Jump starting tractors

[taem]

I have a couple of older JD 2750 and 2240 used for haying bucket work, etc. In the last year, both have needed the alternator rebuilt and in both cases it was the burned out voltage regulator. One is 55 amp and the other is 35 amp. the rebuild guy said that it was because i had jump started one tractor from the other or had jumped from a pickup truck. basically he said never jump start only charge in the field. This is new to me and frankly, I don't have a half mile extension cord So what is the deal? can you safely jump start one tractor from another, or from a booster pack (which usually doesn't have enough grunt to do the job)? Any thoughts?

 

[bearthebruce]

Scratching my head... why would the tractor be different than a car?

Connect (+) on the dead battery to (+) on the donor tractor battery
Connect (-) on the dead battery to the donor tractor frame
Start...

Color me confused as to why they would say this.. I can't see how the voltage regulator or any other part of the system would be damaged.

 

[CH4Ohio]

I have a spare marine battery that I keep charged. It's easy to haul it out to a piece of equipment and jump from it instead of another vehicle. Wonder what your mechanic would think about that?

 

[bearthebruce]

Donor battery would be best.. no chance of drawing too high a current from one tractor to the other.. I suppose that could be the mechanics concern.

Do you check the dead battery with a volt meter? If the voltage on the dead battery is too far gone, you can do damage to the working tractor electrical system by trying to draw too much..

If the dead battery is shorted... for sure you could damage another tractor's electrical system.

 

[MESSMAKER]

Donor battery would be best.. no chance of drawing too high a current from one tractor to the other.. I suppose that could be the mechanics concern.

Do you check the dead battery with a volt meter? If the voltage on the dead battery is too far gone, you can do damage to the working tractor electrical system by trying to draw too much..

If the dead battery is shorted... for sure you could damage another tractor's electrical system.

I have heard this before but I have seen dead batteries jumped dozens if not hundreds of times. Does this ever happen?

 

[Keoke]

Hi,
When jumping from the vehicle with a good battery make sure to keep the ENGINE OFF. Because, when you hit the starter on the dead battery unit the booster battery will drop down to about 9.5 to 10.5 volts depending on it's starter draw. This will force the regulator on the booster unit to signal full charge. In addition, when the dead unit starts it too will go to full charge since it also is looking at two low battery voltages now in parallel. This combination may result in very high charge voltages on both vehicles. These high-charge voltages are not necessarily friendly to sensitive electronic components. Bottom line, most of the time you can get away with having the boost vehicle running while jumping. But why chance it.

cheers,

 

[Jstpssng]

This only happened to me once and it was a long time ago. I had run the battery down in my pickup and borrowed another to jump it. Although the key was off, as soon as I made the last connection the engine of the dead pickup started turning over. My truck had a manual transmission but luckily I had left it in neutral, as I was standing between the two vehicles.

Now I have a booster pack.

 

[newbury]

<snip>basically he said never jump start only charge in the field. <snip>

Did he seem to think it made a difference if you were in a garage?

 

[workinonit]

Silly question. Of course it makes a difference.

 

[Doughknob]

"Typically" note again "typically" no problem jumping a tractor with a car or other tractor. Problems "CAN" arise when larger alternator vehicle charges smaller alternator/battery tractor.

So in the compact tractor world this could happen. But on large battery tractors with corresponding higer output alternators, using a car with smaller or equal size system, no problems.

nothing special about tractors - just a battery/charging system matching thing.

 

[CH4Ohio]

I have a spare marine battery that I keep charged. It's easy to haul it out to a piece of equipment and jump from it instead of another vehicle. Wonder what your mechanic would think about that?

I should clarify. . . I keep this spare battery around because I find that's it's usually easier to just set this down next to a car, tractor, etc. and hook to it rather than jockey the vehicles close enough and raise both hoods, etc. I just find this to be easier.

Not doing it because I'm worried about damaging anything, but . . . now that I think about it . . . I would rather hook this spare battery up to my tractor than run jumpers from my new Ford pickup with all the fancy expensive electronics.

