3320 won't start

[drz400]

I pulled my tractor out of the garage this morning and everything was fine.When I went to restart it 1 hour later it cranked maybe 1/2 turn then all 3 gages in the dash started clicking like a stop watch over to there maximum positions.Engine did not start.I turned the key off and the gages stayed pegged.I then tried to restart but everything was dead. I even tried to jump it with my truck but all it does is crank about 1/8 of a turn. Any Ideas ??? Thanks!

 

[ORCM]

Check your battery voltage, if you have a way to do it.. If not, you could disconnect it and just use your jumper cables to your truck.. Are your head lights bright??? Whats its do when you turn on the key on, does it so any errors? Make sure your battery conections are good...

 

[drz400]

No lights. Nothing happens when I turn the key. And no error messages.

 

[drz400]

I disconected the battery and jumped it with my truck.All I get is 1 click. The starter sounds like it engages, but doesn't crank the engine over. My truck battery should have enough power to start it ... Thanks

 

[browns40]

Sorry to hear it drz,

Have you checked all your wires, back to starter, etc. for corrosion/tightness?

If yes, I would pull the fuse cover off & check the 3 relays there--all are same, can swap one for another to see if any changes happen there...

If thats not it, possible that your ignition switch is failing/failed.

It sounds a bit like the bad switch I had... pretty easy to swap out... but I am no expert... maybe there is a tech surfing?

Good luck with it!

 

[Ken Cunningham]

Went to start my 1070 about a week ago and it turned over once and died, no guage lights or any thing. Ive only had this tractor for about 4 weeks so I was really upset. Turned key off , opened hood, wiggled pos terminal connection on battery, and tried it again. If fired right up, whew. My vote is for a loose connection, especially since you said will try to turn over.

 

[drz400]

Thanks for the replies. I swiched the relays around. They are all the same size. I cleaned the ground at the engine block. It wasn't real tight. Nothing made any difference. When you turn the key to start, the gages and warning lights start clicking/Flickering along with the clicking of the fuel pump. ??????

 

[ORCM]

Depending on your jumper cables (Gauge of wire.), they might not be big enough to handle that much current... When you hook it up direct to your truck, do your headlights work then? If they do, I would place that battery in the tractor and try it.. That would tell you if its the battery..

If not then it sounds like somethings loose, or has a bad contact somewhere.. I don't have a 3000, so I'm not familiar with that tractor. I would assume that there is a main relay off the key switch, thats where I would look next...

So is everything normal when you first turn the key on, with out trying to turn it over????

 

[drz400]

The headlights are dim when I turn them on. I added distilled water to the battery, that looked low. Its on the charger till morning. The ground bolt on the engine block was not real tight with some rust. Got it cleaned up and tightend down. Maybe its just a weak battery. Tractor was new in 05.

Thanks for all the tips.

 

[Superduper]

Sounds like a bad connection somewhere, probably the ground cable or power cable. They might look good on the outside but there might be corrosion between the wires and terminals. The symptoms you describe are classic for bad connections. I have seen battery terminals that looked perfect but had terrible corrosion between the lead terminal and the copper cable which wasn't visible.

A voltage drop test is the only effective way to find excessive resistance in high amperage circuits. It's a quick and easy test that doesn't require any disassembly and will quickly show you whether or not you've got a good connection or a bad one. Google voltage drop test and you'll find information on how to test for this. Before I attended automotive mechanics trade school, I had never heard of this before. However, once mastered, you'll understand that this skill is essential to troubleshooting starting issues.

 

[Nuru]

did you check the leads on the starter?

 

[drz400]

I checked all terminals,cleaned the ones that looked dirty.Maybe the battery just died. I'll check the voltage in the morning.According to other Battery Posts on this site, The Deere batteries don't last very long. I do have some leakage.
Thanks.

 

[drz400]

I charged the battery overnite. The voltatge reads 12.5 volts. I checked the voltage at the starter post-12.5 volts. I turn the key to on and the voltage drops to 7.8 volts. What is this telling me ???

