Can an old lady get her MF1250 to start?

[rsallen]

I am sooooo happy to report that IT STARTED WITH THE JUMPER WIRE!!!

I spooked a bit at the first spark (It was much smaller than the previous one), then Cowgirled Up and kept the wires on each spot (blue arrow first, then red arrow) while the starter turned over and the tractor fired up immediately :cool2: !!! I had the key to "On" and never did use the glowplug setting. I whooped and did a Happy Dance :jump: (hard to do at my age...LOL).

I turned the key off and then reconnected where the dark blue arrow points to. Got in the seat and the same as before...nothing. Unplugged the blue arrow connection, jumped it and it started right up! I let it run for maybe 15-20 minutes and repeated...still wont' start with the key. I then checked the battery and it read 13.5V. Is that good enough to where the alternator is charging it and it doesn't need to be replaced (yet)? I also put it through the gears to see if the transmission was locked up, or something, but it made no difference.

So, my internet Tractor Gurus, what do you think is the problem? Will I be able to fix it myself?

I am so happy and relieved to just be able to get the engine started. The jump wire is now in my toolkit, and if that's what it takes to get my partner going each time, then so be it. :cloud9: Don't know it I can access the starter with the side panel on.

This tractor has been part of my life for almost 20 years! I did the stalls with a wheelbarrow today and, well, need I say more??

Thanks guys, and CHEERS!!!

Excellent! The first step is out of the way.
The next step is up to what you want to do. You can jerry rig it with a hot button you use from the seat....or you can find where the problem is.
What da ya want to do?

 

[Old Gray Mare]

Fix it, of course.

Or use as-is.

Or jerryrig it like you say.

:tractor:

 

[TMR]

Hello from Minnesota and congratulations to "Old Gray Mare" for both her persistence and her ability to work through the issues...and congratulations to all of you who have helped.

I just thought I would let you know I enjoyed following your "quest"...and will continue through the "fix"...as it may be. Tom R

P.S. Great use of internet/forums!

 

[rsallen]

Okay then.
Is dealing with it as is what you want to do?....Every time you need or want to start the tractor? I've advise against it for a number of reasons, the foremost of which is safety. Starting a moveable piece of machinery away from where you can or do have control is always an enterprise to be done with caution and presentence of mind for NOTHING but the task at hand. Which would be starting the tractor. It's dangerous.
Option number two, a jerry-rigged hot button to use from the comfort of the drivers seat. Easy, you've already learned how the starter works. Supply 12 volts to that small spade connection and the starter goes whee. So now all you need to do is get a bit more wire and a push button at your local hardware or auto parts store and wire it up the same way only now you run the wire from the positive battery post (or any positive power supply) to one side of the button and the other side of the button goes to that dar spade on the back of the starter. Mount the switch some place handy...push the button and the starter works!
Option number three, find the problem....Aaah, now having a wiring diagram in hand would be a good thing to start with.
Got one? Good.
Begin at the ignition switch or at the starter, ahem. It's easy really, think of electrical flow like a stream of water following the landscape. Now that diagram looks more like a road map doesn't it?
Let's us know Mare, we're still here.

 

[KubotainNH]

Wow, how did I miss the "it started" post? Oh well, glad it did and you now know the issue is between the key and the end of the small starter wire. Like rsallen, for safety reasons you should find the issue and fix it properly but at least you can start it if desperate you just need to make sure you never start it in gear using the work around. Look at the wiring diagram and draw a line from that wire all the way back to the key switch. You should have 12volts at every point when the key it turned. You may have a bad safety switch, a corroded connector or a wire that is broken inside the rubber coating where it can't be seen. If you need us to draw on the schematic you posted we can do that.

 

[KubotainNH]

I just took a quick look at the schematic. That wire goes right to a "safety relay" then straight to the key switch after going through a few connectors. If you can find that relay you can try reseating it and also tapping on it. It looks like you have a seat safety switch and change lever safety switch on one side of the relay and a pto switch on the other to turn the relay on. This isn't a simple thing to troubleshoot at this point. There's a big loop that cannot be broken for this to work. The switches themselves are easy enough to test and of course you can try tapping on them making sure they are in the correct position.

