Getting my butt kicked power issue

[Fuddyduddy1952]

You need a schematic. It will be easy with a printed wiring diagram. A simple test light is really all you need clipped to a good ground, be sure it lights at battery + and starter. It should light at alternator.

 

[mini14]

i have had ignition switches go bad

 

[ulflyer]

I've had to replace my ignition on my CK30, which is similar to your Bobcat. Got by for a while by spraying electronic cleaner in the key hole.
Switch from AutoZone or Advance fit perfectly.

 

[robw1312]

Recently, our forklift worked in the morning and then would not start a few hours later. After checking everything you have done, it turns out it was the starter had seized up. Replaced, and started right up

 

[Rctex]

Bobcat ct230 no power anywhere. I have power at the starter, nowhere else. I have checked continunity on all the saftey switches, and all the fuses test good. No power anywhere else. Have cleaned the battery post, replaced the cable ends. Was running fine, parked it, now nothing.

Ignition switch
At one time my tractor done same
After days I took my brothers advice an changed frame ground to battery an fired up. Even done good cleaning an cable looks good.

 

[TORQUIN]

As others have said, it's a game of tracing the power. I start at the positive terminal and find where the wire(s) from that terminal go, then see if I have voltage to the ends (starter, fuse panel, power distribution block, etc.).

Let's say I have voltage to the various ends of the positive wire(s), I move to the next segment(s) of wiring and do the same, making my way to the starter and to the ignition switch.

You must keep in mind that having voltage to any point only confirms a connection, not capacity. What I mean by that is voltage is the "pressure" of the wire. A smaller wire, or a severely corroded wire/connection, may have the expected voltage on it until you put a load on it, like trying to start the engine, or even turning the key on. At that point, a wire/connection with this corrosion problem will measure low or no volts because everything that can get through the upstream connection, the current, amps, are being used in the wiring and nothing gets to the load (indicator lights, starter, etc) that is down stream.
All that is to say that once you have traced the voltage along the wires to where it should go, that does not mean things will operate and more diagnosis work may be needed.

One thing I have seen is battery cable connections develop enough corrosion to have the problem described above. It has voltage at the starter, but when the ignition is turned on, or put in the Start position, all voltage goes to zero. This can also be caused by high internal resistance in the battery, a bad battery, yet when you turn off the key, or move from the start position, all voltage looks good again.

While the battery is more complicated to measure, along the wiring, through the connections, you can measure resistance to find poor connections or wires. You should have less than 1 ohm throughout the system, between wires/connections, as long as they are not going through a load, such as a bulb, starter, computer, etc.
Make sure you have low resistance <1 ohm on the positive and negative connections between the battery terminal (not the cable ends) and the engine/starter/power dist block. You'll connect the meter leads to the engine block and the actual battery terminal, then the battery terminal and the, in this case, starter stud, for measurement.

The ignition switch is also a prime suspect, as the contacts can get corroded inside. The switch on my ZD25 zero turn is getting finicky and needs to be replaced/repaired now. I have to wiggle the key just right to get the starter to engage. I'm going to label this as an anti-theft device until I get around to fixing it. See if there is voltage and low resistance to yours.

Also keep in mind you can jump around to various places in the wiring if you KNOW you are supposed to have voltage at a given point, like the ignition switch. If you aren't getting voltage there, then you have made your search area smaller.

Also, when checking, check from terminal to terminal first, as that will also check through the wire's connection to the terminal at the same time. By this, I mean not to connect your tester probes to the ends of the wires, but to the terminals the wires are connected to, where possible.

Please forgive if any of this seems remedial, I don't know what your knowledge is on this sort of thing.

Chris

 

[Fxfymn413]

When you say the starter has power I assume you mean the starter solenoid has 12V where the battery cable is connected to the solenoid??

If that is correct that has nothing to do with powering up the other circuits since power will be supplied to the ignition switch by a separate wire from the battery to the ignition switch.

I would pull the ignition switch and check for power to the switch. If there is none run a jumper from the battery to the hot side of the ignition switch to see if it powers everything up. If so the wire to the switch is either bad or a fuse/fusible link has failed.

If the switch fails to power up when jumped I'd suspect a faulty ground.

Not to imply you aren't diligent, but I assume you tested the battery to ensure it is still good. It might supply 12V at the starter, but not enough amperage to make things work.

