Is the lower radiator heater cord shot??

[Willl]

JB, I'd be interested on what kind of ohm readings you get on both components if that's possible. :thumbsup:

 

[kjung17]

I'd be interested on what kind of ohm readings you get on both components if that's possible. :thumbsup:

Willl, See #8.

Bob, on the tractor. Did you check continuity from each round post to chassis ground. That reading should be infinite or open loop=no continuity.

 

[JB4310]

I'd be interested on what kind of ohm readings you get on both components if that's possible. :thumbsup:

If this is directed to me then your gonna have to hold my hand and walk me through it, cause even though I have a very capable multi meter I am limited to the understang of volts and continuity, I just listen for the "beep"

I have a clue about resistence, but have never taken readings.

JB.

 

[kjung17]

If this is directed to me then your gonna have to hold my hand and walk me through it, cause even though I have a very capable multi meter I am limited to the understang of volts and continuity, I just listen for the "beep"

I have a clue about resistence, but have never taken readings.

JB.

To satisfy curiosity, Set your meter to ohms and take a reading across the two round posts on your tractor. This should be your heater element. Also check each post to chassis. I believe his cord is shot.
Thanks.

 

[Willl]

If this is directed to me

It was.

To add to kjung17 request, a reading across the upper 2 spades. That's your temp control.

Still not comfortable with what Bob got.

 

[DonnieP]

It was.

To add to kjung17 request, a reading across the upper 2 spades. That's your temp control.

Still not comfortable with what Bob got.

Bob measured 1.1 ohm, a large part of that is probably the resistance of the meter leads.

Bob, a good habit to get into anytime you measure resistance (or use the beep) is to short the meter leads together and take a reading. This will tell you if the leads are ok and that things are plugged in good. As leads deteriorate (especially if you don't take care of them) the resistance will go up. So, if you test your leads and there is a 1.0 ohm reading, and you measure something and it reads 1.5 ohm, you can subtract the two and know the resistance of the item is. 0.5 ohms.

Your measurements of 1 and 44 ohms doesn't suprise me. So 44 ohm at 120 volt would give you about 3 amps which will give you about 300 watts. Can you see rating on the heater?

You measure ~44 ohm across the flats of the plug - thing should work. Unless there is a poor connection or if there is somewhere that when it heats up it expands and then you loose continuity. If you have aligator clips, put them on the meter leads and put the meter on ohms, short the aligator clips together and take a reading. Then put them across the two flat leads of the u-ground plug. Now try wiggle the chord, especially at the ends and where it mates with the heater and watch to see if your reading changes.

If all else fails give it a couple of raps with something, not to hard, say the handle of a six inch adjustable wrench.

Donnie

 

[dourobob]

JB, I'd be interested on what kind of ohm readings you get on both components if that's possible. :thumbsup:

Me too

Willl, See #8.
Bob, on the tractor. Did you check continuity from each round post to chassis ground. That reading should be infinite or open loop=no continuity.

Yes I did and got no reading on the meter.

Now, I don't know if this just add more confusion to the discussion but I have been using two different meters.

The first meter has an OHM scale down to 200 but NO beep. It is the one I used for all my number reading so far and Just this morning I realized that with my earlier 1.1 readings, I get the same reading when I touch the two probes together. When I got "no reading" the meter did not change at all.

The second meter has an OHM scale down to 2000 and DOES HAVE the BEEP feature. I have used it only for beeps as the OHM reading do not appear to register on the scale.

So, to summarize to date :

ohm reading between the top 2 spades, this will tell use if your control is closed.
It read 1.1

ohm reading between bottom 2 pegs. Not sure what it's supposed to be, but should get 'something'.
This read between 44.1 and 44.7

reading from heater base to each of the bottom pegs one at a time. That reading should be zilch (or no reaction from meter).
The meter did not change so I assume that is "zilch"

Then, on WILL's advice I -
Tried it again and got the same readings with the same meter.

Also tried it with a different meter (Meter #2) - this one has its lowest scale at 2000 ohm (not 200 ohm like the other one) but it also has what it refers to as a "continuity beep".

While the meter went from showing "1" to showing "0000" between the two spade connectors on pic 2 and between the two posts at the bottom of pic 2, there was a audible beep.

I got a beep bewteen both the spade connectors and between the two posts at the bottom.

Then I thought I should try and determine if the cord was faulty so I took it off and checked for continuity from one end to the other.

Here is what I found

Looking at the male end of the cord with the round ground terminal on top
- ground terminal BEEPS with #1 in pic below
- left side BEEPS with #5 in the pic below
- right side BEEPS with #3 in the pic below

Then Donnie provided the schematic

Will was concerned about that 1.1 reading between the 2 control spades. Should be the same as touching your probes together, 0.0

While it was a 1.1 reading, that now appears to be the reading when the probes are touching (based on this morning's discovery).

Again, based on advice here, I "straightened" #4 connection and plugged the cable back on the heater. Now I get a 44.1 ohm reading on the flat prongs of the u-ground plug.

Now, while I was doing this summary I see Donnie providing some insights on my meter technique (thanks).

Are we any closer to a conclusion?

Thanks a lot for your patience.

Bob

 

[kjung17]

Bob,
I believe, at this point, you have a bad cord. All readings point to cord. Great job feeding us info.

 

[JB4310]

Me too

Thanks a lot for your patience.

Bob

Bob, Don't hold your breath waiting for me, this tractor is tucked away in a shed right now not used much at this time of year. plus I still gotta figure out how to do those tests.

From what I could follow it looked like the cord was ok? as long as you did have continuity between 2 and 4. didn't see where you ansewed that.

JB

 

[Coyote machine]

To simplify things beyond endless meter readings and interpretation of same I'd get another power cord and put it on the heater and see what happens. If things work the cord was bad. If not the heater's bad and needs the free non-warranty replacement offered by the dealer. (If it were me I'd take him up on that no matter what, and use the cord if the original is bad, and change out the heater if it fails at some point in the future).

To clarify for those unfamiliar with how meter readings work and what they represent: A meter of any brand, ( or scale on any meter) works for reading resistance, (ohms) by using its internal 9V battery to measure resistance. If one starts with a new battery in a meter the first thing that should be checked before using the meter for ANY readings is ohms. Turn the meter to ohms, any scale, and touch the test leads together. This should produce a reading other than 0. Undo the leads and the reading should be 0 or several zeros. So zero means open circuit= NO connection between two terminals. A reading of anything greater than o, (zero) indicates a connection, continuity, between two terminals~ thus a closed circuit.

If I had been testing the cord I would have plugged it into the wall outlet and set the meter to the 250 VAC (volts AC) setting on the meter. Then I would have put the red lead into one of the two female ends and the black into the ground, third,, separate opening expecting to get somewhere around 118 Volts or zero volts depending on whether I was testing the hot side of the cord or the ground/neutral side.
The other way to make certain the cord is good is to use the ohm meter side and remove the cord from the wall and put the male and female ends close together and measure from one male prong and use the meter to see if the female corresponding end gives a reading of zero or something higher. If each of the three readings gives something higher than zero you have established continuity between each leg of the cord. If one leg reads zero then there is an open and the cord is faulty. Having someone shake the cord while taking each reading will determine if there is an intermittent or partially open leg and if this happens, again the cord is faulty.

Note: when putting the meter away I set the meter to off and remove the battery so it won't drain down over time and can't corrode if it leaks in the meter, assuming one does not use the meter on a frequent basis.

Hope this helps folks understand how to render the results and interpret what they mean.