Can an old lady get her MF1250 to start?

[whistlepig]

"Floppy sounding" is out of my league. Good luck with your tractor. It won't be because of your lack of determination that it doesn't get fixed

 

[KubotainNH]

You're so close, you need to check the voltage at those other 2 points on the starter when the key is turned. The thing is do you have what is needed to do it. An alligator clip attached to the connector the light blue arrow points to and your meter is the tough one.

First push the meter probe into the connector the dark blue arrow is pointing to, it should slide into the back of the connector where the wire goes in. It will be a tight fit but you should see the metal connector in there, get the meter probe to have could contact and turn the key. If no voltage then you have an issue somewhere that is most likely a safety switch. If you get voltage there then everything is working properly up to the solenoid. Next would be to check the voltage at the light blue wire, that one is tough. If no voltage there then it's the solenoid. If there is voltage there too then the starter motor is bad or the motor is stuck which would not be good.

The battery voltage never drops below 12v so I doubt that is your issue. Good idea to replace it if it's old but I'm not one to drive 30 miles for something that may not fix the issue.

When we say measure 12volts it all depends on the battery charge. Pretty much anything within a volt is close enough to at least get the motor to spin a bit. There will always be a bit of a drop going through a component like the solenoid.

As for the compression release, some have them to make tractor starting easier. Maybe just older tractors, it's usually a lever you pull that opens the internals of the engine a bit so compression is low and spinning the engine is easier.

BTW, if you lived near me I'd be over there tomorrow to help you. You have tenacity, I like that.

 

[Old Gray Mare]

OK, Kubota, I've printed your photo and instructions and will give it a try tomorrow. All I gotta do is find the alligator clips that are *somewhere* around here

LOL...not only do I not like driving 30 miles to buy what may not be needed, but I am a tiwght-wade to the core and hate spending the money

I sure appreciate the help from all of you!!

P.S. tenacity has its good and not-so-good attributes...

 

[Old Gray Mare]

I think it will start on its own batt. Theres probably some safety interlock preventing the ignition switch from putting 12V on that blue arrow connector. You could unplug that wire and jumper +12V directly to the then exposed plug terminal on the solenoid, This should close the solenoid and crank it. Be sure its in neutral!
larry

Hey SPYDER, can you be more detailed in this "You could unplug that wire and jumper +12V directly to the then exposed plug terminal on the solenoid"? What do you mean by "jumper +12V?

FYI...I did unplug that wire at the blue arrow and used the red meter probe inside the male end (where the wire is) with the black probe on a clean bolt head. It tested the same voltage as the battery.

Thanks!!!

 

[Leejohn]

The clicking she is hearing is the fuel solenoid clicking open then off. She said she had 12v on the small wire when key is turned to start and 12v from battery on the main lead from bat. It's now the solenoid or starter. She only has to unplug the small wire and with a jumper wire from the main wire to where she unpluged the small wire and if solenoid kicks in it's the starter. If no clicking of the solenoid then thats it.
I forgot to say , this is with the meter hooked to the light blue spot while doing this.

 

[Old Gray Mare]

The clicking she is hearing is the fuel solenoid clicking open then off. She said she had 12v on the small wire when key is turned to start and 12v from battery on the main lead from bat. It's now the solenoid or starter. She only has to unplug the small wire and with a jumper wire from the main wire to where she unpluged the small wire and if solenoid kicks in it's the starter. If no clicking of the solenoid then thats it.
I forgot to say , this is with the meter hooked to the light blue spot while doing this.

The fuel solenoid is located where? I know the click/clunk is not coming from the starter solenoid ( I know the sound from vehicles that wouldn't start), but somewhere near the top of the engine.

How do I make a jumper wire?

Thanks for the new insight on the clicking!