 

[Nuru]

I charged the battery overnite. The voltatge reads 12.5 volts. I checked the voltage at the starter post-12.5 volts. I turn the key to on and the voltage drops to 7.8 volts. What is this telling me ???

Hmmm, based on my experience when my 4310 dropped a battery, if you crank the engine and the battery is below 10v, your battery probably needs replacing. Hopefully your alternator did not suffer in the process. With 7.8v when trying to start your batery is too low to jump. hopefully it is just a battery issue.

If you replace the battery and you have cleaned and checked all the terminals (even the good looking ones), my guess is that your starter solenoid might be bad. You may want to drop the starter and take it in and get it tested by your local dealer.

However it also sounds like a ground terminal is loose or making intermittent contact. Please insure that you have checked all of them , even ones that look good,. before you do a teardown of the starter.

So, new battery, check all the posts, make sure they are clean and tight. If problem persists, then start with the solenoid on the starter.

I hope these suggestions help!

 

[ORCM]

The battery voltage shouldn't drop that low just by turning on the key... If your checking the voltage at your battery post, then it has to be your battery.. The only other thing it could be is a short to ground..

Take your battery down and have it tested, they can tell you if it has bad cells.. This would make the most sense, because everything was working before..

 

[Superduper]

I charged the battery overnite. The voltatge reads 12.5 volts. I checked the voltage at the starter post-12.5 volts. I turn the key to on and the voltage drops to 7.8 volts. What is this telling me ???

Did the voltage drop to 7.8 volts at the battery or at the starter post?

If it dropped to 7.8 volts at the starter post, then you have excessive voltage drop due to excessive resistance somewhere between the battery and starter post, either corrossion between terminal and battery or in the cable itself.

If it dropped to 7.8 volts at the battery post, then your battery has a shorted cell and should be replaced. Either that or the battery has simply expired and is no longer holding a charge. A battery that is just taken off the charger (freshly charged) really should have a topping charge that bumps up the voltage to something higher, like 13.5 or something that quickly drops back to 12.0 upon use. The only way to know if the battery is sufficiently charged for testing is with a hydrometer. The hydrometer will tell you all sorts of stuff about your battery, whether it is discharged, 1/2 or fully charged. BTW, a shorted cell will also make jump starting that vehicle very difficult.

Good luck.

 

[drz400]

I took the battery out of my car and put it in my tractor. Guess what ? It started right up!. It must be the John deere battery died.I am going to get a new battery.
Thanks for the help everyone!.....

 

[Superduper]

GOOD NEWS EVERYONE! It appears that rumors of the Optima batteries being discontinued for the weird deere sizes are premature.

I went to COSTCO the other day and found a bunch of group size 51R yellow top batteries, ready to buy! I believe that they will physically fit right in, slight modifications to cables or hold-downs aside.

 

[drz400]

I went to the auto parts store and purchased a new Optima Yellow Top 51R. Quite expensive. Fits in the battery compartment perfectly.Hooked up the cables and turned the key. NOTHING BUT CLICKING ! I took the battery out of the tractor and put it in the car .Tried starting the car with the new battery, Just more clicking...MMMMMM!
I took the battery back to the store. They checked it and they said it has 2 dead cells and it is dead! They gave me another new Optima, I had them check it , and brought it home.The new battery works GREAT! Everything is good!
Thanks for all the help everyone.This is really a great site! I hope someone can learn something from all of this.

 

[Nuru]

I went to the auto parts store and purchased a new Optima Yellow Top 51R. Quite expensive. Fits in the battery compartment perfectly.Hooked up the cables and turned the key. NOTHING BUT CLICKING ! I took the battery out of the tractor and put it in the car .Tried starting the car with the new battery, Just more clicking...MMMMMM!
I took the battery back to the store. They checked it and they said it has 2 dead cells and it is dead! They gave me another new Optima, I had them check it , and brought it home.The new battery works GREAT! Everything is good!
Thanks for all the help everyone.This is really a great site! I hope someone can learn something from all of this.

Wow, that is good it was just a bad battery. My battery took a dump and I got a JD replacement before I even though about an Optima.