MF 1250 Headache - Won't Move

[HallowedWeasel]

Hello TBN Massey forum! I purchased a used MF 1250 from a friend last year, and she's been great so far! Lurking this forum has helped me with my tractor maintenance. Thank you all so much!

Unfortunately, I am not a mechanic by any means, so I have been learning quite a bit taking care of Old Bessie by myself. She had a battery die, and I went out and purchased a new one. Of course, when I came home and put my brand new battery in, I put it in backwards. Whoops.

I replaced the 15 amp fuse at the bottom of the Main Fuse Box, and the 60 amp slow blow fuse between the starter and alternator. The remaining fuses in the Main Fuse Box are okay, as is the 40 amp slow blow fuse by the battery.

I am now having 2 issues. First, the tractor won't try to start when I turn the key. We were having an issue with this before, where it intermittently wouldn't try to turn over, but fidgeting with the shifters eventually worked. Now, nothing at all. I can start the tractor just fine by jumping the starter, but that leads to the second issue...

The tractor won't move! After it starts, Old Bessie won't go. Engine runs great, hydraulics all work, but she sits there like a stubborn mule. At this point, I'm thinking I may be at the limit of what I can fix, and need to call a mechanic to come out. But I figured I would ask you all, and see if you had any ideas on what may be transpiring!

 

[Harry in Ky]

The "no start" thing, as always, could be a number of things, possibly related to the battery cross wired escapade, but not likely. If the problem existed before the battery change, it was most likely going to happen again sooner or later.
The "won't move" situation, is not related. There is no electrical connection to the drive train on a 1250 other than the circuits for the PTO. Don't mean to be insulting now, but are you sure all three shift levers have a gear engaged? If it moved before the battery incident, it should move now unless there's more to the story than revealed thus far.

 

[HallowedWeasel]

Don't worry, I don't take starting with the basics as insulting! That's about where my knowledge level sits. I also don't know the correct terms of the three different shift levers. I have ensured that I have the left hand shifter (I call it the speed selector: it has the snail, turtle, and 2 rabbits), right hand shifter (Gear selector: 1, 2, 3, 4), and Forward-Neutral-Reverse lever on the steering column all engaged, and in various combinations. I've tried it in 2WD and 4WD. I did notice that I can freely move all three shifters between positions without the clutch pedal depressed; I don't think I could do that before.

I do notice a slight change in the pitch of the engine noise when I press and release the clutch pedal.

I also agree with you about the first issue existing before the battery situation, and likely not related.

I noticed with the steering column cover off that the F-N-R lever seems to be activating a switch. Is that the safety relay only?

 

[Harry in Ky]

I believe the switch on the shuttle lever is the only neutral switch on the transmission, to the best of my memory on that series. There is also a circuit in the pto switch to interrupt cranking.
Back to the no move situation. The clutch and it's related components can obviously be a factor here. If you now notice ANYTHING different in that regard, it needs to be addressed. If the panels around the shuttle lever are still off, the clutch rods and adjustments should be in plain view. The pedal freeplay adjustment is always a place to start. If you can shift all levers in an out of gear with the clutch pedal up(and engine running?) indicates the clutch, for whatever reason, is not driving anything going into the transmission. Hard to imagine such a dramatic change taking place while the tractor is inoperative with battery replacement and electrical maintenance being performed. Once again, there's more to this story than the result of a simple electrical problem.

 

[HallowedWeasel]

Okay, I was able to get out and tinker a little bit more today! I don't know if this is the problem, but I found a spring on the clutch rod that attaches to... nothing. I may not be a clever man, but I'm pretty sure that a spring should be attached to something at both ends, otherwise why even have it there? Could this be the culprit?

 

[Harry in Ky]

I would seriously doubt that the spring or anything related to it is the cause of your current problem. If it's involved at all, it may be no more than return spring intended to pull/hold the pedal up while not in use. The adjustment of the clutch rod in the picture would be of more concern. This adjustment is one of vary few items accessed from the outside that can have much affect on the internal function of the clutch.

 

[ebagwell]

I would seriously doubt that the spring or anything related to it is the cause of your current problem. If it's involved at all, it may be no more than return spring intended to pull/hold the pedal up while not in use. The adjustment of the clutch rod in the picture would be of more concern. This adjustment is one of vary few items accessed from the outside that can have much affect on the internal function of the clutch.

I think I have this same problem. What was the outcome of this???