Can an old lady get her MF1250 to start?

[Maxify55]

Lead acid batteries don't like being jostled about. Hence, the hold downs on tractors. I suspect the plates in the older battery have broken making for a dead cell.

If not that? A bad ground is to be suspect. If you jostled about down the road a coax could have rubbed clean through the covering a dead short at that point.

I've had both happen to me over the years. Electrical connection are the worst to figure out.

Working backwards along a wire with a Fluke checking for continuity is not my idea of a fun day but sometime necessary....Sigh
Hate days almost as much as the hours you spend attempting to remove a broken bolt because you didn't watch your torque specs when tightening them....:duh:

 

[SPYDERLK]

Lead acid batteries don't like being jostled about. Hence, the hold downs on tractors. I suspect the plates in the older battery have broken making for a dead cell.

If not that? A bad ground is to be suspect. If you jostled about down the road a coax could have rubbed clean through the covering a dead short at that point.

I've had both happen to me over the years. Electrical connection are the worst to figure out.

Working backwards along a wire with a Fluke checking for continuity is not my idea of a fun day but sometime necessary....Sigh
Hate days almost as much as the hours you spend attempting to remove a broken bolt because you didn't watch your torque specs when tightening them....:duh:

~ Something like that. - There is no dead cell based on her voltage measurements [12.5]. BUT, due to jostling impacts there are likely some damaged cells. We need to know the voltage the batt holds under load. ... OP, please check batt terminal voltage while the glow plugs are energized.
larry

 

[Old Gray Mare]

OK...the charger has been hooked up for a couple of hours. I retested the terminals and posts and got a new reading of 12.79 each time (charger was not hooked up). The tractor did nothing different when I tried to jump it with the charger. It is still trickling.

I don't know where/how to check the starter. Here's a couple of pictures to show it:





Also reattached one of the headlights, turned the headlight switch on and turned the key. The light dimmed a bit. What does that mean?

And, I listened and listened carefully trying to figure out where the clunk/clink sound is coming from. It is NOT from the starter. It is from the top of the engine area. I kept turning the key to either glowplugs or start to try and figure it out. That was very frustrating :confused2:

I'd like to test the starter, etc., but don't know which settings to use on the meter. Can someone guide me, please? Here's a photo:



Here's a laugh...I called a service place in Flagstaff, about 70 miles away and the cost to come out was $275 EACH WAY!!!!! That's a whopping $550 bucks just to get someone to come and do some tests on the tractor :shocked:

Holy Shmoly...I'll go to tractor repair school before I pay that kind of fee!

Now I really gotta get this figured out :scratchchin:

Thanks again!

 

[SPYDERLK]

OK...the charger has been hooked up for a couple of hours. I retested the terminals and posts and got a new reading of 12.79 each time (charger was not hooked up). The tractor did nothing different when I tried to jump it with the charger. It is still trickling.

I don't know where/how to check the starter. Here's a couple of pictures to show it:

View attachment 383034

View attachment 383035

Also reattached one of the headlights, turned the headlight switch on and turned the key. The light dimmed a bit. What does that mean?

And, I listened and listened carefully trying to figure out where the clunk/clink sound is coming from. It is NOT from the starter. It is from the top of the engine area. I kept turning the key to either glowplugs or start to try and figure it out. That was very frustrating :confused2:

I'd like to test the starter, etc., but don't know which settings to use on the meter. Can someone guide me, please? Here's a photo:

View attachment 383037

Here's a laugh...I called a service place in Flagstaff, about 70 miles away and the cost to come out was $275 EACH WAY!!!!! That's a whopping $550 bucks just to get someone to come and do some tests on the tractor :shocked:

Holy Shmoly...I'll go to tractor repair school before I pay that kind of fee!

Now I really gotta get this figured out :scratchchin:

Thanks again!

Good, you have a digital meter. They will handle either polarity hookup. ... Take off the battery charger. Set the meter on the 20VDC scale and measure from the big sheathed wire shown - over to any good ground. - a clean bolt head will do. You should get the ~12.8 batt voltage. Leave the meter connected and then turn on the lights. Whats the meter say? -- Now energize glow plugs. Whats it say now?