 

[radioman]

ok - my father has a mf1250 and it looks pretty much the same. there are 2 distinctive models years for mf1250. I think pre 96 and after 96. There is no compression release on the mf1250 so the guys can stop asking about it. I am nowhere near my fathers tractor to look to be sure, but to jumper the starter, you can take a scrap wire for house wiring and take one of the white or black wire out and have it roughly 6 inches or longer. (heck any wire with insulation on it is fine. the insulation is for safety not to burn your fingers so dont think about a clothes hanger!) strip each end to a half inch. I prefer a solid wire like house wiring since its stiffer and easier to work with. Stick one end in the plastic wire molex that the smaller wire is on the starter. pull the rubber boot off next to the smaller wire on your starter. BE PREPARED for spark but take the other end of wire and touch the nut of larger wire you pulled boot off from. IF the starter turns, you completed the diagnostic of your battery issue. In this case you have wiring issue, key ignition issue, or ground. If the starter spins and cranks the motor, your starter/solenoid is ok. If you dont hear a click/clunk chances are your solenoid is bad. Its cheaper to put in a solenoid then replace the whole starter with new solenoid.
I am still in the same camp as the guys, take battery out and take it to your local box auto store and have them load test the battery before you say heck with it and replace battery. As for matching cca's the more cca's you have the easier,faster the tractor will start. the numbers you have is the minimum for all weather conditions and amperage draw your tractor needs so stay close to the cca's. It will not be a probably if you go 50 cca less but you may notice its not like new on the tractor when starting.

 

[Old Gray Mare]

First push the meter probe into the connector the dark blue arrow is pointing to, it should slide into the back of the connector where the wire goes in.

Do I leave them connected? When I put the probe in without iginition wire hooked up, I get 0 volts no matter if the key is on or not. Same with them hooked up.

If no voltage then you have an issue somewhere that is most likely a safety switch. If you get voltage there then everything is working properly up to the solenoid. Next would be to check the voltage at the light blue wire, that one is tough. If no voltage there then it's the solenoid.

I poked and prodded every which way and configuration I could think of, and kept getting 0 volts. The only places that give me 12.6V is at the big starter bolt and the battery posts and terminals. I even redid the ground post just for grins.

The battery read 12.62V, which is a drop from the 13.10 - 13.23 yesterday. I'm loading it up and taking it to town tomorrow. Going to make a "day trip" and do a couple of other things. CarQuest has the correct size for $104

I made a jumper wire from 12 guage solid copper. Touched the bolt where the light blue arrow is and then the starter bolt. Holy Crap! I know my heart is still working 'cuz the spark made me jump a mile !!! I did it with the key off (nobody said anything about the key). The spark was so intense. loud and fast, there was no way I could tell if the solenoid or starter made a sound.

I have to admit, I'm getting just a little bit frustrated. My horses keep wondering why I'm walking past them with a meter in my hand. :frown:

Thanks again for the support!

 

[Leejohn]

Not the light blue the darker blue. The meter should be hooked to the light blue.

 

[KubotainNH]

Weeding through the posts here. This is what I understand, please correct me if I'm wrong.

-You have 12v on the dark blue wire when it is unplugged with the key turned to start

-You have 0v on the same wire when it's still plugged in. That could mean you didn't have good contact with the volt meter seeing it's a tough fit.

-This one confuses me. You put a wire from the light blue wire to where? Ground or the bolt with the boot? Either way that would make a huge spark and not really what was intended. This is what was meant, put the jumper wire from the booted red arrow wire to the connector where the dark blue wire is, just unplug it first. You may see a spark but a much smaller one. What this does is power the solenoid so it turns on and shorts the booted red wire to the light blue wire. The solenoid is a power switch that can handle real high amperage, the amperage needed to spin the engine. The smaller blue wire tells the solenoid to turn on and uses only a small amount of amperage, low enough the key switch won't burn up. Just be careful because the tractor MUST be in neutral or it could roll. Good to chock the wheels just in case. The key being on doesn't really matter unless you want to see if it will start. I would leave it off at this point.

If you decide to pull the battery and have it tested, you may as well pull the starter too and have them also test that. Most places can test both and it's only 2 bolts plus the 2 wires.