Max 28: No Start

[dadreier]

I am in the middle of a project to clear several acres of heavy brush and vines. All this week I have been using the Max 28 Hydro equipped with a Ratchet Rake and progressed rapidly until this afternoon.

Everything was going well until I decided to take a short break. I shut off the tractor and got a cold beverage. I returned to the tractor after about 20 minutes and when I turned the key, the starter did nothing. I quickly checked to see if all the levers/controls were in the correct position for starting: they were.

The battery seemed fine. Lights worked. Glow plug light came on/went off as usual. Fuses looked OK.

Since I had been moving the Max through the tall brush, I thought that I may have snagged and pulled off some safety interlock wiring somewhere. Crawled underneath, but didn't see anything obvious like a hanging wire (and I really know little at this point about what wires run where).

I definitely did not want to leave the tractor in the brush, so I did the old "pliers to starter" trick to bypass everything and the starter spun. I did it again with the key on and it fired up. Turned off the key and it again wouldn't start without the pliers on the starter.

Now the Max is in the barn and will at least be more convenient to work on. There's no troubleshooting section in the owner's book and I don't have a shop manual. Plenty of warranty left, but I'd rather not go that route for now, especially because I have a suspicion that I may have caused the problem myself while operating in the tangle of vegetation.

Any suggestions as to where to begin?

Dennis

 

[murphy1244]

start at the bottom of the Tractor for loose wires. and re check your safety switches.

 

[madmax12]

Check the position of the forward/reverse pedal. if not in "neutral", I've had that prob too.

 

[dadreier]

Murph: Will do.

madmax: After I got the tractor restarted, I did run it around a fair amount and went through several fwd/rev cycles without any change. I'll have to look, however, to see if the linkage took a hit from the bigger stuff I ran over.

Dennis

 

[madmax12]

Murph: Will do.

madmax: After I got the tractor restarted, I did run it around a fair amount and went through several fwd/rev cycles without any change. I'll have to look, however, to see if the linkage took a hit from the bigger stuff I ran over.

Dennis

This post sounds like you did get it restarted. For me, the HST pedal position was the issue. Once I found that, I have not had the problem since. Hope your solution is as simple.

 

[LAWALLSTRACTOR]

Murph: Will do.

madmax: After I got the tractor restarted, I did run it around a fair amount and went through several fwd/rev cycles without any change. I'll have to look, however, to see if the linkage took a hit from the bigger stuff I ran over.

Dennis

When it refuses to start again, wiggle the HST pedal a little while you have the key in the start position. If it then starts, you will probably have to adjust the safety switch on the HST pedal.

 

[flusher]

I ran into a similar problem yesterday when I tried to start my 2008 Mahindra 5525. I had been sitting outside for several weeks in the sun and blowing dust. I put the dinky little key into the ignition. The instrument panel lit up but I couldn't get the key far enough in to get the starter going. WD-40 sprayed into the keyhole, work the key in and out several times and it started right up. Don't know what Mahindra was thinking when they decided to used that el cheapo type ignition keyswitch. Something a lot more robust should have been used for a vehicle that spends it's life in relatively harsh conditions.

 

[dadreier]

Guys,

Thanks for the help. Your suggestions pointed me in the right direction and I just came in from the barn to tell the rest of the story.

The first thing I looked at under the tractor was the hydro pedal linkage. I saw that while the neutral safety switch itself and the wiring was OK, the part of the linkage assembly which pushes on the switch was bent at about a 45 degree angle, making it impossible to contact the switch. Apparently a piece of debris I drove over came up and did the damage.

It required some disassembly of the linkage and a little persuasion in a vise to get things aligned, but it turned out to be a relatively simple fix.

Dennis

 

[madmax12]

Guys,

Thanks for the help. Your suggestions pointed me in the right direction and I just came in from the barn to tell the rest of the story.

The first thing I looked at under the tractor was the hydro pedal linkage. I saw that while the neutral safety switch itself and the wiring was OK, the part of the linkage assembly which pushes on the switch was bent at about a 45 degree angle, making it impossible to contact the switch. Apparently a piece of debris I drove over came up and did the damage.

It required some disassembly of the linkage and a little persuasion in a vise to get things aligned, but it turned out to be a relatively simple fix.

Dennis

Cool! Glad you got it fixed easily. Thanks for giving us the rest of the story. :thumbsup:

 

[dismith550]

I posted a similar story for a Mahindra 3016 and got several suggestions I have tried to follow with no success. I cannot find a wiring schematic to see where the safety switches are. There are no wires attached to any part of the seat. I find no switch in the clutch linkage unless it is hidden way up in there somewhere. There is a switch on the I/O PTO lever - left side and I assume there is one in the yellow PTO on/off knob one must push down and turn to activate the PTO. Battery is OK per Auto Zone I watched him do it, replaced negative batt cable, cleaned - and + terminals. Flasher/4-ways work - bright, headlights don't work - nothing works but flashers, glow plug light/batt light/ no dash lights come on - Does anyone know where I can find a map of safety interlocks?, any ideas? I worked fine when I plowed snow - not deep 3-4 in max. next day it wouldn't start, then apparently made a connection and did start and I used it again for snow - now nothing. Checked F/R lever, put everything out of gear - it is a gear, not HST. Frustrated - PS it was enlightening to find out how easy the battery came out once I figured it out - looking for a similar miracle - service is 80 mi. away.
Thanks,