LS XR4145HC starting problem....

[bbusbee57]

Tractor just started acting up not starting about a month ago. At first the dash board would energize, the glow plug indicator would go off and when I turned the key to start I would hear this click and then nothing. Today I thought I would do more trouble shooting trying to narrow down where the problem is so I used my multimeter to check voltages. Before I tried to start it I had 12+ volts at the power side of the start switch, after it failed to start I had around 3+ volts at the power side of the start switch and the dash was completed dead. When I replaced the battery a week ago I cleaned all connections to the battery and the ground to the chassis. I did a ground continuity check and the ground is good from the battery to the frame. Tractor has about 600 hrs and a brand new Interstate 800CCA battery as I mentioned and I keep a trickle charger on it so the battery stays charged.
The tractor has always made what sounded like a duck quacking when I shut it off, its just part of the shut down sequence I guess but it always happened as soon as I shut off the key/engine. Now when I try to start it and it fails, I won't hear that sounds for 10 to 15 minutes after I shut off the key, very strange! The clear problem is the drop in voltage and I have verified that the source of the power is fine so somewhere between the battery source and the ignition switch there must be a component that is failing, question is what? Any help/suggestions would be much appreciated.

 

[alexpops]

Any signs of rodents? All fuses good? Could be chewed/shorted wires. Have you checked for a parasitic draw when everything is off? How clean are the terminals/connections? tight? My oem cable connectors were weak & I replaced them with good marine style clamps & ring terminals/lugs on the cable ends. Have you tried a resistance check on the wire to the key switch? from key to solenoid? switch to ground? Will the starter kick over if you jump the solenoid? Will it kick with no load (bench test)? I had a similar issue after flooding from Ian. Battery shot, AND starter was frozen. Replaced both & everything was fine after.

 

[Williy]

Are the cables good not rotted out inside?
You can't see if the cable is rotted on the
inside from the outside, use a ohm meter

willy

 

[Cycledude]

Why did you replace the original battery did it test bad ?
The “Duck Quacking“ sound that’s a complaint I never heard before.

 

[bbusbee57]

Any signs of rodents? All fuses good? Could be chewed/shorted wires. Have you checked for a parasitic draw when everything is off? How clean are the terminals/connections? tight? My oem cable connectors were weak & I replaced them with good marine style clamps & ring terminals/lugs on the cable ends. Have you tried a resistance check on the wire to the key switch? from key to solenoid? switch to ground? Will the starter kick over if you jump the solenoid? Will it kick with no load (bench test)? I had a similar issue after flooding from Ian. Battery shot, AND starter was frozen. Replaced both & everything was fine after.

No rodent issue here, all fuses are good. There is some draw but i keep a trickle charger on the battery so it stays fully charged. Terminal connections are cleaned, 1st thing I did and yes they are tight. Its not a battery connection issue. Yes I did resistance check on the wires to the switch, it is all good. Switch to ground is good. I have not checked switch to solenoid yet, good suggestion. I have not tried to jump start at the solenoid yet. I have not removed the starter to do a bench test, I will try that as well. Thank you. The interesting behavior is that once I engage the start switch to start the dash lights flash and shut down.

 

[bbusbee57]

Are the cables good not rotted out inside?
You can't see if the cable is rotted on the
inside from the outside, use a ohm meter

willy

checked cables/wires, no rotting.

 

[bbusbee57]

Why did you replace the original battery did it test bad ?
The “Duck Quacking“ sound that’s a complaint I never heard before.

original battery did not test bad in terms of voltage but this past winter I did not have the trickle charger on it for several months and with the extreme cold it killed the battery deader than dead, there was nothing. I recharged the battery and while it has 12v I suspect that a cell might have been damaged to the point where it had no power (amps). It was time anyway so I replaced it with a similar battery.

 

[alexpops]

Here's a power side wiring diagram that might help if the starter tests ok.

 

[bbusbee57]

Thank you. I also left you a message on your other post about finding a replacement. Did you end up using the Rare Electrical options?

 

[alexpops]

I ordered both the DB and Rare Electric off of Amazon. One sent me a bushing instead of a starter, the other sent me the proper starter. If you have a NH dealer near you, add MT to the beginning of the current part number & they should be able to check stock. Some Workmasters & Boomers use the same LS MTron engine. Messick's did NOT have stock when I checked.