 

[tman1020]

Wiring schematics are almost useless and most times not accurate on these machines. I’m suspecting a fuse a relay or ignition switch Try as others have said, spraying some contact cleaner into the switch hole and wiggle. Depending on your tractor it was a very common problem for these. There has also been countless stories of internal corrosion on the battery terminal wires close to the battery. Not visible until removed, but sounds like you’ve already ruled that out. Another possible option is to check the relays. There should be three on the firewall. Right hand side as you’re sitting on the tractor. One of them is the fuel relay. I can’t remember what the other two are for Not sure if any of them affect your dash power but you could try flipping them around. I think at least two of them are the same. There’s also a couple down near the headlights close to the battery. I believe they’re also the same relays.

 

[CoyPatton]

I have pulled frame ground off and cleaned it all

Im trying to unzderstand the power flow, because i pulled the main fuse by the starter, no power their either.

Seems like you have IDed at least 1 issue, you have power to the starter from the battery (I’m going to assume that voltage is basically same as battery). But no power to fuses—I believe the power source should be from the stater main post.
Ine thing you did not mention is do you have a major voltage drop when you try to start the tractor at the starter? Your battery cable could be bad but carry voltage until the load is applied (same could apply to battery).

 

[SPYDERLK]

As others have said, it's a game of tracing the power. I start at the positive terminal and find where the wire(s) from that terminal go, then see if I have voltage to the ends (starter, fuse panel, power distribution block, etc.).

Let's say I have voltage to the various ends of the positive wire(s), I move to the next segment(s) of wiring and do the same, making my way to the starter and to the ignition switch.

You must keep in mind that having voltage to any point only confirms a connection, not capacity. What I mean by that is voltage is the "pressure" of the wire. A smaller wire, or a severely corroded wire/connection, may have the expected voltage on it until you put a load on it, like trying to start the engine, or even turning the key on. At that point, a wire/connection with this corrosion problem will measure low or no volts because everything that can get through the upstream connection, the current, amps, are being used in the wiring and nothing gets to the load (indicator lights, starter, etc) that is down stream.
All that is to say that once you have traced the voltage along the wires to where it should go, that does not mean things will operate and more diagnosis work may be needed.

One thing I have seen is battery cable connections develop enough corrosion to have the problem described above. It has voltage at the starter, but when the ignition is turned on, of put in the Start position, all voltage goes to zero. This can also be caused by high internal resistance in the battery, a bad battery, yet when you turn off the key, or move from the start position, all voltage looks good again.

While the battery is more complicated to measure, along the wiring, through the connections, you can measure resistance to find poor connections or wires. You should have less than 1 ohm throughout the system, between wires/connections, as long as they are not going through a load, such as a bulb, starter, computer, etc.
Make sure you have low resistance <1 ohm on the positive and negative connections between the battery terminal (not the cable ends) and the engine/starter/power dist block. You'll connect the meter leads to the engine block and the actual battery terminal, then the battery terminal and the, in this case, starter stud, for measurement.

The ignition switch is also a prime suspect, as the contact can get corroded inside. The switch on my ZD25 zero turn is getting finicky and needs to be replaced/repaired now. I have to wiggle the key just right to get the starter to engage. I'm going to look at this as an anti-theft device until I get around to fixing it. See if the you voltage and low resistance to yours.

Also keep in mind you can jump around to various places in the wiring if you KNOW you are supposed to have voltage at a given point, like the ignition switch. If you aren't getting voltage there, then you have made your search area smaller.

Also, when checking, check from terminal to terminal first, as that will also check through the wire's connection to the terminal at the same time.

Please forgive if any of this seems remedial, I don't know what your knowledge is on this sort of thing.

Chris

Connect meter to both sides of (across) each connection. It should read zero. Now try to draw power. Any significant voltage indication indicates that connection is, at least part of, the problem.

 

[Fuddyduddy1952]

I'm an electronic technician and my company troubleshooted equipment 43 years. We used schematics daily.
Try driving from St. Louis to Chicago without a road map.
Otherwise you're stabbing in the dark or "shotgunning it" throwing parts at it.
I see this online. I'd get a quality one, but at least I see start at the source (battery) then simply follow along...it goes to starter, there through a fuse to alternator and there other places...ignition switch, fuse block, etc.
Of course you can have high resistance (corrosion, broken wire internally), but check for 12V starting at battery following along.
It's simple: 12.6V across battery (y/n)
12.6V at alternator (y/n)
12.6V either side of fuse (y/n)

There are lots of load and voltage drop tests, but first is with a schematic see where you're not getting power.

