Starter problems

Professor Marvel · Sep 2, 2011

I have a NH TC45D that has a starter problem. For several months it clicks once in a while then starts. When it has gotten worse I have cleaned the battery terminal and it would work fine for about a month. I did not think that would work but it did. Now that does not seem to help. I assume I need to take my starter off and get it rebuilt. Any suggestions before I do that?

Fixemall · Sep 2, 2011

Let me share a recent fix I did on a New Holland LX665
Clicking then starting...getting worse by the day.
Cleaned all connections, checked seatbelt safety switches etc...
I installed a new fuel safety solenoid-$58
I installed a new key switch-$43
I installed a new fuel solenoid-$58
Had phone in hand to call customer to tell him that a new $300 starter might be in his future then I thought to load test the battery...mild fail...replaced battery-starts and runs new.
Sometimes I outsmart myself and end up eating some parts, lucky it is a rare exception.

Professor Marvel · Sep 2, 2011

Can I use an inexpensive car battey load tester. What should I expect it to read on a tractor battery?
Thanks

Short Game · Sep 2, 2011

Sounds like what my starter did when the brushes stuck because their slides got rusty. It took some WD-40 to get them loosened. The tractor was a new 2010 that had sat in salt air for most of a year. Got a new one on warranty, but the fix saved me down time.

Fixemall · Sep 2, 2011

Professor Marvel said:
Can I use an inexpensive car battey load tester. What should I expect it to read on a tractor battery?
Thanks

I would say it should tell you the story, if it is in the yellow...you need a battery. To confirm try setting your charger to "boost" ...bet it starts with no clicking.

jinman · Sep 3, 2011

Read this thread. There might be some useful info in there for you.

wolc123 · Sep 3, 2011

You should be able to easily remove the starter from the tractor. Do that. Next, go to youtube and look how to bench test a starter using a car battery and a pair of jumper cables. My guess is you have a bad starter. If NH uses the same, questionable-quality Bosh starters of that era that JD did, on that size engine, I am fairly sure that will be your problem. The starter on my 2005, JD 4120 went bad over a period of several years with symptoms exactly as you describe. I looked at it as sort of a theft-control device until it finally wouldnt crank at all no matter how long I held the key over or cleaned connections. Rather than fork over about $300 to JD for a new starter, or rebuild the faulty one, I found a new aftermarket one (Powerstrike) from Amazon for around $100. Very easy installation and the tractor has been starting like a champ since I put it in. By the way, JD no longer uses that starter on the 4000-20 series and has updated the part ($300). Some day, if I get real bored, I am going to tear that old starter down and try and figure out the root of the problem. Good luck.

Short Game · Sep 3, 2011

Makes me want to quote my old departed friend, Will Slayton, once again:

"They lost me when they took the hand crank away from us."

Will saw a lot in his time. He left his family in Minnesota at 14 and got off the train in San Francisco with the smoke still rising from the 1906 fire. I sat nearly every evening by his Lang wood cook stove for some years and heard about some pretty amazing stuff.

jinman · Sep 3, 2011

wolc123 said:
If NH uses the same, questionable-quality Bosh starters of that era that JD did, on that size engine, I am fairly sure that will be your problem.

New Holland starters are Nippondenso. With weak battery voltage or age, the solenoid may not fully engage. It often causes a fuse to blow or it just doesn't engage enough for the contact to be made to power the starter motor. Often, the starters check fine on the bench, but still have engagement failures from time-to-time. Intermittent problems are killer to troubleshoot. I would say that if the OP goes to the trouble to remove the starter, he should try to disassemble the starter and clean the solenoid contacts while he has it out. If he doesn't want to disassemble it, then it may fail on occasion and the $170 replacement might be the best solution.