Ford 1700 won''t start, hard to crank

[redbug9]

Had this thing for about 4 years. I has taken a little work but I've kept it running till now. When I turn the key I get a little rotation on the motor ~30 to 60 degrees or less. I've charged the battery, jumped it with the car, replaced the starter. No joy with any of these.

I've even disconnected the battery and all the wiring from the starter and jumped directly to the new starter from the car. Jumper cables got warm when I tried that so I'm pretty sure I had good connections.

Changed the oil this spring, it's still full and looks good.

Replaced the water pump 2 years ago. I did have it blow the radiator cap open one time this year for ~1 minute, but it ran fine plenty of times after that.

The last time I started it, it was hard to crank but still started.


Any ideas? Where do I go from here?

 

[nsmithnd]

Where did you clamp the negative cable when you jumped it? When I got mine, all of the frame to engine bolts were loose (not to mention a broken frame rail on one side). Also, from the battery end, negative cable bolted to the battery tray which is bolted to the frame which is bolted to the engine block, good opportunity for a bad electrical connection along the way.

 

[rayikeo2]

The 1700 is notorious about the ignition switch going bad. Replace it and everything should return to normal. (parts about $75)

Check this link for diagram of internal ford 1700 ignition switch. It has multiple contacts and any one of them can cause a bad enough contact to make your starter not turn over or turn over slow. Click on thumbnails to get larger view.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...itch-replacement.html?highlight=1700+ignition

 

[redbug9]

I have a new ignition switch, still in the box. The original one is getting pretty tired but still works.

I have already taken the entire electrical system out of the picture by removing all wires from the starter motor and jumping straight from the battery. I have even disconnected the water pump and the alternator in case they were hanging up. I am going to do some more cleaning on the electrical connections and try to jump it again. I will also see if I can turn the motor by hand by bolt on the fan belt drive pulley.

I hope I just screwed the pooch somehow when jumping straight to the starter motor.

 

[rayikeo2]

If you have the ignition, why not install it? It's already paid for and sitting unused. My first one lasted 30 years so if you put it in now it won't wear out very quick.

There is another thread about jumping to the starter cylinoid and it will bypass everything to immediately turn over the starter. Make sure the tractor is out of gear and blocked for movement. To eliminate a bad ground run 1 jumper direct from the battery neg terminal to the starter case or bolt head. I'll see if I can find the correct information for doing the jump and post back or if JC Jetro is on line he can give you all the correct information for jumping the starter.

 

[trmechapt]

Pull your injectors out and see if it will turn over. It sounds like there might be water or fuel on top of the piston
Gary

 

[redbug9]

I was able to turn it over fairly easily with the injectors and glow plugs still in it using a socket on a 1/2" square drive ratchet.

Looks like it's an electrical issue. I'll be cleaning up all the connections tomorrow. The ground cable is connected to the battery stand or whatever you call it. I'll be relocating that to somewhere else.

 

[redbug9]

Well I got it to start again finally!

This is one of the very few times I have run into two failures occurring at the same time. Both the battery and starter motor were bad. The starter was really just very weak but might as well be called bad.

The battery seemed OK and looked like it was charged. When I put a load on it the voltage dropped like a rock. What fooled me was that I had jumped it from a good battery but even that was getting pulled low by the bad battery. First time I've seen that.

 

[ZAR2USA]

Electrical issues can really make you scratch your head looking for the source of the problem and when you have two combining issues, it realy will throw you off! Been there. Glad you find the problem. Better than finding water or fuel on top of the piston. The latter was my thought too after you said you jumped it directly.