re message 1225 starting prob

[TOMT]

THANKS FOR ALL THE INPUT. I DID THE USUAL THINGS i.e. CHECKED WIRES, CLEANED TERMINALS, ETC WITH NO SUCCESS. I DECIDED TO TURN THE STARTER/GENERATOR BY HAND(ONLY COULD ROTATE APPROX. 1/4 TURN). I THEN TRIED STARTING & IT WORKED!!IT'S ALMOST AS THOUGH THERE'S A FLAT OR "DEAD" SPOT ON THE STARTER ARMATURE. I'M CURIOUS IF ANYONE HAS HAD A SIMILAR EXPERIENCE OR KNOWS WHAT MIGHT CAUSE THIS PROBLEM?? TOM

[Al]

Hi, You may be correct, there may be a dead spot in your armature, but the most common cause is the brushes are short and the commutator on the armature is out of round from many milse of use. Then the brushes don't make contact on the low spot. When the starter is turning inertia carries it past this spot. If you continue to run it it will probably arc at the point where it starts to make contact again. Commonlu this ruins the commutator. Best shot is to get the armature turned and the mica undercut and replace the brushes and bearings. We fix a lot of these and this is a common situation, however your problem may be different. The brushes for these are not the same as a regular generator uses even they are the same size. The carbon mix they are made of has more copper in it to carry the extra current required for starting. If there is any interest I may do a "story" on the teory and principles of the starter generator system and how it operates. Good luck and if you need more yell, Al

[Al]

TomT, Check the grounds on the battery cable. My B-1 was doing something similar. After a lot of time and trouble I found a poor ground between the battery ground cable and the tractor frame. Fixed the connection and no more problems. Good luck, Roy