lugs & terminals. Sometimes a clear, hard glaze can form blocking a lot of the current flow, and it's not obvious just by looking.

 

[BX23S-1]

Have your battery fully charged, have a load test properly performed.
Make sure your tractor is turned off for this test.... Connect a POS+12 volt jumper wire from your battery in the tractor into the small terminal on the starter, if it turns your starter over, your problem is electrical somewhere from the key switch on forward. Wiggle ALL levers, and check EVERY neutral safety switch. You can always by-pass the switches to see if those are faulty as well.