No electric power

[No1umfan]

Hey guys, i parked my 30 hr. Dk45 SE hst one day and a week later when I go to start her up, nothing. No power to the dash, no lights, no horn. The battery is fully charged and I get 12.7v at the solenoid. I do get a very slight buzz at the turn indicator switch but that's it. No blown fuses including the slow blow 60 amp fuse. I tried to take the plastic steering wheel housing off to get a closer look at the ignition switch and when I unscrewed the 3 visible screws a little water came out the screw holes. I couldn't get the housing off any further however. Any ideas? I am in contact with the dealer of course but I couldn't get him all the info above that I now have before he left for the day.

Addendum: day 2. I'm now getting a little more activity on the dash, randomly blinking lights and now the horn works but still no start.

 

[carhartt56]

Just my first thought would be to check the tightness on both battery terminals ,and the ground or negative to the frame . There are several plugs underneath the tractor that you could pull apart and check for moisture . On a lose connection it can read good with a meter until a load is applied. It could be the moisture in the switch as you noted . Not shure if just spraying some wd 40 in the switch would help. I am shure others will chime in also !good luck !

Dk40 se

 

[MotorSeven]

Clean the battery terminals first. I had the same symptoms on both my CK & DK & it was a corroded connection at the battery both times.

 

[bluechip]

Ditto on the frame connection for the ground cable. You can get voltage enough through a bad connection, but cant draw any amperage through it, just enough to run the meter! If that checks out, next suspect is the key switch, carhartt56 has it pegged correctly IMHO.

 

[o2batsea]

12.7 is pretty low. I would have the battery load tested. Just cz it's new does not mean it's good.

 

[No1umfan]

I cleaned all the terminals even though they looked pristine. There was a little rust (normal?) on the connection of the ground where it attached to the frame which I cleaned off. I sprayed electric contact cleaner into the ignition switch. I am getting more juice flowing now and the starter even turned over some but the tractor still wouldn't start and the electric is still funky with random clicks and buzzes when turning the key. I have a new ignition switch on the way from the dealer to swap out or does any of the above info steer anybody to a different solution?

 

[tungularafishcamp]

If you need it now (or to move it to shelter) before you get it figured out jump it from your truck, just touch the hot lead from the truck battery to the hot post on the starter with the ground lead grounded of course. If you have trapped moisture some where it might dry it out too.

Rick

 

[grsthegreat]

This might be a dumb question, but have you actually placed the battery on a charger, or have you tried to jump start it? Reason i ask is just because the battery shows 12.7 volts doesnt mean it has the amps to crank the tractor. Also, when you turn on whatever is working, whats the voltage drop to?

 

[No1umfan]

I did place a charger on the battery and came back in half an hour and it was showing full charge.

 

[No1umfan]

I did try "jumping" it by connecting the two terminals on the solenoid. I got it cranking but no start. The dealer said it was because the fuel pump wasn't getting power due to whatever was shorting the system. Wouldn't the same situation apply if I tried jumping it from a truck by jumping at the starter terminal.