Massey 1135 wont crank

[Tidewater12]

Tractor has been sitting for 17 yrs after original owner passed. Massey 1135 with factory cab and duals with 42xx hours on it. Recently i was able to purchase this from the wife of the original owner. Brought it home and tried to get it going. So far i have drained the fuel and replaced it with fresh. Replaced and bled fuel filters. Changed engine oil and oil filters. Topped off radiator. Replaced all battery cables and installed fresh batteries.

Now..... upon trying to crank the tractor turning the key does nothing. I replaced the starter relay solenoid and again nothing....

I am at a loss here - bad key switch ? How do i test. This is my first massey and im not familiar with how this wiring is laid out. I do see a clutch pedal switch which appears to have already been bypassed. Any help would be greatly appreciated !

Thanks!

 

[Roadworthy]

You may have other safety switches. Since the clutch switch is bypassed you may also wish to check seat, PTO, and be sure tractor is in neutral when trying to start.

 

[Dmacleo]

voltmeter is your friend.
could be switch could be mice ate the switch wire to solenoid.

 

[lpakiz]

Be careful here of using just a voltmeter. While they are a great device, they are very sensitive. Thry will indicate full voltage thru a filament smaller than a hair. When you place a load on that filament, it may not supply any current.
Better in this case, use a 12 volt test light, like a tail light bulb. If you can salvage a socket from the trunk of an old car, great. Or you can solder on a couple leads, complete with alligator clips.
Always, “Test the Test Light” first.
Establish a proven good ground, then test the output on the key switch. If nothing, test the input to the key. If still nothing, find the fuses. Test if there is power there, sufficient to illuminate your tail light bulb. In between tests, test the test light to make sure your bulb and ground is still good.

Another way to check things like this is to inject known power into the circuit at various places. Use a jumper wire from the Positive battery post. Chances are, power injected to the small terminal on the starter solenoid will result in at least a click, if not actually energizing the starter motor. If this gets results, inject the power at the outbound terminal of the starter switch. If the starter reacts, go back and power up the inbound terminal and try the switch. If it works now, you know that this much of the circuit, (from inbound at the switch to the destination at the starter), is good.

But be careful that whatever you power up with a small jumper wire, the wire must be adequate to carry the required amperage. Jumping your 14 gauge jumper wire to the main starter motor post will burn the wire in a second, and make some painful burns on your skin. A quick “scratch” can be a way of previewing how big the load is going to be.
Try this. Hook your test light to the big inbound battery terminal on the starter solenoid. Should illuminate. Hit the starter. If it gets dim or goes out, there is a supply problem. Could be bad connection, maybe even a battery with a dead cell.
Also keep in mind that getting adequate power to the load is exactly half of the system.. Power MUST get back to the negative battery terminal. I think, every electron that goes out into the harness from the positive battery terminal must find its way back to the negative terminal.