is my starter bad??????

bassfishrman · Apr 13, 2006

My tractor will not turn over unless jumped off. The battery is good and reads 12.6 volts. The dash lights and headlights are very bright so I know the battery is "hot".

If it is the starter...will a 72 datsun starter fit it?

My tractor is a YM240.

Thanks.

normde2001 · Apr 13, 2006

If it will jump start from another battery, the starter is probably good. What are the CCA's, (cold cranking amps), of the tractor battery and the jumper battery? Possibly you need a larger battery.

sls · Apr 13, 2006

From what I understand, A 1972 Datsun 510 voltage reg. and alt. will work. Think the alt. is Hitachi. That starter is not the same as a Datsun 510. I know the volt. reg. will work cause I change the old mech. reg. with a 72 Datsun 510. Works great.

Jagmandave · Apr 13, 2006

I think you might have a bad ground, check where the neg. battery cable is bolted to the frame, clean the rust and try it again?

greatrandini · Apr 14, 2006

These starters can be rebuilt. You should have a rebuilder in your area. If you do it it will last for years. Hoye and others have have starters. 72 datsun will not fit.....

bassfishrman · Apr 17, 2006

i cleaned the ground...still not cranking without jump start and is even sluggish with jump start

Jagmandave · Apr 17, 2006

I think I'd pull that starter and take it to a good rebuilder, Could be as simple as new brushes, commutator cleanup and some new bushings to fix her right up.........

bassfishrman · Apr 19, 2006

Finally solved my cranking issues!

Guess what...bad battery....uurrgg! Funny thing is I just took the battery to autozone a few weeks ago and they said it was good. It has been reading 12.60 volts so I assumed they were right. Wrong. Apparently, the volts my meter was showing was surface volts.

Put new battery and cranked fine. I checked to make sure the battery was being charged under load and found that it was not. I replaced the alternator and voltage regulator since mine were the original ones. Still no charging under load.

Finally got a local mechanic friend to help me. He traced wires for about 30 minutes and found the fuse blown. As a matter of fact 3 of the 4 fuses were blown. He is installing a more modern fuse box with new fuses.

So my problem in the beginning was a blown fuse that was not allowing my alternator to charge the battery which ultimately killed my battery.

My next project will be to rewire the tractor.

Thanks for everyone's help. Hope my findings will help someone in the future.

sls · Apr 19, 2006

You should change the batt. cables too. After I replaced my battery, volt. reg, and batt. cables, I haven't had any problems.

normde2001 · Apr 19, 2006

"So my problem in the beginning was a blown fuse that was not allowing my alternator to charge the battery which ultimately killed my battery."

Your old battery was more than likely still good, just needed charging. 12.75 volts is a full charge for a 12.6 volt battery, (they are not 12v batteries). I don't believe anyone can sucessfully own/operate/maintain a used tractor without owning/using a volt/ohm meter.