Bx1860 won't even click when I turn the key

[casolorz]

So my bx1860 was doing the typical clicking sound it does before you turn it on but it wouldn't turn on. Battery is fine. PTO and pedals seemed fine. I looked at fuses and they seemed fine. Anyway, I then read some posts about PTO being touchy even when it is in the right position so I tried turning on the tractor and tried engaging the PTO and then put it back to see if it would help and I don't know what happened but not I won't even hear a click from the tractor, no lights come on, nothing. I checked the fuses and they seem fine but I don't have a tester.

Any idea what it could be?

 

[OzKioti]

Battery terminals clean & tight?

 

[i7win7]

Follow black battery cable to frame. Remove and clean frame and cable contact points

 

[5030]

How old IS the battery and have you cleaned the terminals and frame ground lately or ever?

 

[Roadworthy]

After you're done cleaning all the connections and are sure the cables are tight if the problem is not resolved give serious thought to taking the battery to town and having it load tested. A battery can have full voltage and still not have the required energy to do the job.

 

[radioman]

pull the pto lever back and HOLD it while trying to start. i assume you already made sure the hst pedal is centered. it doesnt matter if you are in the seat or not . everything else is not needed to start bx. I wouldnt worry about the battery since you can hear the clicking of fuel pump.

 

[BleedingOrange]

While looking underneath your left fender, move the pto lever from engaged to resting position. Somewhere along that path, the lever should compress a switch, which gives continuity to the starter circuit. Sometimes they come loose, or quit making contact when in the off position. Are you familiar with using a meter ? If so, disconnect the switch under there, and use the meter to determine if the switch is working properly. As a testing aid, you could use a paperclip to temporarily short out the two leads that plug into that switch. Put the parking brake on, and see if it will start. If it does, with this test, then it is the switch that is either out of adjustment, or faulty. Please let us know what you find that was the problem.

 

[Henro]

After you're done cleaning all the connections and are sure the cables are tight if the problem is not resolved give serious thought to taking the battery to town and having it load tested. A battery can have full voltage and still not have the required energy to do the job.

That is ONLY true if you measure the voltage at the battery terminals and it drops low when the battery is being used for something, like trying to energize the starter.

No need to go have the battery checked somewhere. Just put a voltmeter on the battery TERMINALS, NOT the cable clamps, and measure battery voltage when you try to start the engine. Bad battery? Voltage will drop very low. If voltage stays up, the problem is elsewhere, but not the battery itself.

 

[JWR]

First, do the dash lights act normal and light up when you turn the key? Does the glow plug light go on when you turn the key a little further? If NOT do exactly what they guys are saying above about cleaning terminals, cable connections, etc. If YES, if the dash lights glow bright and 'normal' then you almost certainly have one of the VERY common problems with these small tractors. Namely insufficient voltage is reaching the primary (triggering) side of your solenoid.

I am very surprised the guys above have not mentioned it. A very common problem is getting the starter to turn when the battery and all other obvious things are in good order. The common problem (which by the way exists with other brands as well) is that you have many safety switches and interconnects between the starting key switch and the solenoid -- all of which provide a small voltage drop or chance for marginal connection. The fix many people use (Deere actually sells a kit for it) is to trigger an added small relay at/near the solenoid that provides a direct solid 12v to trigger the solenoid. That little relay is itself triggered by the same small wire coming from the harness that has already been through all the safety interlocks, etc. The manufacturers save a few pennies not putting one in at the factory.

To quickly and easily prove whether that is the problem, find the small wire leading from the harness to the solenoid. Take a clip lead or any handy jumper and be ready to momentarily apply a good solid 12v either direct from the battery or from the heavy cable connection on the other side of the solenoid to the small wire terminal on the solenoid using the clip lead. Just reach around and touch the "good 12v" to the small wire terminal while you have the starting key held in the spring loaded "to start" position. Assuming you already ran the glow plugs it will start right up. Anyway the solenoid and thus the starter are activated that way.

One of the circumstances that makes this quirky little problem so often misleading is the trigger side of the solenoid is getting ALMOST enough voltage to go but not quite. Thus many things you do like better ground cable connections, sanded connectors, cleaned up cables, on and on will provide a slight tiny improvement in voltage at the primary side of the solenoid -- enough to make you think you solved the problem and in a way you have IF IT KEEPS GOING long term.
Another VERY quick easy trick involving no wiring or extra wires is to apply a battery charger to your battery no matter what you think the battery condition is. Then try starting. Since the battery charger puts out typically 13.8v or so that will improve the voltage at the solenoid and it will start right up for you (if that is the problem which it probably is.)

Let us know how it goes.

 

[5030]

Been my experience that small tractor owners neglect battery connection maintenance and battery life, thinking wrongly that a 5,6 or 7 year old battery is fine when it's shot.

I replace the starting batteries in my large tractors every 3 years as a maintenance item.

