John Deere 4100 Hst went from running well with load in bucket to not starting..after

[projectgator]

Hello all,

I'm not sure if I'm guilty of doing something that I shouldn't done? I was using my JD 4100 that I've owned since new this past weekend. I was moving gravel from pile to other side of property with bucket. I turned the tractor off with the load still in the bucket about two feet off the ground so tractor wouldn't free wheel backwards. Five minutes later I tried to start tractor and the tractor had just a little bit of "juice" to the starter. I tried to jump battery with two different marine batteries with no success. Finally I jumped from my Suburban, while running, to the tractor's battery. It started right up. I ran it and used bucket to move gravel for another 1/2 hour. After I parked it in the garage I tried to re-start tractor, no "juice" again. I don't believe it's the battery, especially when I jumped it with other working batteries with no success. I'm assuming the running truck has more amps to start than the other batteries. Question, does this sound like a relay issue? If so...which one? Tractor has worked flawlessly and well since new. Ideas? Thanks very much.

Rick

 

[Tx Jim]

Typical scenario of dirty/loose battery cable connections. I'll bet it's the ground cable not making good contact. One other possibility is the battery went bad and has a dead cell. Can you check battery voltage?

 

[projectgator]

Hello,
Thanks for the quick response! Everything seems very tight. There was corrosion on the positive terminal. I will check the battery tonight, though with the two good marine batteries and charger it wouldn't get enough power to turn engine but with the same jumper cables and the Suburban running the tractor started immediately. I removed the battery from tractor so I will check that and will replace the positive lead due to the corrosion this Friday as tractor is not at the house. Funny, with the Suburban or the next day with the jump box tractor started immediately. I was concerned that turning off the tractor with a full load may have stressed the electrical system and caused a relay or something else electrical to fail? I'll be quite happy if it's just the battery and/or cable!

Again, thanks very much.

Regards,
Rick

 

[Egon]

There have been issues on other JD's with a thermistor that is in line with the fuel solenoid in back of the instrument panel. May also be the solenoid??

It's an aggravating problem!

 

[projectgator]

I tested my battery and it was quite low in reserve, I have charged it, the battery accepted 14 volts as it was charging and charged to 100% so I will re-install tomorrow night and re-check the battery connections to the starter and the ground. I will google thermistor and try looking at the solenoid. It's been so good for so long that when it's not working it is a bit aggravating. So it goes. I will report back after reconnecting cables. Thanks!

 

[DFB]

4100 doesn't have a thermistor just glow plugs and glow plug relay. Your starting system consists battery key switch starter relay and solenoid/starter. Charging is permanent magnet alternator/voltage reg. I went thru my whole system because of a charging problem a few weeks back

Check for reg dc voltage output after its starts. Does sound like the battery ran down if its holding charge

 

[projectgator]

Thanks for the thermistor information. Could the tractor battery get run down from running more than a couple of hours constant use in a day? Once battery is installed and if it starts as usual, if the voltage is above 13-14 volts I can consider the charging system working? If there is a no go with the tractor at this point, where should I begin? Does it make sense that the tractor wouldn't jump with a marine battery but it would with a truck running? Thanks very much.

 

[DFB]

Marine batteries have reserve power but not the cranking amps of a truck battery. Any battery related issue I have experienced on my 4100 have been with cable connections. I recently replaced my battery it was still original been in the tractor since 99. You should see 14v throttled up if you don't get good dc voltage reading check ac volts at alternator harness.

 

[projectgator]

DFB,
Thanks for talking me off the ledge! I'm feeling much more hopeful! I will start with the battery readings and make my way to the alternator. I will report back after I've completed these tasks! Thank you!!

 

[projectgator]

Ok, so the effort went as follows. I purchased and installed new positive battery terminal and replaced the cable and terminal for the negative. The tractor responded like before, kind of "juicing up"..but it would not start. The battery was at 12.6volts. I jumped with the jump box and it started up immediately. I tested the volts while running and it was at 14.5V. I tried restarting and it did not. I tried jumping with my marine batteries and they didn't work, either. Today I went and purchased a new battery with more cranking amps than the previous one, from 450 amp to 625 amp. I installed the battery and the tractor started immediately!! I would have bet much money that this was not going to be the solution, but you could tell when the ignition switch was turned that there was more "juice" was available. So...there you go. Even though tractor was running five minutes before, and had never showed signs of poor/weak starting, the battery must have been weak enough that it couldn't produce enough amps. I do appreciate everyone's help. Just like you said, the problem is probably simple. So simple!! Thanks for taking the time to read and respond! What a wonderful feeling to have the tractor running...again!!!

Regards,
Rick...