Bad starter or safety switch?

Long trail

New member

Equipment
2013 b2920, fel, backhoe, 3ph snowblower
Jan 30, 2014
5
0
0
Vt, USA
I have a 2013 B2920 that is giving me starting troubles. The tractor only has 122 hours on it and has been garage kept its entire life (I bought it brand new). Looking around on the internet it seems I am not the first person to have such a problem.

Here is a quick description of what happened. About 4 weeks ago I put my snowblower on and greased everything up good so it would be ready for the first snow. I hopped off the tractor to do something and it quit. This had never happened before. It wouldn***8217;t start when I turned the key. I figured it had something to do with the seat switch since it quit when I got off it. I wiggled some wires and stuff and turned the key a half dozen times or so and it started up. Didn***8217;t think too much of it, I just figured something was in a quirky mood.

A snow storm hit the northeast yesterday and I went to clear the driveway. Tried starting and nothing happened. Again I wiggled some stuff turned the key a few times and it started. All seems good, i clear the driveway (700 feet of it), back the tractor up to the edge of the parking area to clean the snow off before putting it back in the garage. I shut it off so I could clean the blower off as I don***8217;t want to put my hands in places where moving parts turn even though the pto was off. It would not start back up now and spent its first night outside last night and remains there tonight.

I have tried checking the safety switches like everyone says. At least the only two that I know of - the seat switch and the HST pedal switch. I took the seat switch out since I was convinced this was the problem. I tried to bypass it with a wire but it didn***8217;t work. So brought it with me to work and had an electrician check it with a multimeter, it seemed to work fine.

I started looking at the hst switch. It moves in and out like it should and the rod that activates it moves freely. I used a flat head screwdriver to depress it completely and tried starting and still nothing happened. I don***8217;t think there is anything wrong with it.

So I decided to try and jump the starter with a screwdriver by touching the posts simultaneously and all it did was make a spinning sound. Is this normal or should the starter have engaged the engine?

Any input would be great. I apologize for the long post but wanted to say out front what I have done so far.
 
Last edited:

85Hokie

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Staff member
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Equipment
BX-25D ,PTB. Under Armor, '90&'92-B7100HST's, '06 BX1850 FEL
Jul 13, 2013
10,271
2,104
113
Bedford - VA
Mine has had similar starting issues recently. Narrowed down to the clutch safety switch.
Also check the PTO switch......

Long story short - working with BIL's - B2920......everything great....

then moved and went to restart.......nuttin - dead stick. I freaked the #$@# out, thinking it was my fault .........I knew just enough, tapped the HST, nothing, moved the PTO lever just a smidge.....and she fired right up!
 

Long trail

New member

Equipment
2013 b2920, fel, backhoe, 3ph snowblower
Jan 30, 2014
5
0
0
Vt, USA
You need to jumper to the battery post on the starter to the start leed, small 1/4" male terminal.

Pat
I guess I have to look closer at it. I pulled the two rubber boots back from the connections they covered and touched them both with a screwdriver. I had a few sparks fly when I did that.
 

Long trail

New member

Equipment
2013 b2920, fel, backhoe, 3ph snowblower
Jan 30, 2014
5
0
0
Vt, USA
Also check the PTO switch......

Long story short - working with BIL's - B2920......everything great....

then moved and went to restart.......nuttin - dead stick. I freaked the #$@# out, thinking it was my fault .........I knew just enough, tapped the HST, nothing, moved the PTO lever just a smidge.....and she fired right up!
I tried to wiggle and move everything but had no luck. Where are these switches located? Do I have to remove panels to get to them?
 

Orangeglow

Active member

Equipment
2015 BX2370
Jun 19, 2014
316
144
43
Prescott, Ontario
To the OP, be very careful IF you try and start your tractor by shorting out a couple of terminals on the starter.
Engage the parking brake, and stand back away from the path of the rear wheels.
Safest way is to get a test light, and have a helper turn the ignition key to the start position, and track down which safety switch is open.
 

adventure bob

New member

Equipment
l6060
Nov 6, 2013
140
1
0
Colorado Springs
Pull the starter and take it to one of the car parts stores. They'll test it. They can run a duty cycle test (repeat over and over) trying to identify a problem.
 

Long trail

New member

Equipment
2013 b2920, fel, backhoe, 3ph snowblower
Jan 30, 2014
5
0
0
Vt, USA
So my tractor still isn’t running. I unplugged the hst switch and turn the key and it does the same thing as if it were plugged in - I hear one click from the engine compartment and no turning over. I put a wire in the connectors that it plugged into because I guess that is how you bypass the switch? And it does the same thing.

An online video suggest oiling the switch but I can’t figure out how to get the darn thing out of its location. I don’t seem to have any tools that bend and twist around all the objects in the way.

Any suggestions or should I bother even screwing with it at all and assume the safety switches are not my problems since it makes the same clicking sound?
 