Contrary to popular belief, heat is what kills a battery, not cold and vibration as well and tractor starting batteries are subject to both heat and vibration.

 

[JWR]

Been my experience that small tractor owners neglect battery connection maintenance and battery life, thinking wrongly that a 5,6 or 7 year old battery is fine when it's shot.

I replace the starting batteries in my large tractors every 3 years as a maintenance item.

Contrary to popular belief, heat is what kills a battery, not cold and vibration as well and tractor starting batteries are subject to both heat and vibration.

Good practice I'm sure. I have a different opinion. I think the life of a lead storage battery is primarily dependent on the number of charge and discharge cycles and secondarily on other things like time, temperatures, vibration, etc. If I don't get 5 years out of a battery (car, truck tractor, whatever) I consider it defective. If the batteries are "the same" it is a statistical thing and of course varies.

 

[casolorz]

First, do the dash lights act normal and light up when you turn the key? Does the glow plug light go on when you turn the key a little further?

The lights were working fine but then as I was messing with the PTO and pedals to see if I could get it to start they stopped working. I also used to hear that clicking sound it does between being on the on position and actually turning on but now there is nothing, no lights, no clicking, nothing. It happened while I was sitting on the tractor. I was literally moving the PTO with the key on ON and it all went silent, dash lights off, etc. Like if a fuse blew out but I did try switching those and didn't help.

 

[casolorz]

I should mention the battery connectors all look clean, wires look good, battery isn't that old and has 12v according to the voltmeter.

 

[casolorz]

Alright so the switch for the pto was stuck. So now I'm back to the clicking on ON but won't even try to turn the engine when trying to turn on. Lights on the dash work again.

 

[JWR]

I had not seen your post # 14 when i started typing this reply. ...

You have at least 2 problems:
1) the more urgent, is why would a stuck PTO interlock switch kill all the lights on the dash? Must be a loose/shorted wire there that needs fixed. then

2) OK, so we are back to [failure to crank issue] what I said in post #9. Quickest/easiest is to hook up a battery charger and see if it cranks for you. If it does, then you know for sure you are not getting "good enough 12v" to the solenoid.

The added relay is the most popular fix for that (but you can go over cleaning and checking the umpteen connections and switches leading to the solenoid trigger as well as heavy gage cable tightening, etc. and get back to usable factory status. )

I won't mention more obscure circumstances with older worn starters unless the battery charger hookup fails to cause it to crank.

 

[casolorz]

2) OK, so we are back to [failure to crank issue] what I said in post #9. Quickest/easiest is to hook up a battery charger and see if it cranks for you. If it does, then you know for sure you are not getting "good enough 12v" to the solenoid.

I hooked it up to my car, still failed to crank, doesn't even attempt to. Lights and clicking still there just fine.

 

[JWR]

Unless the motor was running on your car you still were not adding higher voltage at tractor than 12v. Even then with jumper cable voltage drops and motor running in the car it would be a maybe. That's why I suggested using a battery charger which puts out around 13.8v or so.

Backing up a little: Did you ever say how/when this problem started? Did it happen a few times and after several tries with the key it did turn over -- OR -- was it all rosy until one day all of a sudden it refused to turn over? Was it a sudden first time ever problem?

After hearing answers to those questions one might start thinking a bad solenoid or a stuck starter motor but lets hear the answers first.

 

[casolorz]

The car was running. I don't have a proper battery charger, just one of those lithium ones and did try it but didn't help either.

So I haven't had a need for the tractor in a few months. I tried using it when it was snowing and couldn't get it to start, wouldn't crank then but I figured maybe it was too cold for my battery. So I left it and started trying again last week. So basically worked fine, then sat for a few months, and it stopped working.

 

[Rdrcr]

^^^^
I had a no start issue with my B2601. Turned out to be a wire was loose on one of the safety switches.

Have you checked all the switches and wiring?

Mike

 

[JWR]

The car was running. I don't have a proper battery charger, just one of those lithium ones and did try it but didn't help either.

So I haven't had a need for the tractor in a few months. I tried using it when it was snowing and couldn't get it to start, wouldn't crank then but I figured maybe it was too cold for my battery. So I left it and started trying again last week. So basically worked fine, then sat for a few months, and it stopped working.

OK. Without a meter it will be hard to debug things. One thing you can try (a bit of a long shot, but I have had 2 Kubotas for which this worked) is to get things opened up just enough (may have to pull the side panel on the right side of the engine) and take a rod of some kind, like a socket set extension, reach it down alongside the motor and tap the starter motor with a fairly strong hit. Like a gentle hammer strike to the end of the rod touching the starter. Once in a long while old starter motors will come to life after a jolt. If that doesn't work, you really need a meter to see where the 12V is getting to and NOT getting to during attempted starts.

I'm assuming you have tightened the heavy ground cable connection to the frame, cleaned contacts, wiggled the PTO control, sure you have the FWD/REV control lever in neutral, etc. All the good things the other guys suggested above in earlier posts.