2003 TC30 won't start

[mainegolfur]

My tc30 won't start. Turn the key to start position and you get nothing. Dash lights are on so I am guessing fuse is ok. My question is to disable seat safety switch do I just unplug it. Tractor ran fine yesterday doing snow cleanup. Today nothing.

 

[seville009]

Everything in neutral to start? Wiggle things around.

usually you can't just unplug the safety switch; probably have to jump it after you unplug it - a wire connecting the two female slots.

 

[mainegolfur]

Everything appears to be correct. Sitting in seat, foot depressing clutch and shifter in neutral for hst tranny. Starter doesn't even click. Just lights on dash which is same fuse as safety circuit. I will try jumping seat switch tomorrow. Does the neutral switch work the same way as in do I have to jump to bypass?

 

[seville009]

Don't know anything about the neutral safety switch.

check your battery voltage first

similar thread that might help:

TC30 Won't Start

Just went out to start the tractor and it won't crank over. I turned the key back for the glow plugs and everything lit up on the dash like normal. Turned it to the on position to crank it and got nothing, no crank. Battery is good and there's power going to the starter according to the volt...

www.tractorbynet.com

 

[mainegolfur]

Thanks seville009 I will check battery voltage and double check cables first chance I get. Start with the easy first!

 

[dlctcg]

@mainegolfur - there are a couple of thing right off in regards to your issue... the seat switch and the parking brake switch will not stop the engine from turning over (they just cause the fuel solenoid to shut off)... so they are not your problem...

I would check to see if you are getting any voltage at the Starter Solenoid when you turn the key to START... If you see voltage when you turn the key to the START position but it is less than 12V this will definitely cause an issue... If you don't have voltage there when the key is turned to start, report back....

Also NH TC's are known for battery cable issues.... Have you tested your battery cables? If not I would....

This is some info that I have posted previously that may help with the diagnosis....

Cable Test:
Older New Holland battery cables often corrode inside the terminal where it is sometimes impossible to see; not sure it was an issue with your particular yr / model... You will often have voltage so everything seems good. (gauges & all are working). So you will have voltage but they will not supply the required Amperage to start the machine.

You can test if there is an issue with your existing battery cables pretty simply.

Remove the negative battery cable & then take a negative jumper cable wire and place it on the bare negative post of your tractor battery. Connect the other end to a solid clean ground of the tractor (bare metal location). Try starting the tractor & see if that makes a difference...

If that doesn't change anything you can do the same process on the positive post. Disconnect the Negative jumper from the Battery terminal. Then using your positive jumper cable attach one end to where the positive battery cable connects to the starter (connect this end first), and the other end to the positive battery post (last). Make sure the jumper cable is not able to arc to near by metal. Now reconnect the Negative jumper cable to the battery & try starting the tractor again & see if that changes anything...

Doing this process you basically bypassed the battery cables on the machine, and then can troubleshoot from there.

 

[Fxfymn413]

Given you were clearing snow I would check the underside of the tractor for any chunks of ice or snow that have built up and are keeping a safety switch from operating correctly.

 

[mainegolfur]

Went down to the tractor shed to work on problem. Just for the hell of it tried starting. It started right up. In testing the tractor does turn over with no-one in the seat as long as in neutral. It just doesn't stay running, it starts and stalls right out. With gear selector in anything other than neutral you get only dash lights. That is with parking brake not on. I will wait for warm weather to tear into any further. The only difference is temp is over 30 today and was in mid teens overnight. the other day was below 0 overnight and only in low teens during the day. With what it was doing I feel the problem was with the neutral switch. I may swap it out come warm weather. Thanks to all for the suggestions.

 

[Fxfymn413]

I will wait for warm weather to tear into any further.

I would not "tear into it" at all. My bet is if it warms up whatever is causing the safety switch to not operate properly will cure itself. As I said earlier working in the snow is a big cue and if you look through the posts here you will see several posts about snow causing issues with safety switches.

 

[davesill]

I just came here to post about my TC30 not starting, and it sounds a lot like mainegolfur's problem.

The last time I used it--probably October--it worked fine: started right up and ran great till I parked it and turned it off. Around the end of November I tried to start it and got the "lights come on but starter doesn't crank or even click" problem. I tried jumping it even though the battery is new and that didn't help. I've tried a few times since then and it's always the same: no cranking.

Today I tried again: no go. I hooked up a manual winch and pulled it a foot or two out of the shed to make it easier to look at. On a whim, I tried to start it again and it fired right up. I left it idling while I unhooked the winch. It idled five to ten minutes or so, then died, and is back to not cranking. WTF?

I'm not much of a mechanic, but I've worked through a couple things thanks to folks here. This doesn't sound like a safety switch or fuse issue to me, but I'll check the fuses anyway because it's easy to do. Any other suggestions?