493mike

New member

Equipment
Front loader, front snowblower, brush hog, tiller, back blade, soft cab, roller.
Sep 18, 2017
6
0
1
White Cloud, MI
I have been having cranking issues for a couple of years now, especially in winter. Today I found my problem. The actuating rod that attaches to the HST pedal has a guide in front of the safety switch and the rod was sticking in that guide. A couple shots of PB Blaster with silicone freed that up and now the pedal returns to neutral position every time!
Mike
 

johnjk

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Lifetime Member

Equipment
B3200 w/loader, Woods RC5 brush hog, 4' box blade, tooth bar, B1700 MMM,
Apr 13, 2017
1,252
819
113
West Mansfield, OH
I chased a starting issue on my B1700. Get a WSM wiring diagram and look at what you have for the starting circuit. In my case I had 3 safety switches, clutch, transmission and PTO. All 3 showed to be working with a volt meter but the transmission switch was pulling down the voltage below 12V. That 12V runs from the ignition switch through the safety switches and triggered the starter. I ended up installing a relay that gets its signal off the safety switch circuit leg and triggers the starter.

A good way to help isolate the switch at fault is to make a few jumpers and jump out the safety switches one by one till you locate the defective switch. Replace that switch or put in a relay since it needs less than 12V to trigger. The defective switch for my Orange were around $68.00 each and the relay kit off Amazon was $9 (included 2 relays, fuses and wiring harnesses. There is a writeup in the forum with links to how to wire up a relay (if needed) and the relay kit I got. Hope this helps
 

SDT

Well-known member

Equipment
multiple and various
Apr 15, 2018
3,084
923
113
SE, IN
I have a 2013 B2920 that is giving me starting troubles. The tractor only has 122 hours on it and has been garage kept its entire life (I bought it brand new). Looking around on the internet it seems I am not the first person to have such a problem.

Here is a quick description of what happened. About 4 weeks ago I put my snowblower on and greased everything up good so it would be ready for the first snow. I hopped off the tractor to do something and it quit. This had never happened before. It wouldn***8217;t start when I turned the key. I figured it had something to do with the seat switch since it quit when I got off it. I wiggled some wires and stuff and turned the key a half dozen times or so and it started up. Didn***8217;t think too much of it, I just figured something was in a quirky mood.

A snow storm hit the northeast yesterday and I went to clear the driveway. Tried starting and nothing happened. Again I wiggled some stuff turned the key a few times and it started. All seems good, i clear the driveway (700 feet of it), back the tractor up to the edge of the parking area to clean the snow off before putting it back in the garage. I shut it off so I could clean the blower off as I don***8217;t want to put my hands in places where moving parts turn even though the pto was off. It would not start back up now and spent its first night outside last night and remains there tonight.

I have tried checking the safety switches like everyone says. At least the only two that I know of - the seat switch and the HST pedal switch. I took the seat switch out since I was convinced this was the problem. I tried to bypass it with a wire but it didn***8217;t work. So brought it with me to work and had an electrician check it with a multimeter, it seemed to work fine.

I started looking at the hst switch. It moves in and out like it should and the rod that activates it moves freely. I used a flat head screwdriver to depress it completely and tried starting and still nothing happened. I don***8217;t think there is anything wrong with it.

So I decided to try and jump the starter with a screwdriver by touching the posts simultaneously and all it did was make a spinning sound. Is this normal or should the starter have engaged the engine?

Any input would be great. I apologize for the long post but wanted to say out front what I have done so far.
I have been working with a similar intermittent no crank issue with my B1750HST for nearly two years now. It has proven very difficult to diagnose due to the intermittent nature and I have been convinced that I had finally found and repaired the problem 3 or 4 times now, only to have the issue return.

I bought the tractor new in 1993, always keep it inside and give it exceptional care and maintenance.

Both engineer and life long mechanic, I rarely throw parts at a problem but have resorted to such in this case due to the infrequent occurrance of the symptom.

So far I have replaced the starter/solenoid assembly, clutch pedal interlock switch (there are no other safety switches on the 1750), key switch, both battery cables, and the battery (knowing that it was not the problem but it was due for a new one anyway). Most recently, I added a redundant ground wire from the grounding point of the negative battery cable (battery is beside the seat on the 1750 and grounds to the transaxle) to one of the starter attachment bolts. The wireing harness has been thoroughly inspected and cleaned multiple times but not replaced because it is no longer available. There is no evidence of heat of other damage and all connections appear to be tight.

Still, the issue remains.

Next step is to add a redundant wire between the key switch and the solenoid in parallel with the pristine looking OEM wire.

SDT
 

85Hokie

Moderator
Staff member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
BX-25D ,PTB. Under Armor, '90&'92-B7100HST's, '06 BX1850 FEL
Jul 13, 2013
10,271
2,104
113
Bedford - VA
, I added a redundant ground wire from the grounding point of the negative battery cable (battery is beside the seat on the 1750 and grounds to the transaxle) to one of the starter attachment bolts. T

SDT
This may be the best thought - even though it did not fix the problem, a "bad" ground will drive a person crazy looking for it.