Hey everyone. I’ve been reading through the forum because I have an opportunity to pick up an L3130 HST and wanted to get some opinions from people more familiar with these tractors.
A good friend of mine runs an ag business and has an L3130 that he’s owned for roughly 7–8 years. It currently has about 2,850 hours on it and has been sitting for approximately two years. He has other tractors now that fit his operation better and told me I can have this one if I want to mess with getting it running.
According to him, it was a very good tractor for them until one day it developed a no-crank condition. He always believed it was something simple in the safety-interlock system, but he never had enough need for the tractor to spend much time figuring it out.
I spent a couple hours with it recently. I can get power to the tractor and the dash/lights all come on normally, but turning the key produces no starter engagement.
I tested the clutch safety switch and PTO safety switch for continuity and both appear to function correctly. Where things get interesting is the HST pedal/neutral switch.
At some point my friend bought a replacement HST switch, but apparently the factory connector would not fit the new switch. Instead of sorting out the connector, the original connector was cut off and the four wires were terminated individually and slid directly onto the four switch terminals. Since then those wires have been removed/messed with, and we no longer know which wire belongs on which terminal.
The four loose wires at the HST switch are:
When I test the switch itself, one pair has continuity only when the plunger is depressed, which makes sense. The other pair has continuity whether the plunger is depressed or released. The WSM specifies continuity with the switch depressed but doesn’t say what the released-state reading should be.
So I have a few questions for anyone familiar with these:
The tractor also currently has a hydraulic leak and a diesel leak, although I haven’t spent enough time with it yet to determine exactly where either one is coming from. I think the diesel leak is coming from the filter area and hopefully is just as simple as a bad seal.
Beyond the electrical issue, I’m also interested in opinions on the tractor itself. At 2,800–2,900 hours, is an L3130 HST that supposedly ran well when parked something you’d consider worth putting some time and money into?
It has an LA723 loader, 4WD, HST, and several implements available with it. Since the tractor itself is being given to me, I’m obviously willing to put some time and money into repairs and a complete fluid/filter service if I can establish that the engine, HST, and hydraulics are fundamentally sound.
My biggest hesitation is that I don’t want to start throwing a bunch of money at it if this is going to turn into a never-ending electrical/hydraulic project just trying to get it started, especially if everyone thinks a 2,800+ hour L3130 is getting a little long in the tooth anyway. Since the tractor itself is free, I’m obviously willing to put some time and money into it, but I’d like to have some confidence that I’m chasing a reasonably fixable no-crank issue rather than opening up a bottomless pit.
My current thought is to first restore the HST safety-switch wiring back to factory configuration, verify the switch itself, and then continue tracing the start circuit from there.
Any advice on the HST switch wiring/behavior, or anything else you’d check first on this tractor, would be greatly appreciated.
TL;DR: Free L3130 HST with ~2,850 hours, sat for 2 years after developing a no-crank condition. Clutch and PTO switches test okay. HST switch wiring has been hacked and the factory connector is gone, so I’m not sure the switch is wired correctly or even functioning correctly. Seat switch is also bypassed. Tractor also has a hydraulic leak and diesel leak. Worth putting time/money into?, and does anyone know how the HST switch should behave and be wired?
A good friend of mine runs an ag business and has an L3130 that he’s owned for roughly 7–8 years. It currently has about 2,850 hours on it and has been sitting for approximately two years. He has other tractors now that fit his operation better and told me I can have this one if I want to mess with getting it running.
According to him, it was a very good tractor for them until one day it developed a no-crank condition. He always believed it was something simple in the safety-interlock system, but he never had enough need for the tractor to spend much time figuring it out.
I spent a couple hours with it recently. I can get power to the tractor and the dash/lights all come on normally, but turning the key produces no starter engagement.
I tested the clutch safety switch and PTO safety switch for continuity and both appear to function correctly. Where things get interesting is the HST pedal/neutral switch.
At some point my friend bought a replacement HST switch, but apparently the factory connector would not fit the new switch. Instead of sorting out the connector, the original connector was cut off and the four wires were terminated individually and slid directly onto the four switch terminals. Since then those wires have been removed/messed with, and we no longer know which wire belongs on which terminal.
The four loose wires at the HST switch are:
- red/blue
- red/white
- red/yellow
- black/white
When I test the switch itself, one pair has continuity only when the plunger is depressed, which makes sense. The other pair has continuity whether the plunger is depressed or released. The WSM specifies continuity with the switch depressed but doesn’t say what the released-state reading should be.
So I have a few questions for anyone familiar with these:
- Should both contact pairs open when the HST switch is released, or is it normal for one pair to remain closed all the time?
- Does anyone have a wiring diagram/photo showing which wire color belongs to each of the four HST-switch terminals (or can interpret the WSM better than me potentially)?
- Since the factory connector has been removed, would you recommend buying a replacement pigtail/connector and restoring it to factory configuration before doing anything else?
- Could this hacked HST-switch wiring alone account for the complete no-crank condition I’m seeing?
The tractor also currently has a hydraulic leak and a diesel leak, although I haven’t spent enough time with it yet to determine exactly where either one is coming from. I think the diesel leak is coming from the filter area and hopefully is just as simple as a bad seal.
Beyond the electrical issue, I’m also interested in opinions on the tractor itself. At 2,800–2,900 hours, is an L3130 HST that supposedly ran well when parked something you’d consider worth putting some time and money into?
It has an LA723 loader, 4WD, HST, and several implements available with it. Since the tractor itself is being given to me, I’m obviously willing to put some time and money into repairs and a complete fluid/filter service if I can establish that the engine, HST, and hydraulics are fundamentally sound.
My biggest hesitation is that I don’t want to start throwing a bunch of money at it if this is going to turn into a never-ending electrical/hydraulic project just trying to get it started, especially if everyone thinks a 2,800+ hour L3130 is getting a little long in the tooth anyway. Since the tractor itself is free, I’m obviously willing to put some time and money into it, but I’d like to have some confidence that I’m chasing a reasonably fixable no-crank issue rather than opening up a bottomless pit.
My current thought is to first restore the HST safety-switch wiring back to factory configuration, verify the switch itself, and then continue tracing the start circuit from there.
Any advice on the HST switch wiring/behavior, or anything else you’d check first on this tractor, would be greatly appreciated.
TL;DR: Free L3130 HST with ~2,850 hours, sat for 2 years after developing a no-crank condition. Clutch and PTO switches test okay. HST switch wiring has been hacked and the factory connector is gone, so I’m not sure the switch is wired correctly or even functioning correctly. Seat switch is also bypassed. Tractor also has a hydraulic leak and diesel leak. Worth putting time/money into?, and does anyone know how the HST switch should behave and be wired?
