Help with 4600 Starter

[zdutchman]

I have a 5 yr old 4600, had been using the tractor for over an hour when I shut it off to have some lunch. Came back out and would barely crank, jumped with my Duramax and it took right off. Shut off later in the day and when attempted to restart starter would only click, even with new battery and jump starting from Duramax.

Removed starter and had a electrical rebuilder check it out, said it was fine and advised on how to bypass safety system as he felt the ignition switch may be the problem.

Tried it with the safety systems bypassed but starter just clicks. Removed again and have had two different local JD dealers inspect the starter. One says replace it, ($600 + part) & the other first said it was bad but then changed his mind and says the starter is good.

Has anyone else experienced this issue? Snow will be here any day and I need to get the loader attached and the plow hooked up.

Thanks,

Scott

 

[dbdartman]

So... One says replace the starter & two say it's OK. It took a jump once & now won't. In the past, when I ran into situations like this, the problem was usually the battery cables, but seeing that your piece is 5 years old, I'd suspect the battery first! 5 years is usually about all you'll get out of a wet-cell battery (I count anything over 5 years as a bonus & expect it to be dead at any time).

 

[deereguy]

I caught that you said new battery- I would suspect that could be a problem, have a local auto parts store put a load on it and see what happens. Are the connections tight and clean to the battery?

 

[dsgsr]

Don't pay JD's ridiculous prices I found out the hard way that you can get the same starter much cheaper Go here http://www.dixie-electric.com/catalog/Cross%20reference%20OEM%202005.pdf

And find the cross over # for your starter, Contact Dixie too find a local dealer/distributor and have them look it up and get a price. After I had bought the JD starter I found my local distributor would sell it for a little over 1/3 of what JD wanted. So I bought a clutch kit for him and rebuilt my old starter and now have a back up. By the way, the clutch kit was 1/3 of what JD wanted also

David

 

[rmonio]

I have a 4600 also and replaced my battery over a year ago due to the same type of symptoms you were seeing. I don't believe it's a starter issue with the clicks you're hearing - make sure the cables are clean (this was also a problem on my battery) and that the battery isn't the issue.

When I had my problem originally, my JD dealer said that the battery cells are sometimes the culprit so you have to make sure the one you buy has been tested and filled prior to taking it home... you might want to have them look at it once more for you. They said the starters are rarely the issue.

Good luck! Snow is right around the corner here too and I'm about to take my 4600 in for it's 500 hour checkup (engine valve clearance). Take care.

-Bob