I've had 3 of those rechargable battery jumper pack things. None lasted long and none of them were very impressive. I don't think you can beat a fully charged full size battery and a set of jumper cables -- that's my "portable jump charger".

 

[WranglerX]

I have a Jump Box, so far it has never failed to stat anything I needed to start, it also has USB outlet for device (phone) charging and I can use the 12 volt socket to power any GPS or what ever device that requires 12 volts... BUT is does not stop me for jumping vehicle to vehicle whether it be tractors, trucks or cars as a jump is a jump...If something fails it was going to happen anyway....

 

[ctgoldwing]

Hi,
When jumping from the vehicle with a good battery make sure to keep the ENGINE OFF. Because, when you hit the starter on the dead battery unit the booster battery will drop down to about 9.5 to 10.5 volts depending on it's starter draw. This will force the regulator on the booster unit to signal full charge. In addition, when the dead unit starts it too will go to full charge since it also is looking at two low battery voltages now in parallel. This combination may result in very high charge voltages on both vehicles. These high-charge voltages are not necessarily friendly to sensitive electronic components. Bottom line, most of the time you can get away with having the boost vehicle running while jumping. But why chance it.

cheers,

I'm having a hard time visualizing this. When you connect your jumper wires, regardless of whether the jump vehicle is running or not, those two batteries are indeed in parallel. Electrically speaking they are one unit (the jumpers connect them together). Certainly there is going to be a large charging current drawn when you start but isn't that the regulator's job to limit the charging voltage? I don't see how the voltage would get any higher than normal.

 

[CobyRupert]

I'm having a hard time visualizing this. When you connect your jumper wires, regardless of whether the jump vehicle is running or not, those two batteries are indeed in parallel. Electrically speaking they are one unit (the jumpers connect them together). Certainly there is going to be a large charging current drawn when you start but isn't that the regulator's job to limit the charging voltage? I don't see how the voltage would get any higher than normal.

Confused me too. I was wondering where the high charging voltage came from?

 

[Doughknob]

I'm having a hard time visualizing this. When you connect your jumper wires, regardless of whether the jump vehicle is running or not, those two batteries are indeed in parallel. Electrically speaking they are one unit (the jumpers connect them together). Certainly there is going to be a large charging current drawn when you start but isn't that the regulator's job to limit the charging voltage? I don't see how the voltage would get any higher than normal.

U b right. No problem with jumper running. Some old wisdom even suggests one rev up the jumper vehicle, assuming the jumped battery is at low voltage and can easily take a higher push for a short time - voltage regulators have a 'range' they work in, but do indeed have an upper limit.

 

[Tx Jim]

Back when I was employed buy a JD dealer for 21yrs I jumped off several JD tractors some of which were the models you mentioned without harming either vehicles charging systems. I jumped off a few since I started custom baling in '87. I think the secret to not harming alternator or regulator is attach jumper cables + to + &- to - attaching 1 negative cable last.

 

[grsthegreat]

ive jumped cars, trucks, semis, tractors...even a side by side. never have had any issues. the only issue i ever had was when i jumped a seadoo. i fried the controller. was an expensive lesson. i never try to jump start generators either....due to controller issue...

 

[WranglerX]

Just jump start tractor or any other vehicle as described in so many how to documents.... As soon as jumped vehicle start remove cables, there should not be any damage in either vehicle from an "short term" voltage variations causes by charging system in each vehicle trying to equalize....

 

[number two]

A little humor:I jump started My 1978 GMC Astro with my dad's 1971 VW Bus-sure looked funny in the parking lot,that little van hooked to that big truck!
I also had to jump that truck again once with the reefer trailer I was pulling,glad my cables were long enough.
Batteries are lots better now.
Those 4 Group 31's in the truck new were 475 CCA's each-puny by today's standards.
Thanks for reading.

 

[brokeasajoke]

Alternators only supply when needed as they monitor the state of the battery. Never had a problem and even run vehicles in series for 24 volt systems. Maybe the voltage regulator went screwy and was like 16+ volts or something. I call bull. I jumped my churches John Deere mower with my F250 running yesterday. Zero issues except it cranked much faster than normal.