electrical problem??

[Anonymous Poster]

Hi guys,
I have had my 1610 for almost 2 weeks and have a little more than 2 hours on it to this point.

Today, I had a neighbor come over to see my tractor. He drove by, saw me working on my tractor, and drove in to see. I had just previously started the tractor with no problem to raise the mower to be able to adjust the mowers height

My friend was impressed with my new tractor and asked to see it operate. Imagine my embarrassment when the tractor only clicked once then did absolutely nothing. He left to tell all my other neighbors about my folly of buying an orphan 20+ year old tractor.

I tried to diagnose the problem after he left. When the key was turned to "on" no response from the gauges. No horn, no lights, no electrical response, not even a click.

I removed the cables, cleaned the connections, put the battery on the charger till it showed "full charge".
NO RESPONSE!!

I called my dealer who suggested the safety switch under the clutch pedal might be the culprit. I wired it direct, bypassing the switch. NO RESPONSE!!.

I believe the gauges would have shown some response when the switch was turned to "on" even if the under clutch switch were bad.

I used a digital multi meter on the battery that showed "full charge" on my charger and it showed 12.60 v under no load.

I need the brain storm of this group to suggest possible reasons for this problem or I will have to rent a winch to pull this tractor onto a trailer to return to the dealer for diagnosis and repair.

Thanks for your responses fellows,

Gary

 

[YanmarFever]

Florida boy,
Run a check on the key switch (ignition switch)
Check the wires running into the back of it.

Check your ground cable where it bolts onto the tractor frame for rust, loose,bad ect...

Check the + battery cable where it goes to the starter.

I think your problem is electrical.

Dont worry about your neighbor (hes just jealous)
he doesnt have a new yanmar thats all (he will get over it !!

Good luck Ern. <><

 

[Anonymous Poster]

1st, your battery is not fully charged if it's only reading 12.6 fresh from the charger. It should be 13.8.
Chances are the battery is bad, so you either need to read the meter while trying to start the tractor or with the lights switched on. The best place to check voltage would be at the battery side of the starter solonoid.
An easier doagnostic might be to try jump starting the tractor.
The clutch safety wouldn't prevent the lights from coming on, so that isn't the problem.

 

[normde2001]

It's probably bad (dirty) contacts in the ignition switch. My YM2000B does that occasionally. Usually while running, I will notice the gages have gone dead and I just have to turn the switch "off and on" a couple of times to get them back on, so I know I will have to get into it one of these days. I think you can disassemble and clean or adjust the switch or replace with a Yanmar or aftermarket switch. It helps if you have a service manual with schematics.

 

[kayssupply]

If none of the above fix it. Try the current limiter. I had one short out internally and burn the fuse wire into. It killed it dead. If you jump it with the ground jumper cable connected to the frame near the starter and the positive on the positive starter lug, that will cut out some of the possible problems.
There is always the fuse block. I had one giving me fits. The connection on the back of the fuse block was corroded.

 

[EFC]

We know it isn’t the battery because the horn would work even at 6volts. Take a screwdriver and jump between the large terminal and the small terminal on the starter solenoid. Crude test yes (and hard on screwdrivers) but will tell you if your battery terminals are fine or not. If it does nothing then it’s your battery cables or connections if it turns over it is your start switch or and inline fuse in the ignition circuit. Don’t load it up and take it to the dealer, this is a perfect time to learn to work on your own tractor. You can fix this I promises. Call if you need help /w3tcompact/icons/grin.gif

buck

 

[jimstractors]

I had an a 1401d that started fine, but lights, horn, turn signals wouldn't work. Checked fuses, connections, etc. and all was OK. After messing with the ignition switch and working it back and forth a bunch of times, everthing started to work...Turned out to be bad contacts in the ignition switch.
Jim

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Thanks guys,

Buck,

I tried testing voltage across the small and large terminals on the solenoid. It showed 12.5 volts. I tried the screwdriver across the terminals and saw a small spark but no starter action nor burned ends of the screwdriver. I checked again by turning on the key and now, Low and behold!! the idiot lights and the gas guage and horn worked. Tried starting again with no effect. I then tried jumping the tractor with my truck. Again no effect. So I went next to the battery ground cable and decided it looked suspicious. I had to remove the hood to remove the battery to get to the bolt that fastened the cable to the frame. There is a battery box and the battery was sitting above the bolt on that box.

I cleaned away paint and rust where the cable attatches and after puting it back together, it started with no problem.

Thanks again. I certainly was not looking forward to winching that tractor onto a trailer to take to my dealer. Thats winch as in manual come along.

Gary

 

[EFC]

Great! I knew you could do it. Feels good eh.

 

[kayssupply]

That feeling is one reason I do this. Video games don't do it for me.