New JD 650 Tractor Owner with Stupid Questions - Part 1

[sporteus]

Just picked up an '83 (I think) John Deere 650 at auction this weekend. My first tractor and I haven't operated one in many many (many) years. I ordered manuals for it and should get them sometime next week, but I'm hoping there are a few JD 650 owners that might be able to help with a few questions before I receive my manuals.

My current issue is that the tractor wouldn't start last night. Ran fine all weekend, but it simply wouldn't crank yesterday, not even a click. Threw a charger on the battery this morning and it already had almost a full charge. When I turn the key, all 3 indicators light up. When this happened one other time, it was because it was not in neutral, so I shifted it in and out of gear several times to see if the lock out was stuck and that didn't seem to do it. What other lock outs would prevent the engine from cranking? Is there a PTO lock out? If so, how do I ensure the PTO is not engaged? (haven't figured out all the levers yet and the cheat sheets are all worn off, thus needing the manuals)

So, just basic starting checklist would be good before I go looking for a problem (like a bad relay or lock out switch). I expect this to be some stupid user error and likely my neighbor screwed with a control that he shouldn't have and it's messing me up.

More stupid questions to come. Stay tuned.

Thank you.
Steve

 

[sporteus]

So, I got it started and it could have been a few things. Put a charger on the battery (which had plenty of charge) and noticed there is no screw in the positive terminal...might be a problem...sigh. Fiddled with the PTO level (found it) to make sure it was disengaged. And it's warmer today, so if there was a stuck switch yesterday, it may have warmed enough to unstick.

Ah, the joys of owning very used equipment. I'm off to buy brakes now. That should be a fun project....assuming I have enough WD40 to get it apart!

 

[Wagtail]

G'day Mate and welcome to TBN from Downunder.

Enjoy the site... and your 'new' tractor. There are no honest 'stupid questions' here at TBN. She'll be right, Mate. :thumbsup:

 

[boggen]

i think it is... www.jdparts.com = online parts manual. gives enough diagram to find parts and a part number.

shop/service manual should cover everything in detail in how to check/repair/fix stuff
operators manual = should cover basic stuff, oil type, weight, what lever does what, etc...

not much help beyond above. not a mechanic... just know enough to get myself in big trouble, after i got myself into trouble *doh!*

 

[Ivan49]

You may have dirty battery terminals. Sometimes if dirty they will light the dash lights up but won't roll the starter over . Also check your ground where it fastens to the frame sometimes they loosen up or become dirty under neath

 

[90cummins]

Had a 650 years ago it is a small but quite capable little tractor that sips fuel.
Never had a problem but they don't start that good when cold.
They don't have glow plugs but have a thermo-start system that creates a fire in the intake manifold, perhaps I never understood how to properly use it so I just plugged it in when I knew I was going to need it.
90cummins

 

[Oaktree]

I had a 750 (basically same tractor with bigger engine) once that had an intermittent no-start that went "hard". Turns out that there's a relay between the ignition switch and the starter solenoid, it may be tied in with the safety switches. Seems to be buried behind the dash. I just bypassed it, no more problems (yes, when I sold it I told the new owner what I'd done).

Agree, good little tractor though it's narrow stance made it feel very tippy. Never really had a problem with cold starts on mine..was a lot better than my current tractor in that regard.