electrical problem

[chefirv]

can anyone help.
i have a ford 1210 tractor today i ran out of diesal fuel and when i was trying to start it after filling it up it wanted to start but then it went dead.
tried charging battery nothing, not even lights.
i was holding down the key for about 30-40 seconds start trying to get it to start.
checked fuses all seem good
is there another way of checking this problem?????
could it be the ignation switch ????
is there a dead short somewhere????/
any info would be helpful

 

[BTDT]

Sounds like the starter may be fried. Can you make starter spin by using jumper cables directly to starter post? If it spins there, your problem may be elsewhere. I think 10-15 seconds is about all your supposed to spin it over, then pause so starter can cool off.

 

[SnowRidge]

Sounds like the starter may be fried. Can you make starter spin by using jumper cables directly to starter post? If it spins there, your problem may be elsewhere. I think 10-15 seconds is about all your supposed to spin it over, then pause so starter can cool off.

His lights don't work, so it's probably not the starter.

A dead short would show up with a blown fuse or boiling battery (really, really bad thing to happen).

It could be a bad switch. It could also be a corroded battery terminal. Sometimes even light corrosion will insulate the post from the terminal. It could be an open fusible link, if your tractor has one. It could also be the battery. Sometimes marginal batteries blow an internal link when they are near the end of their life. This usually happens when you are trying to start the engine. It has happened to me twice. The only cure is a new battery.

If the battery terminals even look like there may be some corrosion there clean them up. If that doesn't fix it, measure the voltage at the battery terminals with a voltmeter, and post what you get.

Edit: Measure the battery voltage both with and without a load. Everything off, then with the lights on. If you get a big difference, the battery is bad or not charged. Make sure you are measuring directly on the battery posts themselves.

 

[BTDT]

His lights don't work, so it's probably not the starter.

A dead short would show up with a blown fuse or boiling battery (really, really bad thing to happen).

It could be a bad switch. It could also be a corroded battery terminal. Sometimes even light corrosion will insulate the post from the terminal. It could be an open fusible link, if your tractor has one. It could also be the battery. Sometimes marginal batteries blow an internal link when they are near the end of their life. This usually happens when you are trying to start the engine.

If the battery terminals even look like there may be some corrosion there clean them up. If that doesn't fix it, measure the voltage at the battery terminals with a voltmeter, and post what you get.

OOps, I missed the lights not working part. Good catch.

 

[RobT]

You may want to disconnect your battery terminals and clean them. I had a similar situation happen this summer. I couldn't even get a jump to turn over the starter. I cleaned up the terminals and it fired right up.

 

[Rara Avis]

You may want to disconnect your battery terminals and clean them. I had a similar situation happen this summer. I couldn't even get a jump to turn over the starter. I cleaned up the terminals and it fired right up.

Ditto this...but mine was my old Farmall 460...

 

[chefirv]

i found out that i had a fuseable link that wasn't creating power back to the key switch.
they had it coming off the selonide from the starter why i have no idea.
replaced the fusable link with regular heavy wir e and she fired right up.
thanks for all your ideas and coments

 

[SnowRidge]

i found out that i had a fuseable link that wasn't creating power back to the key switch.
they had it coming off the selonide from the starter why i have no idea.
replaced the fusable link with regular heavy wir e and she fired right up.
thanks for all your ideas and coments

It sounds like the fusible link saved your starter. If you crank too long, you will burn out your starter ($$$), unless something else goes first. In your case the fusible link ($) blew, protecting your starter.

If I were you, I would replace the fusible link with another fusible link, not just heavy wire. The designers put it there for a reason. For one thing, it protects you from blowing up your battery, should a major short develop in the starter area.

 

[RickB]

The fusible link does not protect the starter motor circuit. It does protect the entire accessory circuit; lights, glowplugs, charging and cranking solenoid circuits. Low battery voltage as may be caused by poor cable connections, may have caused the fusible link to fail. Or old age & use.

 

[Farwell]

chefirv,
I had a similar problem with my old JD 2010. I solved the problem by taking the tractor out of gear and putting it in neutral. This may not be your problem but I sure had egg on my face for a few days.