Iplayfarmer
Super Member
If anyone has ever read Patrick McManus you'll understand the title of this thread. I've posted bits and pieces of my sequence in this forum, but I've got to put it all in one place because I just realized there's a punch line...
Thursday the 11th I went to water the lawn but the tractor was in the way of where the sprinkler would water. No problem, right? I'll just Move the tractor. I went to start the tractor and it wouldn't start. No Problem, right? I'll just charge the battery and move it later. I left the charger on over the weekend because we went camping.
Monday I was off so I went to move the tractor again to water the lawn. Still no good. I must have a bad battery. No problem, right? I'll just jump it with the other tractor. I pulled the little garden tractor over and hooked up the jumper cables. Even with the cables on, I still couldn't start it. My worst fears have come true... All that hard abuse of the starter last winter must have ruined it. I put my tester on and sure enough it pulled more of a load than it should have. No problem, right? I'll just take it in and have it rebuilt.
I pulled the starter to take it in and that exposed the frost plug. (Those of you who have been following this forum see where this is going.) I'd been wanting to install a block heater for a while and that desire was only greater now that I knew I had ruined the starter by using it too much last winter. Now that the frost plug is exposed is the perfect time to put the block heater in.
I had bought a radiator hose heater some time ago at a garage sale for $1. If it would work I'd save $25. So I pulled the alternator so that I could get to the radiator hose so that I could see if the hose heater will work. I took some measurements, and the radiator hose heater was too small. No problem, right? $25 is worth it to have the right kind of heater.
At the motor repair place they told me that my starter was absolutely fine. The alternator was weak though. The alternator is expensive and a few weeks out, but that's life with a grey market tractor. The weak alternator must have put so much strain on the battery that it killed it. The battery must have been drawing so much juice when I tried to jump it that there wasn't enough left over for the starter. No problem, right? I'll put the weak alternator back in until I can get the right one. I'll just go pick up a new battery when I get the block heater at the parts place. Then I can put in the block heater, start the tractor and move it, and water the lawn.
I got the block heater, new battery, and a jug of antifreeze and came home to fix it all up. As I went to put the alternator in I noticed that the fan belt was pretty worn. No problem, right? I'll just get a new fan belt, put the old alternator back in until I can get a new one, put in the block heater, Install a new battery, start the tractor and move it and then water the lawn.
I had to wait until the next day to get the fan belt because by this time the parts place was closed. I got the fan belt, installed the alternator, put in the block heater re-installed the starter, put in the new battery and then found out the block heater leaked. (See this thread for the story behind the block heater.) After much trial and tribulation with the block heater I finally got it working.
Now...since I still haven't bought the new alternator, I hooked the battery up to the same charger that I had on the old battery before It went dead and made me think the starter was bad and started the whole sequence. I went to hook it up and realized that it had been set on 6 volts this whole time.
I've got the water going on the lawn this morning. Anyone need a good lawn and garden battery?
Thursday the 11th I went to water the lawn but the tractor was in the way of where the sprinkler would water. No problem, right? I'll just Move the tractor. I went to start the tractor and it wouldn't start. No Problem, right? I'll just charge the battery and move it later. I left the charger on over the weekend because we went camping.
Monday I was off so I went to move the tractor again to water the lawn. Still no good. I must have a bad battery. No problem, right? I'll just jump it with the other tractor. I pulled the little garden tractor over and hooked up the jumper cables. Even with the cables on, I still couldn't start it. My worst fears have come true... All that hard abuse of the starter last winter must have ruined it. I put my tester on and sure enough it pulled more of a load than it should have. No problem, right? I'll just take it in and have it rebuilt.
I pulled the starter to take it in and that exposed the frost plug. (Those of you who have been following this forum see where this is going.) I'd been wanting to install a block heater for a while and that desire was only greater now that I knew I had ruined the starter by using it too much last winter. Now that the frost plug is exposed is the perfect time to put the block heater in.
I had bought a radiator hose heater some time ago at a garage sale for $1. If it would work I'd save $25. So I pulled the alternator so that I could get to the radiator hose so that I could see if the hose heater will work. I took some measurements, and the radiator hose heater was too small. No problem, right? $25 is worth it to have the right kind of heater.
At the motor repair place they told me that my starter was absolutely fine. The alternator was weak though. The alternator is expensive and a few weeks out, but that's life with a grey market tractor. The weak alternator must have put so much strain on the battery that it killed it. The battery must have been drawing so much juice when I tried to jump it that there wasn't enough left over for the starter. No problem, right? I'll put the weak alternator back in until I can get the right one. I'll just go pick up a new battery when I get the block heater at the parts place. Then I can put in the block heater, start the tractor and move it, and water the lawn.
I got the block heater, new battery, and a jug of antifreeze and came home to fix it all up. As I went to put the alternator in I noticed that the fan belt was pretty worn. No problem, right? I'll just get a new fan belt, put the old alternator back in until I can get a new one, put in the block heater, Install a new battery, start the tractor and move it and then water the lawn.
I had to wait until the next day to get the fan belt because by this time the parts place was closed. I got the fan belt, installed the alternator, put in the block heater re-installed the starter, put in the new battery and then found out the block heater leaked. (See this thread for the story behind the block heater.) After much trial and tribulation with the block heater I finally got it working.
Now...since I still haven't bought the new alternator, I hooked the battery up to the same charger that I had on the old battery before It went dead and made me think the starter was bad and started the whole sequence. I went to hook it up and realized that it had been set on 6 volts this whole time.
I've got the water going on the lawn this morning. Anyone need a good lawn and garden battery?