 

[SPYDERLK]

Yeah but so easy to not have a good connection on a connector like that.

Yeah, but that wasnt it. Since it started with the jumper we know that wire/connector was not bringing 12v robustly to the terminal on the starter. As you say later ~ finding out why will fix it.:thumbsup:

 

[Old Gray Mare]

Okay then.
Is dealing with it as is what you want to do?....Every time you need or want to start the tractor? I've advise against it for a number of reasons, the foremost of which is safety. Starting a moveable piece of machinery away from where you can or do have control is always an enterprise to be done with caution and presentence of mind for NOTHING but the task at hand. Which would be starting the tractor. It's dangerous.
Option number two, a jerry-rigged hot button to use from the comfort of the drivers seat. Easy, you've already learned how the starter works. Supply 12 volts to that small spade connection and the starter goes whee. So now all you need to do is get a bit more wire and a push button at your local hardware or auto parts store and wire it up the same way only now you run the wire from the positive battery post (or any positive power supply) to one side of the button and the other side of the button goes to that dar spade on the back of the starter. Mount the switch some place handy...push the button and the starter works!
Option number three, find the problem....Aaah, now having a wiring diagram in hand would be a good thing to start with.
Got one? Good.
Begin at the ignition switch or at the starter, ahem. It's easy really, think of electrical flow like a stream of water following the landscape. Now that diagram looks more like a road map doesn't it?
Let's us know Mare, we're still here.

Appreciate your concern for my safety. I've lived alone for over 10 years and KNOW how to be safe & slow instead of fast & dead. Besides, if I was to get hurt or killt, the horses would starve and THAT would be tragic!

OK...I know a bit about regular electricity and light switches, etc. Built many ceiling fixtures from scratch and have installed wiring in walls and to barns. If you could be more explicit about how to connect a wire to the positive post and to the dark blue arrow terminal, I can do the hook-up at the switch :thumbsup:

Finding the problem, well that may be a challenge since almost all of the wires are bundled inside jackets. Remember I said it felt like a safety switch? Also, the seat switch was disconnected by the dealer right after I bought the tractor, so that doesn't need to be in the scenario.

I *promise* to be extremely careful in the meantime when I use the jumper wire. I'm the only person to have ever driven the tractor, so all 430+ hours are mine Also, I've never used the PTO; wouldn't know how to turn the sucker on.

Thanks again, guys! You are AWESOME!!

 

[Walkin Horse]

I want to encourage you to fix it right. I have an old tractor that a friend wired with a push button switch. It wasn't heavy enough and it burned and melted. So I started jumping it with screwdriver across the starter. This eliminates the clutch safety. So now I have to glow plug it with the key then jump it. Only once have I forgot to put it in neutral. Yes it jumped but luckily it's hard to start so it didn't fire up. Scared me pretty good and made me realize that I have to think the startup thru really good.
So please do us a favor and have it fixed right. No farm ingenuity. Your horses can't do without you and my boarders and horses can't do without me. ( I want to think so anyway) Believe me it only takes 1'moment of inattention to become a news article.

 

[KubotainNH]

Yeah, but that wasnt it. Since it started with the jumper we know that wire/connector was not bringing 12v robustly to the terminal on the starter. As you say later ~ finding out why will fix it.:thumbsup:

True enough. I wrote that before I saw that it started. No idea how I missed that post from Mare.

As for getting around the safety stuff, you can do that by bypassing the safety relay. I wouldn't be surprised if it was found to be bad. The other option as mentioned is wire a momentary switch (goes off when you let go) with one side to fused voltage and the other side to the connector where the small starter wire is.

This safety circuitry is pretty intricate, it ties to multiple things including the engine stop solenoid.