Key is Dead

[EddieWalker]

Recently I've had the exact same thing happen to me with my backhoe and my riding mower. I started it up just fine, moved it to a different area, then it wouldn't start. No clicking sound, nothing. The first time I figured it was a fuse that had blown, but I couldn't find any that where bad. I checked the voltage at the starter and had well over 12 volts. It didn't make sense to me, but I had just finished replacing a hydraulic hose that required removing the battery to get to it. The battery sat outside for a few days in the rain, so maybe it needed cleaning. I took off the cables, sanded everything nice and shiny, and it started right up. It's been perfect ever since doing that.

Yesterday I started my riding mower, moved it closer to my air hose to blow out the radiator, and then it wouldn't start again. I took off the cables, sanded everything shiny, and it fired right up.

I don't know why the battery terminals all of a sudden stop transmitting power right after working just fine, but just in case it happens to somebody else, I thought I'd share this in case it might help.

 

[k0ua]

Eddie do you recoat all connections in a good corrosion fighting grease? I have used No-Ox-Id for over 30 years. I have never had a problem with any vehicle's connections I have treated with it. I have never bought any, I have just used the left over quantities in the jars and tubes the manufacture sent along for the commercial backup batteries I installed for 21 of those years. Good stuff, I swear by it.

 

[JRobyn]

I use this stuff on our Polaris Ranger EV with 8 batteries (and on other stuff).

Amazon.com: NOCO NCP2 CB14S 4 Oz Brush-On Battery Corrosion Preventative: Automotive

Works terrific. A little messy, but better than gobs of Vaseline.

 

[MF283]

My JD 5303 did the same thing, working on a truck & haven't had time to look to hard at the tractor. I did clean the cables, post & ground connections, NOTHING.
I called & talked to JD service manager at the dealership, said it sounded like a fuse, i had looked at all of them as well. Battery, starter, fuse box all amp'd good.
I'll go back over everything tomorrow, hopin it's simple.

Ronnie

 

[k0ua]

My JD 5303 did the same thing, working on a truck & haven't had time to look to hard at the tractor. I did clean the cables, post & ground connections, NOTHING.
I called & talked to JD service manager at the dealership, said it sounded like a fuse, i had looked at all of them as well. Battery, starter, fuse box all amp'd good.
I'll go back over everything tomorrow, hopin it's simple.

Ronnie

Did you check the inline main fuse? It will not be in the fuse box.

 

[stuckmotor]

Last winter my MF wouldn't respond to the key at all. The PTO safety switch was stuck.

 

[4570Man]

Currently I am having the same problem in my Kubota F2560 and John Deere F525. I had the same problem on my Cub Cadet last year. It would start if you jumped across the starter with a screw driver. It turned out the safety that requires the brake to be depress bad. I suspect there is a safety bad on the JD, but the Kubota doesn't have any safety's on it. If I jump across the starter with a screw driver on the Kubota it will start. I can't get to the starter on the JD to try this.

 

[MacLawn]

Also, check the ground cable from battery to tractor. Clean it good too.

 

[westcliffe01]

I had a somewhat similar problem with the riding mower. However on digging into it, every connection of the starter switch was corroded to heck (the posts on the switch are tin plated steel, and the tin is long gone). All of the safety switches were open circuit too. A new ignition switch and spade terminals for the wiring got it going, but I had to bypass all the safety interlocks.... The ex wife did leave it outside uncovered for 2 years and that kind of treatment can be hard on anything...

 

[ultrarunner]

My neighbor had a Winnebago that would drive him crazy... started cold no problem every time.

It would not start hot... had to be towed in several times and spent a lot of money on things like batteries, starter, ignition components...

I was there one morning and he had just come back from filling it up... and I asked him to start it... I was about 16 at the time... it would not start.

I took a jumper cable from the negative to the starter bolt and it fired right up...

Poor ground... added a Model A Ford ground strap from the battery to the engine block and never had that problem again... made me look good too!

 

[oosik]

I've never had that problem but every spring I clean & regrease the battery terminals & clamps. I just use the same grease that I grease the tractor with.

