switch/ solenoid What's bad?

[RobJ]

Why? He's already got a (probably non-returnable) 4 poster that will work fine... Why waste more gas and run around town to buy a different solenoid that will do the same thing minus 2" of wire..??

Soundguy

19 posts and it ain't working. Sometimes best to get the right part that works without a bunch of mods. Besides more time spent trying to get it to work, or understand how it is supposed to work, go buy wire, terminals, etc.

Just less hassle.

Rob

 

[Soundguy]

Back on post #8 he figured out the wireing... So.. I'm not sure where you get the '19 posts and not working' issue.

Jump back to page 1. Once it was determined it was an iso type solenoid and not a bypass solenoid.. he wired it up with jumpers to check it and it clicked for him. Now he is just getting ready to mount it to a nice piece of clean metal and install his small jumper wire.

Soundguy

 

[RobJ]

Back on post #8 he figured out the wireing... So.. I'm not sure where you get the '19 posts and not working' issue.

Jump back to page 1. Once it was determined it was an iso type solenoid and not a bypass solenoid.. he wired it up with jumpers to check it and it clicked for him. Now he is just getting ready to mount it to a nice piece of clean metal and install his small jumper wire.

Soundguy

Soundguy..

Are you in IT?

 

[Soundguy]

No. I used to be ahead of the game concerning computers and networking.. ( setup lan and wan back in the late 80's and thru 90's.. old serial networks.. and even arcnet networks.. 2mb .. WOW!.. lots of windows 3x and some 95/98 and other op systems like os2 and cpm/msdos.. etc.. dial in bulletin board systems.. etc.. ) but started to just become a user when 2000/ Milenium ed. / XP came out. ( NT.. some work.. like dit and 2000 better than the front end/gui for xp... etc.. realize it is just a 'paint job' in some of the upgrades.. ) Too much to keep up with.. too many new technologies to stay up on. I still do my own pc repair or building mostly.. but any trained monkey can do that nowadays.

My training is in CE and electronics.. I pretty much stick to those.. and try not to even think much about CE if I'm not at work. If I had my way.. I'd be thinking more about tractors than work!!

Luckilly though i can set here at my desk and inbetween work get a few emails answered here and there.. then do some surfing on breaks and lunch..e tc.

Soundguy

 

[Iplayfarmer]

Tada! (insert trumpet fanfare here.) I got it working.

Wouldn't you know, though, the only guage of stranded wire I don't have is 12. I went ahead with a 3" length of 10 guage stranded wire. I had a spare eyelet that fit over the small post and I stripped an inch and a half of the other end and wrapped it around the mounting stud and "smushed" it between the solenoid and the mount. As I was putting it all together I realized that I left my emery paper a long 10 yard walk away in the garge, so I just scraped of some rust with a screwdriver and snugged the bolt down tight.

Now for the rest of the story...

Solenoid worked great the first time I tried it, however after that the switch quit working. I verified this with the test light. Whereas before I got power from the switch to ground when I turned the key, I was getting nothing from switch to ground last night.

Here's my theory. Whoever had the tractor before knew the solenoid was bad so he just jumpered it everytime he started it. Therefore the contact points inside the switch weren't used often enough and some corrosion built up. When I finally got the solenoid working, there was enough contact to run the starter the first few times, but due to a poor connection there was some arcing and the connection went bad. (I have nothing to back this up, but it makes a good story.)

I filled the switch with WD-40 and ran it back and forth a hundred times or so. I shook it, tapped on it, called it a few names, and then plugged it back in. Tried it 3 or 4 times and it worked every time.

Stay with me here...The story continues...

So, I put the choke on and started up the tractor. The thing really does purr like a kitten. For all that is wrong with this tractor, the guy must have taken pretty good care of the engine. I ran it for a few minutes and then turned the key to shut it off. Now the key won't shut it off. It just kept on running. I shorted the plug to ground to kill the engine and tried again a few times. I had to short the plug to shut it off every time. By this time it's 11:30 at night. So, I packed up and went to bed.

I'll have to try again tonight when I get home to see if letting the WD-40 dissipate helps. I suspect also that I may have move some wires around on the connector that plugs into the switch and created a short that continues to allow current to the ignition even after it's switched off.

 

[3RRL]

Iplayfarmer,
I ran it for a few minutes and then turned the key to shut it off. Now the key won't shut it off. It just kept on running.
Just a thought...
I'm not sure if your tractor needs or has this but mine has a "kill" switch I need to pull after turning the ignition switch off. It stops fuel flow.

 

[Soundguy]

Wow.. I'd say the switch is toast.

Depending on the design.. it may be a grounding type switch to kill a magneto.. or it may be a 'run current' switch that supplies a battery ignition.. I just don't know which that garden tractor has.. I'm not familiar with it.

Soundguy

 

[RobJ]

Wow.. I'd say the switch is toast.

Depending on the design.. it may be a grounding type switch to kill a magneto.. or it may be a 'run current' switch that supplies a battery ignition.. I just don't know which that garden tractor has.. I'm not familiar with it.

Soundguy

Agree on the switch, had to look up the tractor on the web. Little sucker. Did he say it had a mag or not? It looks like a single cylinder which means it's probably a grounding type. On the Wisconson engines I use to work on the "hot" switches started on the 2 and up cylinders engines with a coil. The mags were grounded or had a little tang on the grounding post to ground it against the side of the mag. For some reason I always liked mags and working them.

 

[Soundguy]

I don't think he said.. but my guess is it's a mag. i can remember o=some engines having a foot tab you stepped on to ground them out.. or even a tab right at the spark plug.

I had a sears pull behind mower that had a grounding toggle switch.. 'off' to run, and 'on' to kill the engine.. was mounted inthe frame next to the pullstart cord..

Hmm.. if he wanted to go cheap Since the ignition is working with the key.. he could wire up a momentary switch and just 'add' the kill feature... Old doorbell buttons work great for this as I remember...

Soundguy

 

[Iplayfarmer]

I'm not sure if your tractor needs or has this but mine has a "kill" switch I need to pull after turning the ignition switch off. It stops fuel flow.

Good thought, but before I started messing around with the solenoid, the switch would shut off the machine. Right now my "Kill Switch" is a screw driver.

I've actually got spare spring button that came in a set of drawer organizers that I got at a yard sale this spring. I have thought about just using it as a kill switch as a stop gap for now untill I get some of the other stuff done on this machine. What's stopping me is that I don't want to mount it permanently, and I'm trying to find a nice temporary place to put it that is easily accessible but won't require drilling holes in the dash, etc.