1430 Duetz starting issues

[tommott77]

Hi All,

I’ve developed a starting issue on my 1430. Left the key on once, and then my wife a second time, and thought the battery was going dead but am now not so sure.

Charged the battery out of the tractor to 14+ volts on my multimeter. Once the battery is installed voltage immediately drops to 12 volts as soon as the ignition key is turned to power on. Continues at 12 volts going to the starter when key is turned to start. Even hooking up a jumper box voltage stays at 12-12.5.

I’ve been able to get it to start when needed (perhaps just be luck) by quickly and repeatedly turn ignition switch on/off at about 12.5 volts. When it does start voltage jumps to 14+ volts (so
looks like the charging system is working), but voltage goes back down after your turn it off and go to switch it back on.

Any ideas if the battery (about 6 months old)is just a goner or is there some other electrical issue at play?

 

[m5040]

Can you jump it off another battery and see how it acts? Make sure you use high quality jumper cables, or it is a waste of a test. You could take the battery to a parts store and have it load tested. Sounds like it is weak.

 

[BigDaddyEureka]

You'd think if the key switch was off you should get the same as the bench voltage, but that's not what's happening right?

Agree with m5040 that a quick trip to the auto parts store or an Interstate Batteries shop is a good thing to check and rule out if possible.

Sounds like some kind of vampire drain on first blush. The PTO and light switches are off right?

 

[ponytug]

First things first. A fully charged lead acid battery in good health should be 12.6V at the terminals. Fully discharged, it is more like 10.8V. The charge circuit runs at 13.8-14 volts just to cover any additional loads and charge the battery.

The Deutz starter solenoid is particularly sensitive (aka finicky) about the voltage, so PT puts an extra starter solenoid on it to try to make sure that the starter solenoid has enough voltage to be "happy" and close to start. I suspect that you have a weak connection on one or the other of the solenoids. In particular, I would suggest replacing the wire from the PT added solenoid to the Deutz solenoid. I have had that wire break three times right at the crimp connector at the PT solenoid. Wire a second wire in parallel to that wire to see if it fixes your problem. You can't tell by looking at the wire if it is having issues without stripping all of the insulation off. If that does fix it, here is how I replaced it.

Also what happens when the solenoid itself comes loose.

If that wire is OK, I think that the real issuse is that you probably toasted the battery by letting it run down. I would take it to a store that can test it and be prepared to replace it. As I said, the solenoid is very particular about the voltage.

I hope that this helps.

All the best,

Peter

 

[ernemats]

On my 1845 I have had issues with the starter solenoid 2 or 3 times and ended up replacing the solenoid .

 

[tommott77]

Thanks for the replies. I have my 1430 400 miles away from my home property close to nothing up in the mountains, so the guidance is always appreciated when I’m up at the property with the tractor.

I’ll bring the battery back home and have it load tested. I would think that a jumper box would have been able to more consistently/quickly start the tractor even with a bad battery, but even the jumper box would only read a max of around 12.5 volts when hooked up.

If the battery is ok i’ll probably call Terry to confirm but a solenoid sounds like the fast thing to check. I did a quick look over of the wiring/ground/etc and that looks to be the most likely area for a wiring issues with a solenoid going to a 2nd solenoid.

 

[Woodbutcher56]

I sold a 2430 last year that I had owned for several years and I recall having to replace the starter solenoid a couple of times for similar starting problems.

 

[tommott77]

Just wanted to follow up. Got the battery tested on deep charge test and everything tested out ok. I called Terry at PT and when I told him that I could typically get it to start after turning the key on/off repeatedly he said that it sounded like the aftermarket solenoid was bad. He told me to buy a 12 volt '87 Ford F100 starter solenoid as replacement. It looks like they're available at the most car parts stores. I'll pick one up and bring up with me on my next trip up to the tractor and report back how that does.

 

[tommott77]

Got the new solenoid swapped on and the tractor starts properly again. Looks like a lot of the shelf solenoids should do the trick.

 

[agjones]

We're screwed when Terry retires. Unless maybe MR is looking to relocate.