I think a lot of my good luck has to do with the excessively low humidity we have here. The only time the ambient humidity gets above 25-30% is when its raining. It took my disk harrow four year to develop a complete coating of rust on the disks after I used it once.

 

[Soundguy]

Eddie do you recoat all connections in a good corrosion fighting grease? I have used No-Ox-Id for over 30 years. I have never had a problem with any vehicle's connections I have treated with it. I have never bought any, I have just used the left over quantities in the jars and tubes the manufacture sent along for the commercial backup batteries I installed for 21 of those years. Good stuff, I swear by it.

Agreed.

I even just use chassis/axle grease to coat electrical connections.

if oxygen and water can't get in.. it's hard to get corrosion.

If they are disimilar metals, you can even get the electrolysis coatings too.

 

[DrRod]

My JD 4110 suddenly went dead. My neighbor helped me hot wire it so we could get it back to the barn. Next morning started but after that it was dead. The dealer said it sounded like the battery was shot. Said if its weak, there will be no turn-over at all -- just silence. Several helpful people on the JD forum said that was nonsense. But bought a battery anyway just to avoid the expense of taking it into the shop. Didn't work. So had it hauled to the dealer where they found the safety cut off module had gone bad. About a $700 part. My neighbor said he could have wired around it but with newer tractors you never know what else is affected by a computer module so it was best to get it fixed to specs. Incidentally, they only charged $55 for a round trip to the dealer [about an hour away] on a roll-back. The driver even helped me remove and reinstall the brush hog. Can't complain about that.

 

[ultrarunner]

One of the tools that has paid for itself many times is my Battery Load Tester... many times a battery that friends thought was bad turned out just fine.

Generally, it does take a little time... I will charge the battery first and then do the load test... it is very much Red fail, Yellow questionable and Green is pass on the needle scale meter.

 

[k0ua]

One of the tools that has paid for itself many times is my Battery Load Tester... many times a battery that friends thought was bad turned out just fine.

Generally, it does take a little time... I will charge the battery first and then do the load test... it is very much Red fail, Yellow questionable and Green is pass on the needle scale meter.

They are most certainly worth having. But you can get by with a simple voltmeter if you have a good understanding of the Ohm's law relationship between voltage, current, and resistance. You can use the tractor itself as a load tester.. But if you don't have a good understanding of ohm's law and how to interpret the results you are seeing and how to make the proper measurements then you can easily draw false conclusions. The load tester takes out a lot of confusion.

 

[ultrarunner]

I use mine a lot for bench testing... makes it very convenient to load test without a vehicle.

Neighbor kid was going through batteries with his 1968 Mustang... then he bought battery cables and a starter solenoid... each time thinking he had fixed it.

I drove by and saw he was not having a good day... told him I would be right back with my tester...

His new battery tested perfect... yet it sure sounded like a dead/weak battery when he crank and the voltage dropped to almost zero.

Told him my money was on the starter... he told me it was less than a year old... I said it is the only thing I can think of drawing so much...

He pulled it and came over... the bronze bushing on gear end of the armature shaft had slipped out.. so the starter armature was only supported on one end and when he turned the ignition key to start the current draw was all the battery could deliver...

 

[3930dave]

Eddie do you recoat all connections in a good corrosion fighting grease? I have used No-Ox-Id for over 30 years. I have never had a problem with any vehicle's connections I have treated with it. I have never bought any, I have just used the left over quantities in the jars and tubes the manufacture sent along for the commercial backup batteries I installed for 21 of those years. Good stuff, I swear by it.

Basic greases I've used have usually done the trick, for my service intervals. That is to say, most of the time.... I've been looking for something better, for a tough application (frame-rail mounted box, with cover).

I recall you mentioning this grease before James, and you probably covered this in one of your other posts - what I didn't realize till checking this today is that No-Ox-Id is also electrically conductive.

That's a nice bonus, esp. once you are dealing with some pitting of the contact area from earlier corrosion.

View attachment NO-OX-ID A-Special Electrical Grade.pdf

Rgds, D.