Loader Need help getting this thing started

shdybrady · May 17, 2015

I have a yanmar 1810 and it wont start. I have been having this problem off and on for awhile now. In the past I could always charge the battery or jump the battery off and it would work. Now I cant even do that. I can jump across the starter solenoid and the starter will engage. My dash lights wont come either. They only way I can get it started is to pull it with my truck and put it in gear. If I shut it off it wont start back up. I am thinking its a grounding issue, alternator or the voltage regulator. Any tips for diagnosing it?

normde2001 · May 17, 2015

Get yourself a volt/ohm meter and learn to use it, for starters.

shdybrady · May 17, 2015

I am an electrician got that covered

normde2001 · May 17, 2015

So...how many volts in your battery? Is your battery grounded? How many volts getting to the starter with key in "start" pos?

FleetMan · May 17, 2015

This may sound extremely basic and maybe insulting depending on your spirits at the moment but a year or so back I had a very similar and frustrating problem with my 1820D. The problem turned out to be corrosion on the battery posts which insulated them from the battery cable terminal end connectors. I did all my voltage checking on the battery posts and everything would always show good and I just could not understand the "nothing" when I tried to start it normally. I must have wiggled one of the connectors when attempting yet another jump start and that finally led me to the corroded battery posts and the root cause of my "no start" problem. Hopefully, yours turns out to be something simple too.

tman1020 · May 17, 2015

I also had battery corrosion on a 1702. To the point it loosened connections and would not start. I missed it at first but after a while of head scratching and starting over my diagnosis I found it. Felt tight at first and didn't look that bad until I really inspected. Good luck.

clemsonfor · May 18, 2015

BAttery corrosion is irrelevant if your jumping directly to the starter. Your grounding the thing out on the frame and putting power to the solonoid termanal that needs 12v to start the tractor. It will start this way even without a battery. I think you may have a short in wireing and or blown fuses which is the reason your key wont work.

You probably have a bad battery and why it wont jump wireing directly to the starter with jumper cables is beyond me unless its totally burnt/locked up (the starter that is).

shdybrady · May 31, 2015

Alright it took me a bit to get out there and work on this thing. I knew the batter was dead because I have been having this problem for awhile and it has sat. I hooked my positive via jumper cable to my truck battery. I grounded it to the frame. Went to go start it and it turns over one revolution and nothing. So she is trying to turn over.

Checked with my multi better and I am getting 12v to the starter solenoid. Turn the key and only getting 2-3 volts on the wire coming from the switch and the post going to the starter. Opened up the dash and checked the feed to the switch and I get 12 volts there as well until I turn the key and it drops to roughly around 3-4.

Being the switch is trying to turn the engine over when connected to a battery I am assuming it is functional. So my suspects are the starter solenoid but most likely the voltage regulator. It seems to me the voltage regulator isn't sending enough power to fully turn it over. Is there any other testing I should do or is it pretty conclusive?

shdybrady · May 31, 2015

UPDATE: I went out and tested the other wires in the pigtail coming off the voltage regulator. I have 12 volts on everything except the black which I am assuming is a ground. Correct me if I am wrong but that tells me I have 12V through the generator to the voltage regulator and through the voltage regulator. So the voltage regulator seems to be operational. Being I am getting 12v to the switch only 2-4v leaving the switch and only 2-4v at the starter solenoid. It seems the switch may actually be the problem. Can a switch only allow partial voltage through? I figured it would be an all or nothing kind of deal.

R Barger · May 31, 2015

Jump from the hot post coming into your starter to the small terminal on your solenid. If it starts I'd be looking at the ignition switch or a bad neutral safety switch.