Jinma 254 wont start after running fine.

[robmc5]

Hello, so my key broke off in the ignition and I started the tractor by jumping terminals 1 and 4 on the ignition switch, tractor started fine and I mowed. I ordered a new ignition switch but before it came in I went to mow again by jumping the terminals on the switch and it did nothing, no turn over at all. I figured I would wait to get the switch and that would solve the issue. Well I replaced the switch, being careful to connect the same as the old one, still it will not turn over. Clutch switch is good, battery is good. I am getting 12V to all starter terminals when switch is in the on position, but nothing. I am not sure what I did by jumping the ignition terminals, but it started fine when I first did that.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

2005 Jinma 254 with Y385T engine.

 

[jeff9366]

I am getting 12V to all starter terminals when switch is in the on position.

You usually need 12.4 - 12.6 volts.

Cleaning your battery connections and battery posts and tightening the connections may give you 12.4 -12.6 volts.

How old is your battery?

 

[piper184]

Yes, I too suspect your battery is at least low. You started it from the battery but operating the tractor with the key in the off position most likely kept the alternator from recharging the battery.
Technically a good battery should be able to make several starts in warm weather, but if it was on the margin before it might just be too low now.
Question: are you hearing any clicking when you attempt to start with the key?
You could try taking the positive from the battery (at the starter lug if you wish) and jump that to the small wire on the solenoid. This will bypass the switch and associated circuitry.
You could also try jumping between the two heavy terminals at the solenoid to bypass the switch, circuitry and solenoid. If that won't turn over the starter, charge battery and load test it. While it is charging, you can go through all the connections from the battery to the starter and the frame to make sure they are clean and tight.
Good luck and let us know what you find out.

 

[Bob Rooks]

I'll bet that little red light on the dash didn't come on as usual when you were mowing, did it.

 

[robmc5]

Thanks for all the replies. I am not sure the exact voltage on the started terminals, but I did try starting it with a jump starter that I keep in my truck and it was fully charged, so this leads me to believe the battery is good, its less than a year old. When the key is in the start position I am getting 12 volts to all three terminals on the starter, the two large and the one small terminal. I did try jumping between the large and small terminals before I checked the voltage and it did not turn over. There is not even a click when I try to start it. It's like the clutch fail switch is not engaged so I bypassed it also, still nothing. I even tried tapping the starter with a rubber mallet to see if it was stuck.

The frustrating part was that it was running fine, I just stopped mowing to let it cool down some, its 90+ degrees here and it tends to run a little hot, and I did replace the ignition switch but this happened before the switch was replaced. I wonder it starting it by shorting the #1 and #4 terminals on the ignition switch that one time burned up the starter coil.

Bob, I do not have a red light, mine is the old style with separate gauges, not the cluster. I have a green light but its never worked.

 

[Bob Rooks]

Bob, I do not have a red light, mine is the old style with separate gauges, not the cluster. I have a green light but its never worked.

The red or green "key on" indicator light indicates that you have field current to the alternator. It is connected to the voltage regulator. So then you also have an ammeter, which would normally show a heavy charge after starting the engine, and then taper off to barely zero.

 

[piper184]

The ammeter also gives you another clue. When you turn the key you should see a slight movement toward discharge. This will be the current that the solenoid is drawing.
If the solenoid is stuck it will draw current but not click. If the solenoid is burned out it will not click and not draw any current even though it is being supplied to the small terminal via the key switch wire.
The battery condition is still suspect as voltage even taken at the battery post is only showing the surface voltage and not the load capacity. If you don't have a load tester, most auto parts stores will test them for free or a small fee. Be sure and charge it completely before taking it for the test.
If possible take a voltage reading while the key is turned to start and see if it drops. It should. If not there is a wiring fault of bad solenoid.
The solenoid grounds through the starter which grounds through the mounting bolts to the engine. Make sure the bolts are clean and tight as well as both ends of the negative cable from the frame to the battery.

Personally I would just pop the starter off and get it to the bench for a good cleaning and inspection and clean and tighten everything as you put it back together. It is standard maintenance for a simple starter and quite easy to do. It has been a few years since I did mine and while it is working fine now it is on the PM list for Fall before things get cold. Removing a started at -20 is NOT fun.

 

[robmc5]

Again thanks for all the assistance, so I did take the starter off and took it to a local shop, they tested it and it was working fine. So I brought it back and made sure it was cleaned for a good ground and reinstalled it, but again I got nothing. I put a charger on the battery and I was getting 13.1 volts at the solonoid, on the small terminal also. I bridged the small and large with a screwdriver and it turned, but only once, now I am back to where it was, nothing at all. I watched the guy at the shop test it several times, worked everytime. I am stumped. I am going to charge the battery over night and test it tomorrow. Not sure what to do next. I guess its possible the ignition switch is wired wrong, but I was careful to put the new one in the same way as the old one, I am not sure that would cause this issue.

 

[piper184]

The small terminal should only have voltage when the key is in start.he large terminal connected to the battery cable should always show battery voltage
The large terminal that connects to the starter should only show voltage when the solenoid engages
Connect a test light to the small wire at the solenoid and confirm it only comes on when the key is turned to start. That will verify your wiring of the key switch.
That does not mean that the circuit can carry enough current to operate the solenoid. Jumping from the large terminal to the small with a screw driver should be sufficient, unless....
Battery is still top suspect. You can charge it and get a nice 13+ volt reading on a resting battery but that does not prove the load capacity of the battery. Two ways to test it.
#1 is to remove it from the tractor and charge it properly, then use a load tested to see if it will hold voltage under load.
#2 is if you don't have a load tester, put it back on the tractor and connect a volt meter so you can read it at rest and when you hit the key to start and again when you try jumping the large and small terminals at the solenoid.
There is a good chance that your battery can't sustain a load well enough to get the solenoid to "click"
You could have bad battery cables. To bypass the tractor cables take jumper cables and go from the battery neg to the starter mounting bolt. Take the pos from the battery to the large terminal on the solenoid (where the old battery cable connects).
You should also be able to put the pos cable on the starter side of the solenoid and make the starter spin. This bypasses everything including the solenoid.
My money at this point is still on the battery or a bad cable.

 

[grsthegreat]

Try a new battery. If you want, place an ammeter on existing battery and then try starting tractor. I bet you will see voltage drop alot.

i too think leaving broken key in place kept circuit live and you killed battery. Just showing 12 v without a draw is no way to test a battery. You need to test it under load. My carbon pyle tester placed a load of 50% rated cold cranking load on battery. Only reliable way to test it.