Jinma 254 ignition switch problem

[stevem5215]

The fuse blocks are known to be problems on these. By changing the fuse you did not fix it. You've just allowed it to work temporarily. That's probably the same thing the previous owner did as well. Those fuse blocks are cheap Chinese junk. A longtime known issue with these tractors. Along with the keyswitch.

Affordable Tractors is where I always got my parts from for our FarmPro 2420. He was always helpful. Call him.

 

[piper184]

Here is where I mounted the negative battery cable. There was already a threaded hole in the frame and it is easy access for maintenance.

 

[piper184]

Over the years I have made several repairs, upgrades, additions to the tractor's electrical system. There is a brand new generic fuse box (NAPA I think) on the shelf waiting for the day when I re-wire that thing from front to back.
I keep hoping for some spare time to devote to that project as it is likely to take me a day or two, plus a couple of trips to town for stuff I forgot to buy. Probably it will happen some day when something fails and I get frustrated enough to "just do it".
At that time I will probably replace the entire instrument cluster with a homemade one using individual gauges. I could buy a new one for big $ but it would be of the same quality. It's one of those things I look and and say "I can do it better". My wife says "but when?"

 

[Jimmy254]

Hell of a lot of wires behind that instrument cluster. Most of the connectors are brittle but this isnt unique to just this tractor. One thing i am impressed with is the labels on the cables. That is an excellent idea and the labels seem robust. Might be tempted one day to bypass the lot. All i really need is an oil pressure, some headlights and alternator light like my pasquali which has its keystart replaced with a toggle switch. Thanks for your help piper. You saved me from wasting my money on a new keystart which would not have fixed the issue. Also thanks to whoever invented the multimeter.

 

[Jimmy254]

The fuse blocks are known to be problems on these. By changing the fuse you did not fix it. You've just allowed it to work temporarily. That's probably the same thing the previous owner did as well. Those fuse blocks are cheap Chinese junk. A longtime known issue with these tractors. Along with the keyswitch.

Affordable Tractors is where I always got my parts from for our FarmPro 2420. He was always helpful. Call him.

I probably didn't explain it very well but I was getting the suspect readings on the actual fuse itself with the fuse removed i.e. testing across the two male fuse terminals. The fuse looked fine but it wasn't.

 

[piper184]

Yup, fuses can be faulty too. They are not sealed and moisture can get inside and cause the element to corrode.
I would suggest circuit breakers, but they go bad too. Had a 30 year old breaker on my water heater go bad a couple of weeks ago. Started tripping for no reason. After a few cycles, it got so bad it wouldn't reset. Probably hadn't been flipped 10 times in all those years but it just went bad...
Why did that one fail?
Will the other ones fail too?
Only the SHADOW KNOWS!