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4040 HELP!


prez

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My tractor is still having a hard time turning over. I removed the engine and fixed the positive battery cable, and it was lose. I took the starter and had it re-built and a new solenoid installed. Unfortunatly it has not taken care of the problem, It sounds as if the starter is not fully engagin or drawing so much juice that it kills the battery. Amp meter shows small discharge when the key is turned on and goes down to 10% when it is cranking. Hard to say much more since it only turns over for 5 or 10 seconds until the battery goes dead. I am at wits END! help!
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Upon closer inspection i have noticed the white wire that goes to the solenoid seems to have alot of cracks in it from what I can see. No breaks, just where the wire is exposed. Iturned the lights off and i seen no sparks jumping. Furthermore what appears to be the yellow circut breaker wire is snipped off. Where does the white wire from the solenoid come from or where does it go? I don't like how the positive cable is so close to the frame. But i don't have one clue what to do about it.
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If it only truns over for 10 sec, are you sure you have a good battery of ampal size. Haven't checked out to see what belong in 'em yet but mine came with a car size battery...MPH
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Check your wiring diagram and make sure everything is correct. I'd have to check to be sure (manuals are out in the shop), but I'm pretty sure the white wire comes from your key switch to energize the solenoid. You've got to be sure all your wiring is good. You just spent some bucks on the starter and solenoid - and your not sure if its wired correctly? Wouldn't it kind of suck if you fried your new solenoid or starter - or even worse (charging system, etc.)? You've got to make sure that the positive battery cable is not grounding out against the frame. It's a tight fit, but there's room for clearance there. You've also got to have a good ground - very important! I generally also attach a ground wire to the engine to be sure. Make sure all wiring is in good condition and correct according to the wiring diagram. Most of the tractors I've gone through - needed rewired, as people really do some screwy things with the wiring. Could be your battery cables, could be your key switch, could be incorrect wiring, could be grounding out somewhere, etc. Definitely sounds like you need a new battery, as Marty suggested. Happy trouble-shooting and good luck. Jeff
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I fainhtly remember some earlier discussion about some model of tractor that sometimes needed two starter solenoids, or a heavier one (more current capacity), for reliability and longevity. Does that apply in this case? Roy
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I'm no wizard, but I believe you could hook a battery up plain backwards and things would melt before it went dead "in 5 or 10 seconds." That battery has got to be bad, IMHO, or you couldn't discharge it that fast, at least not without some fireworks.
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Hi, I would check the battery first. Then see if you can find someone with an inductive ammeter [ one that just lays up against the wire] They can be bought for under 10.00 at an auto parts store. Put it on the battery cable and see how much current the starter is drawing. If over 200 to 250 amps too much. Next I would turn the engine over using a socket on the front clutch bolt. [KEY OFF] It should turn free, but hard as it comes up on compresion. If you are coming up on compression and it doesn't want to rock back you may have internal engine problems, like a rod that has transferred metal to the crankshaft and is about to seize and break. If it turns normal and the draw is high, measure the voltage when cranking at the battery posts should be about 9 to 10 volts. Then measure at the battery terminal of the starter and the the engine block. Should be within .5 volts of battery voltage. If so the battery cables are OK. The starter can still have a problem inside. The most common is the front bushing is bad and the armature rubs on the pole pieces in the case. The starter will check good with no load, but drag when under load. If you had new bushings put in this should not be the case. The field coils may have damaged isulation on them and be OK until the starter is on a pull, then the magnetic field around the windings can pull them against the pole piece and short to it. The starter will have low torque and draw very high current. It will check OK without a load. These problems are difficult to verify. Keep in mind that these tractors are battery cookers with the battery up under the muffler and in line with the hot cooling air coming out of the engine. All of this heat is a battery killer. Good luck, Al Eden
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Prez, You have some good information sent to you. I can not stress more for you to check the battery and cables. Both positive and negative cable connections must be good and clean to the points of connection. Especially important is the ground wire to the frame. Make sure it is clean and free of corrosion around the bolt. Then to be sure that the engine is properly grounded run an extra wire from that bolt and fasten the extra wire to a bolt on the engine. This extra wire will ensure a good ground to the engine and in turn to the starter. It will not hurt your engine. It's worth a try. Good luck! JohnLG
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