Battery suprise

[ae_ted]

I put a new Battery on my MF 1040 yesterday. I ABSOLUTELY know i had the pos. and neg. post hooked up correctly. When I turned the key, it immediately blew a fuse or at least it clicked and went completely dead. I am taking the new battery back to the dealer today to see if somehow that new battery had the polarity switched somehow. I am at a complete loss as to what went wrong. Now I have to find what fuse blew and how to fix that.

I also replaced the battery on my kubota ZD 21 yesterday with no problems whatsoever. The 1040 situation was a complete surprise to me and other than the battery having to polarity switched, I am clueless about what could have happened.
please help.

 

[Dr Dave]

Do you have a volt meter to check the battery. If it is reversed polarity, the meter will read -12v. If you have no meter, do you have a battery charger, most will arch, if hooked up backwards. So if it arches, when hooked up correctly, then the battery was reverse charged at the factory, or store. Be sure to get documentation when returning it, you could have more damage than just a fuse.

Dave

 

[ae_ted]

took battery to battery dealer and it checked -12v. I checked the fuse box and the 4 fuses looked fine. looked at the wiring diagram and it may have a blown fusible link. Nearest Massey dealer is close to 100 mi. Going to try and go online and see if i can find a part # for the link.

 

[Willl]

took battery to battery dealer and it checked -12v.

It defiantly checked out as a reversed poled battery ?

I would think they should do right by you.

 

[The kid]

took battery to battery dealer and it checked -12v. I checked the fuse box and the 4 fuses looked fine. looked at the wiring diagram and it may have a blown fusible link. Nearest Massey dealer is close to 100 mi. Going to try and go online and see if i can find a part # for the link.

I would file a claim against the auto parts for selling a reversed battery which could have done some serious cooking on modern electronics. Save your receipts on all repairs and talk with the manager. If no justice contact corporate. You may get reinbursed for your parts and any damage you sunstained. -kid

 

[Willl]

file a claim

God forbid I ever have to....how does one go thru this ?, where do you start ?, where do you go ?

 

[sd455dan]

took battery to battery dealer and it checked -12v. I checked the fuse box and the 4 fuses looked fine. looked at the wiring diagram and it may have a blown fusible link. Nearest Massey dealer is close to 100 mi. Going to try and go online and see if i can find a part # for the link.

Does your tractor employ an alternator or generator, if it has an alternator There is a possibility that it is damaged due to the fact that many alternators have the diodes tied directly to the alternators battery post, reverse biasing them can put them in avalanche current this can short the diodes internal junction, so that when you do get it to start the alternator will put out AC current instead of just dc.

It can also damage the internal or external regulator...It is possible that nothing was damaged especially since it took out a fusible link and did so quickly, does the alternator have a burned smell if so I would have it tested before running the tractor.. If you get the fusible link fixed and decide to try it as is and when hooking up the new battery it wants to arc more than a little when connecting it, then its probably the alternator...

Oh when they replace the battery I would have them hook up a volt meter before you leave the store, these batteries are built in lots, so if one is bad it is possible the whole lot is also reverse charged..

one more thought- some tractor makers put the fusible links at the main key switch connection, the wire will be bulged and most likely shrink tubing covered, with no battery hooked up using a couple needles you can check the continuity at each end of the fusible link with an OHM meter, IIRC the most likely place for the main fusible link for battery main power would be as above or at the starter main 12 volt wire there is probably another smaller gauge wire terminated with the large one usually to the back of the solenoid , the fusible link could be at this point, of the smaller wire going to the key switch... I do not have a schematic for a Massey so this is based on some basics.. sounds like you read the schematic so let me apologize in advance if you already Know where and how to test the fusible link, hope you get it up and running soon.

 

[CliffordK]

The first step would be just to talk to the battery dealer and/or battery manufacturer. They may just agree to pay for any parts, especially if you put them in yourself. I can't imagine you could torch too much in an 30 yr old Diesel tractor.

With the good battery installed, have you tried shorting from the battery terminal to the ignition terminal on the starter/solenoid? Just to verify that the starter still works.

What works? What doesn't? Glow Plugs, Dash Lights? Driving Lights? Etc?
Also start to trace where you have power, and where you don't have power. Do you have power at the fusebox?

If you don't have it, buy a cheap electrical tester. HF has them for less than $5, although I seem to have burnt up a couple of those. The electrical leads may go bad. It doesn't hurt to get a $20 or so version somewhere.

 

[newbury]

Thanks for posting - I never thought of a store charging a battery backwards, from now on I plan to check the battery BEFORE I install it!

 

[LD1]

Wow. Never heard of that. But it don't surprise me.

I'll be checking from now on.

 

[ae_ted]

Conclusion:
Was 100 mi from home on business and stopped by MF dealer in Hopkinsville, KY and he gave me several tips on what to do and look for. Also he Gave me a Fusible link he had laying around. But this one was made for common 2 prong auto fuses and had a 15amp fuse in it , also it had a fold-able cover over the fuse to make it weatherproof. I'm sure everyone else out there is saying ya duh...but I had never seen such a critter. Darn fine idea. Got home and few days later when i had time i went to put it all together.
Welcome to my world...............I had got from Harbor Fright a selection of electrical ends..of course none of them had a hole in the end big enough to slide over the starter bolt. so off to Lowes...of course lowes did not carry such a item and told me to go to autozone. At autozone, I was trusting(mistake) and told clerk to give me a end loop same as the one i handed him(the old fusible link). he said that was a 12 ga wire and gave me a box(thank goodness) of end loops and a butt connector for the other end. few days later when i have time, i go out to put it all together again...of course the end loops are a tad small and will not slide over the starter bolt. Got drill and bit selection and started to work..darn little loops are Soft metal and after i messed up 5 or 6, i went to plan b, a tapered reamer..still problem with soft metal, plan c got a tapered punch and hammered through and that worked! went to tractor and put new fusible (and changeable) line in and Double checked battery connections and polarity! No one could tell me how to check the amps of a fuse, so did not want to damage the starter so i took out the 15amp fuse and replaced it with a 10 amp. all is hooked up........turned key ...lights work, glow plug position works....turn key.....immediate nothing......oh crap! wait.calm down....check fusible link ...the 10amp fuse had blown...ok that worked....considered putting in 15 amp but warnings here deterred me....put another 10 amp in (those fusible links with replaceable fuses are Handy!!!) and tried the Mf 1040 again.....eureka!!! it started...tried it again and it worked fine.........WEW! 2 weeks of welcome to my world but all is fine now and the Good Lord has given me another trial to make me stronger... Thanks be to Him!

 

[LD1]

So Im guessing all you did was blow a fusible link and thats what you replaced??

So one end went to the starter, where did the other end go??? key switch? fuse box?? Any pics of what you actually replaced, and how it looks now?

 

[Dr Dave]

I'm glad to hear you got it running, but it sounds like you installed a fuse holder with replaceable fuses? A fusible link is a piece of wire, that is designed to melt, before the wire harness is damaged due to a dead short. It is designed not to blow instantly incase of a slight overload, this is common in headlamp and starting circuits. NAPA or other parts stores should have the wire, either in a straight piece about 10' long, or have a eyelet on the end and a 10" piece of wire. they come in different rated sizes, bring the old one with you to the parts store. When installing use crimp connectors, don't try to solder, it will melt.

Dave