 

[kdill995]

I have a ct235 that does the same thing on occasion, providing you also have a hydrostatic trans.

I’m not a mechanic and don’t know much technical lingo, however mine will do this sometimes. As you know, you have to have the pedal in the middle between forward and reverse in order for that to turn over. If you look underneath the pedal and rock it back-and-forth, you will see it makes contact or is supposed to make contact in order to start. If it gets dirty or some stick or something gets lodged up in there and isn’t allowing it to make contact, it will not turn over even though you have power starter.

Then again, I’m not a mechanic and I may be talking out of mine.
know what

 

[Gord Baker]

Bobcat ct230 no power anywhere. I have power at the starter, nowhere else. I have checked continunity on all the saftey switches, and all the fuses test good. No power anywhere else. Have cleaned the battery post, replaced the cable ends. Was running fine, parked it, now nothing.

 

[Gord Baker]

Bobcat ct230 no power anywhere. I have power at the starter, nowhere else. I have checked continunity on all the saftey switches, and all the fuses test good. No power anywhere else. Have cleaned the battery post, replaced the cable ends. Was running fine, parked it, now nothing.

Charge your battery and take it to a Shop with a serious Battery Load tester. Not the pocket ones. Check the Battery Ground (-) connection at the Frame. Remove it, shine up the contact surfaces and tighten. Does the engine crank or ???

 

[Omega Woods]

Since he hasn't been back since Sunday, I'll assume he figured it out and doesn't need the forum any more. Until next time...

 

[qualsite]

Troubleshooting 101... First check your ground. Put a load on the circuit by turning something on that is supposed to draw a decent load, even if it doesn't appear to be working. Meter where you know you have power... battery posts. Then check frame ground from + post to frame. Then you can put your meter negative anywhere on good frame ground, knowing it's good. Then meter positive from battery to every connection along the way, again, with something turned on, to ensure that the circuit is loaded to be able to indicate where you have a high resistance loss of connection and are losing the voltage. If you don't have a load on the circuit, you will usually indicate good voltage, even though no current could pass through. Bad crimps, connectors will corrode, along with the wires, making bad connections, and yes, mice love to chew through wires. Truthfully, finding the main power loss should be pretty easy with a decent meter, or even a 12v lamp, just starting where you have power, following the circuit, and finding where you no longer have voltage under load. The biggest pain is physically tracing where the wires go, but a wiring diagram should tell you that. If you really get stuck, a Fox and Hound type wire tracer is helpful. You put the transmitter on where you know the circuit is good, and the scan the rest of the wires with the receiver, which will emit a sound when it's next to the wire the transmitter is feeding. But that's usually only needed in tracing small signal wires, and you are talking about primary power cables, which should be fairly easy to physically trace and check. Another thing, I assume you know that your battery is good? They will show voltage until you put a load on them, and then it goes away [very common failure with newer batteries]. Make sure that you check your battery with a load on it. That's why I put a voltmeter on my batteries, so I know what it's doing while it's loaded up. If you have voltage at the starter, then a screwdriver across the starter should tell you if the battery has enough to crank it.

 

[kioti28527]

Bobcat ct230 no power anywhere. I have power at the starter, nowhere else. I have checked continunity on all the saftey switches, and all the fuses test good. No power anywhere else. Have cleaned the battery post, replaced the cable ends. Was running fine, parked it, now nothing.

Is there a seat safety, neutral safety,fusible link?also check the main ground,those would be my first culprets

 

[camshawn]

Get your volt meter and start following the power from the battery. Fuse link will be at the battery + or at the starter. Check + to the frame to make sure your ground connection is good. The next stop would be the main fuse block. Part will be live all the time and part will be switched by the ignition switch in the run position. Just follow along until you find the blown fuse/ chewed, broken wire/ or safety switch that is not in the correct state. Good luck.

 

[Wagtail]

Following.

 

[boatmoter]

Bobcat ct230 no power anywhere. I have power at the starter, nowhere else. I have checked continunity on all the saftey switches, and all the fuses test good. No power anywhere else. Have cleaned the battery post, replaced the cable ends. Was running fine, parked it, now nothing.

if it's a late model,I would say you need a scan. my friend has a late model Kubota, he had the same problem after his sat overnite,his engine control model went bad. it ran everything. he paid Kubota to come out and do a scan