Ford 3910 Drains battery and won't start

Geesehaven · Jan 27, 2014

The starter failed the bench test. Any other concerns I should be aware of considering the crossed cables on the jump start? Thanks Geesehaven.

Oldtractorfixer · Jan 28, 2014

If you have an alternator you could have fried the diodes. Most everything else will tolerate crossed cables. If you did damage the alternator it will have very low or no output. Be sure there is no corrosion on the battery cables where the cable ends attach to the cable. This is some times had to find and will cause all kinds of problems. Good luck sounds like you are on the right track.

rsallen · Jan 28, 2014

Check and very likely replace any fusible links in the system.

Geesehaven · Jan 28, 2014

Gentlemen (and ladies if you're on this thread) a huge thank you for this most helpful advice. I have the new starter and will install it on Friday this week. I will check the alternator and for any fuses and let you know what happens. Hopefully the ol' girl will be back to work this weekend - I miss her!

Geesehaven · Feb 1, 2014

PLEASE HELP! New battery and new starter installed. Tractor started strong, ran for a few seconds and stalled. Figured it may be some air in the line since removed and changed fuel filters. Tried to start it again and the exact same thing happened - drained the battery almost immediately. I removed the fuse box cover and checked all of the fuses and they're fine. Could it be that I need a new wire harness somewhere that's causing a dead short or could it be the alternator or ignition switch? Did I possibly damage the new starter since I didn't fix the original problem? I'm running out of patience, options and money. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you, Geesehaven.

TractorTech · Feb 1, 2014

Doesn't sound like electrical if it turned over. It has a manual kill on the diesel pump. I would be inclined to agree with your first scenario of air in the lines.
Is your fuel tank at least half full if not full? If so, open bleed on top of filters until air is expelled. Next, open bleed screw on the side of the injection pump, small 5/16" head hex screw. Bleed until air is expelled. Now, with the kill off or in and half throttle, crack the injector nuts on the injectors about 1 to 2 turns. Crank engine until air is pretty much expelled. Tighten the injector line nuts. Try starting the engine.
Hope this works.

rsallen · Feb 1, 2014

Check that ground from the battery.
Follow it all the way to where it connects to the engine. Make sure that is clean and tight.

A quick way to check is to take a set of jumper cables and run your own ground from the battery to the engine.

rsallen · Feb 1, 2014

Also while tracing that grounding cable inspect the length of it make sure it's in good condition.
I've seen many straps that were torn/rotted/frayed to the point of being worth no more 14 or 16 gauge wire.

Geesehaven · Feb 2, 2014

Thank you for the quick replies. I understand what Tractor Tech is suggesting regarding the fuel issue but I don't have/can't maintain sufficient charge in the battery to turn the engine over for more than a few seconds, then it's dead. When I put the battery charger on it again tonight it was down to 69% after the start attempt I just told you about earlier today and just before I put it back in it was fully charged. The battery was discharged in about 5 seconds of cranking. I do have about a half tank of fuel and I did bleed the fuel filters and fuel flowed just fine out of the filter bleeder screw. I did not bleed the injector pump so I will do that tomorrow as well but that doesn't address the loss of charge. I think tomorrow I'm just going to go ahead and replace both the positive and negative battery cables. Although I cleaned it up, the battery end of my positive cable was a hard lookin' corroded mess and it has those bolted attachable ends that others have suggested are the root of all evil as far as battery trouble is concerned so new cables it is. It has also been suggested that my new battery could be bad - apparently it happens but that doesn't really make sense since the tractor did briefly start - or there could be an issue with the safety switches for the gears or the clutch which apparently the positive current has to pass through before the starter relay from the ignition switch. So I'll be feebly checking for that tomorrow as well since I really have no idea what to look for. At this point what the heck, it'll be fun! I just hope I didn't damage my new starter. And, I bought a volt meter tonight to play with now that I know enough to be dangerous! Now that I've spent about $400 bucks on a new battery, a new starter and some assorted tools if this turns out to the battery cables I'm also gonna buy some beer to cry in. Let you know what happens tomorrow. Thanks Gentlemen, Geesehaven.

Redneck in training · Feb 2, 2014

If it would drain the battery in 5 seconds you should see smoke coming from somewhere. That would be a lot of energy discharged in that short time. Since you mentioned reversed cables when jumping the battery there is a possibility that diodes in the alternator are damaged and the alternator is shorting the battery when you turn ignition key on. Therefore I would disconnect the alternator before installing the battery. To measure if the battery is being drained you need a DC clamp meter or remove one of the cables and then touch the battery post and see if you can draw an arc or sparking. Do not use Multimeter to measure the current because you will just blow the fuse that is typically slow 10A.