 

[ultrarunner]

When I have a questionable battery I test it.

First, I charge like you did and then I have a battery load tester and see what the reading is.

It's the same procedure if you take your battery into town and have the battery dealer check it.

Most of the time it is the battery.

If the battery tests good... then it takes more detective work... switch, safety interlock, solenoid and starter all come to mind...

It's too bad jumping isn't an option...

My friend was going crazy on his Kubota that was otherwise trouble free.

He was in the mud and the accumulation didn't allow the gear selector interlock to recognize neutral for starting... all he had to do was clean out the mud and bend the bracket...

 

[bja105]

Are your meter leads long enough that you can out them on the battery and see what the voltage drops to when you turn the key? Do you have an alligator clamp you could clip to the wires at the starter and still read the meter from the seat?

At that age, replacing the battery is not a waste, even if it isn't the problem, it will be the next problem. Take the old battery with you to turn in and avoid the core charge.

You really need a helper to sit in the seat and turn the key while you figure this out. When is the farrier, or vet, or ups guy coming? Any neighbors you leant tools to?

 

[KubotainNH]

Good job Mare. I'm with Spyder, do as much as you can with the meter before ripping the battery out. Below is a doctored picture, I think this is correct per the picture. The cable with the red arrow pointing to it (big sheathed) should have 12volts on it all the time and should not drop much when the key is applied. The boot should pull back to reveal a nut that the big cable is held on by. The blue arrow points to the wire that comes from the key switch, this should have 12volts when you try and start it. This 12volts turns on the solenoid like a switch. The light blue arrow points to the output of the solenoid which powers the starter directly. It should have 12volts when the key is turned. I would think the clicking is coming from this area. Out of curiosity, does this tractor have a decompression lever?

 

[Old Gray Mare]

So, the battery charged said "fully charged" so it is unplugged for now.

I did as SPYDER suggested:
Big sheathed bolt on started and clean frame bolt = 13.10 - 13.23 volts
Same test configuration with headlight (only one is connected) on = 12.63 volts
Same test configuration (headlight off) with key turned to glowplugs = 12.36

Like I said, I am in a very rural place and hermit-ish so don't have friends or neighbors I could ask to help. I am fiercely independent and don't give up easily

I called and the nearest auto parts store has a battery that will "fit" as far as size goes. How important is it to match the recommended CCA? The store's battery is 550CCA, but the manual says to use 630CCA.

KubotainNH...what's a decompression lever? I don't think there is one. If my battery is reading over 13 volts, should the readings still be 12 volts at the arrows you showed?

Thanks again :horseshoe:

 

[Old Gray Mare]

When I have a questionable battery I test it.

First, I charge like you did and then I have a battery load tester and see what the reading is.

It's the same procedure if you take your battery into town and have the battery dealer check it.

Most of the time it is the battery.

If the battery tests good... then it takes more detective work... switch, safety interlock, solenoid and starter all come to mind...

It's too bad jumping isn't an option...

My friend was going crazy on his Kubota that was otherwise trouble free.

He was in the mud and the accumulation didn't allow the gear selector interlock to recognize neutral for starting... all he had to do was clean out the mud and bend the bracket...

i am leaning toward the purchase of a new battery. i was under the tractor today looking for the safety switch on the transmission (couldn't find it 'cuz I had NO clue what I was looking for!) and there is no mud, so that's not it.

 

[SPYDERLK]

So, the battery charged said "fully charged" so it is unplugged for now.

I did as SPYDER suggested:
Big sheathed bolt on started and clean frame bolt = 13.10 - 13.23 volts
Same test configuration with headlight (only one is connected) on = 12.63 volts
Same test configuration (headlight off) with key turned to glowplugs = 12.36

Like I said, I am in a very rural place and hermit-ish so don't have friends or neighbors I could ask to help. I am fiercely independent and don't give up easily

Those numbers dont say the battery is bad. What V happens at those test points when you get the click?