TC-45 Quit Running Tonight

[SpotsyMatt]

Hi folks,

Well, I was running my NH tonight, cutting the fields and was about four lengths from being done with the front field when the tractor quit on me.
Best that I can remember it cut off, the glow plug light came on and then I tried to restart it to get it turned around. It started up for a second and I turned it around then quit again.
At that point I tried turning the ignition switch and no lights came on at all. Nothing.

I put it in neutral and towed it up to the house with the pickup.

I checked the battery quickly with my meter and it was registering about 13 volts.

I've got to put off looking at it any further until tomorrow afternoon and plan to do the following:

Check/clean the battery terminals (they look OK but I'll unhook it anyway and make sure).
Check for a blown fuse or some loose wiring.

Any other thoughts?

Thanks so much,
Matt

 

[DieselMonk]

check the fuses and clean both battery posts / terminals and reassemble.

 

[jinman]

While you are checking fuses, pull one out and check both sides for power with a voltmeter after turning on your key to the RUN position. If you have no power to any of your fuses, then the 40 amp main fuse down by the starter is probably blown. If the main fuse is blown, you probably had something really loading down the electrical system. 40 amps is a heck of drain, and you may find some burnt wires if the fuse is blown.

If you turn the key on and see that you have a PTO light ON while the lever is OFF, then fuse #2 is blown.

Your original problem sounded like a fuel filter clogging, but the electrical problem is making me wonder if it might be something else electrical. Check your fuses as above and the battery terminals like DieselMonk suggested and let us know what you find.

 

[JerryK]

Could have had a cable/connection fail/come loose due to vibration. Battery cable fail due to corrosion from the fumies/acid. Fuses can also fail due to age. The fuse is just a little heater that gets hot and melts at about a certain current and over about a certain time frame. The closer you get to this current rating, and add vibration, the shorter it's life span.. Plus, 'the about' thing... there is a lot of plus and minus in the manufacturing of fuses.. As Jinman says... time to break out the meter..

 

[SpotsyMatt]

Thanks guys for the replies - I appreciate it.

So I checked all the fuses and none were blown.
I cleaned off the battery terminals and reattached them and tried again.
Stilll nothing.

The ignition switch felt "stiff" I guess is the word I'm looking for and so I took off the panel, unscrewed the nut that holds it onto the panel and unhooked the harness from it.

I set my meter to the connectivity setting and then tried all combinations of the pins in both the ACC/RUN position and the START position.
I wasn't really sure of the pins but knew that some combination should complete the circuit in each of those positions.
My meter indicated that there was no connectivity there.

It was bugging me that the switch seemed so stiff and so I took a small flat-bladed screwdriver and slid it around the switch to separate the two parts carefully. This is what it looked like inside:



There are two metal pieces there (well, three if you count that metal springy band along the outside) and one of them is mashed over to the side and the plastic looks crushed in a bit.

I am guessing that the switch just disintegrated and that is my problem.

Thoughts?

 

[thclimer]

Sounds like a familure problem, here was my solution:

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...ing/109372-tc33d-glow-plug-problem-fixed.html

Tim

 

[SpotsyMatt]

Hey thanks for the link there, Tim.

Now I just need to find/purchase a replacement.

 

[SpotsyMatt]

Just as a follow-up to this thread, I ordered the part from a site called Messicks and while it wasn't cheap ($68 w/ shipping), it was the exact part I needed and I had it in two days. Tractor's back in action and I'm off to work on my next farm project.