Help! it won't start!

[pdseifert]

Just for giggles have you tried removing the work light and ballast box that you orginally installed just to see if it makes a difference? I only jump the starter as a last resort. I agree it does sound like a safety switch has tripped somewhere. Allthough if you are getting juice to the starter but... maybe the pesky engine kill switch

 

[SteadyEddie]

Pdseifert, I did disconnect the work lights (but not the ballast box) - no luck. Logic told me from the beginning that the lights weren稚 to blame, but it was still the first thing I did!

 

[tommu56]

3 things to start with that I'v got cought with
hst in neutral?
pto not in gear?
foot resting on hst petal or it was sticky and not in center?

tom

 

[radioman]

wait- you didnt sit on it (not sure if you did this or not) when you found the green wire and plugged it in and cranked engine ? then put everything away and sit on the seat and it dead ? did you try standing on ground and start it with nothing in seat ? sounds like a seat switch issue.

 

[DavidAubke]

Many have mentioned it but I will again. Look real hard at the various safety cutoff switches. That's almost certainly your problem. The fact that it started without weight in the seat then didn't when you sat down only confirms it to me. There's a complex set of rules regarding what switches need to be in what position for things to run properly. The rules change depending upon whether or not your butt's in the seat.

I've been burned by both the seat switch and the PTO lever. The PTO lever was particularly confusing because, even though it was in the correct (disengaged) position, I needed to give it a firm push to fully engage the switch.

 

[Dozernut]

I suspect the pto shutoff too. Get underneath your tractor and follow the cable from the pto lever to where it connects to a lever on the transmission housing, it should be on the right hand side if you were sitting on the tractor. With your fingers see if you can move the lever forward, toward the front of the tractor. If it moves then you have found your problem and should be able to adjust the cable.

 

[NH-Rob]

For some reason I thought the safty switches only cut off power to the fuel solenoid. I thought the engine would just stall or not run but would still crank over. The one exception is the clutch needs to be pushed in. Am I wrong?
Rob
Ok just check my work shop manual on the b3200, should be similar on your tractor. According to the manual the only time the engine will not crank is when pto switches are engaged or hst pedal is not in neutral. Seat switches play no roll in cranking.

 

[radioman]

For some reason I thought the safty switches only cut off power to the fuel solenoid. I thought the engine would just stall or not run but would still crank over. The one exception is the clutch needs to be pushed in. Am I wrong?
Rob
Ok just check my work shop manual on the b3200, should be similar on your tractor. According to the manual the only time the engine will not crank is when pto switches are engaged or hst pedal is not in neutral. Seat switches play no roll in cranking.

you know- as I sit here and thought about what you said- it seems you are absolutely right about that with my BX as well. I am thinking about making a laymans troublshooting chart for starting the BX's BEFORE the tractor decides to quit.

 

[SteadyEddie]

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! One & all! It turned out to be the PTO safety interlock. The lever was fully seated but...

Your help saved me at least $300.00 for the dealer to come & look at it. They charge the hourly shop rate PLUS a mileage fee to come to your site and it痴 not waived for warranty work. Now the business man in me understands, but I wish they had given me ALL the facts before I purchased. Well, lesson learned, and my wife has agreed that I should move up the timeline to get a trailer for the 'bota!

 

[TripleR]

For some reason I thought the safty switches only cut off power to the fuel solenoid. I thought the engine would just stall or not run but would still crank over. The one exception is the clutch needs to be pushed in. Am I wrong?
Rob
Ok just check my work shop manual on the b3200, should be similar on your tractor. According to the manual the only time the engine will not crank is when pto switches are engaged or hst pedal is not in neutral. Seat switches play no roll in cranking.

Wish I had thought of that. I have a couple of older model tractors and to start them, you pull a cable for the fuel pump and then hit the starter. To kill it, you must shut the fuel off as turning the key off does nothing but kill the electrical system.