Battery or starter problem? How do I know/test which it is? Kubota L3940

SPYDERLK · Jul 17, 2015

k0ua said:
That would be what is known as a high internal resistance. Here is a thought experiment. Take voltmeter and measure the poles of the battery. OK let's say it is 12.6 volts. Now put a 1000 ohm resistor in series with one of the battery terminals. Measure the voltage. It should still be 12.6 Volts correct? Now try to start you tractor thru your resistor, will the tractor crank? What will the voltage be on the tractor end of the resistor? What will the voltage measure on the battery end of the resistor? E=IR. P=EI. E is electromotive force also known as volts. I is current measured in amperes. R is resistance measured in Ohm's.

The point is that your battery has an high internal resistance and the voltage will drop significantly when the load is placed across it. Batteries with low internal resistance will deliver significant amounts of current at near open circuit voltages with minimal voltage drops when a low resistance load is placed across their terminals. High currents at a given voltage equals power able to do work like spin a starting motor.

Oh, if only there was a Voltmeter ... or even an OP.

Gcorron · Jul 17, 2015

Son was in college, and traveled to a town about 30 miles away with his girlfriend (now wife). He's in my 91 Volvo, and yes, it's still my daily driver. He calls up all panicked, the car won't start. It makes clicking sounds, but won't turn.

I had stuck an old ax handle in the back because a friend of his wanted to check ball joints. I ask him if the ax handle is still there, yup he answers. He's got me on speaker as he is looking around under the hood.
I tell him to take that handle, and whack the snot out of the starter. I hear his girlfriend in the background with a 'what the heck is he talking about'?

Whack the starter, fires right up! Volvo 240's were made to be easy to work on, except the starter, he carried the ax handle with him for about a year before I got around to replacing it.

You just about had to be around Fords when the relay was mounted on the firewall to know that one though!

A couple months ago, he calls me and says he's at a gas station and his battery died, he knew I had one in the shop and asked me to bring it. When I got there i asked if he had checked the starter, his wife jumps up and says 'Hit it with a stick'! Good girl!

George

murphy1244 · Jul 17, 2015

Gcorron said:
Son was in college, and traveled to a town about 30 miles away with his girlfriend (now wife). He's in my 91 Volvo, and yes, it's still my daily driver. He calls up all panicked, the car won't start. It makes clicking sounds, but won't turn.

I had stuck an old ax handle in the back because a friend of his wanted to check ball joints. I ask him if the ax handle is still there, yup he answers. He's got me on speaker as he is looking around under the hood.
I tell him to take that handle, and whack the snot out of the starter. I hear his girlfriend in the background with a 'what the heck is he talking about'?

Whack the starter, fires right up! Volvo 240's were made to be easy to work on, except the starter, he carried the ax handle with him for about a year before I got around to replacing it.

You just about had to be around Fords when the relay was mounted on the firewall to know that one though!

A couple months ago, he calls me and says he's at a gas station and his battery died, he knew I had one in the shop and asked me to bring it. When I got there i asked if he had checked the starter, his wife jumps up and says 'Hit it with a stick'! Good girl!

George

I think Ford even had a part # for a BFH.

newbury · Nov 9, 2015

Reviving an older thread because I'm having a battery problem

Gcorron said:
Son was in college, and traveled to a town about 30 miles away with his girlfriend (now wife). He's in my 91 Volvo, and yes, it's still my daily driver. He calls up all panicked, the car won't start. It makes clicking sounds, but won't turn.

I had stuck an old ax handle in the back because a friend of his wanted to check ball joints. I ask him if the ax handle is still there, yup he answers. He's got me on speaker as he is looking around under the hood.
I tell him to take that handle, and whack the snot out of the starter. I hear his girlfriend in the background with a 'what the heck is he talking about'?

A lot of comments about don't hit the starter. But sometimes it works. On my F350 I ended up using the 3lb sledge about 6 times to start before the part came in to get it replaced. Just had to be careful to not to park over a puddle.

k0ua · Nov 9, 2015

SPYDERLK said:
Oh, if only there was a Voltmeter ... or even an OP.

New tractors should come with voltmeters instead of hats. As cheap as voltmeters are why doesn't everyone have at least one?. I have many. I am not sure just how many. In fact I installed a small digital one in my dash on the Kioti.

k0ua · Nov 9, 2015

newbury said:
Reviving an older thread because I'm having a battery problem

A lot of comments about don't hit the starter. But sometimes it works. On my F350 I ended up using the 3lb sledge about 6 times to start before the part came in to get it replaced. Just had to be careful to not to park over a puddle.

What you say is true. BUT, when your tractor will not start, the starter being the problem falls pretty far down the list. Corroded connections and sulphated batteries are far more likely. Even corroded key switches are more likely than draggy starters. Not that they don't occur, it is just all about how likley.

oldstyles · Nov 10, 2015

The BFH can break the magnets loose inside the starter. Some starters even have "do not strike" warnings on them. I'm not saying I won't, but it's not the 1st thing I try.

ultrarunner · Nov 10, 2015

Only time I struck my starter was when I was in the middle of no where late at night and the truck with a 150k would not crank... got my dead blow rubber mallet from the job box and gave it a rap and that was all it took...