Advise welcome, tractor won’t start..

3Dlost

New member

Equipment
Mowing
May 7, 2019
1
0
0
Fairmont, wv
Hi everyone!!

a short back story...my dad passed away on Good Friday. He took care of my grandpas farm. He ran all the equipment and took care of all that. So I’m trying to figure things out on my own, and I’m just learning.

I had to purchase a new key bc we could find his. The key worked but the tractor won’t start. It sounded to me like a dead battery. When I turned the key, it clicked but the engine didn’t even try to turn over. I tried to jump the battery with a vehicle and that didn’t do anything. I took the battery to have it checked and they said the battery was good. The safety mechanism under the seat was unplugged, or I think that’s what it was, but i plugged it back in. I made sure it was in neutral, blades disengaged. My dad has mentioned that it leaked hydraulic fluid. I checked it and it wasnt even registered on the dipstick so I filled that up.

I’m not really sure what to do now....any advise or suggestions?
 

D2Cat

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
L305DT, B7100HST, TG1860, TG1860D, L4240
Mar 27, 2014
13,058
4,417
113
40 miles south of Kansas City
Sorry to hear of your fathers passing and the problems you're having getting his things in order.

It would help you to get better ideas as to what to do/check if you would tell us a bit about the tractor, like make, model, approx. year or how long you've owned it, any work done recently, transmission type.

Welcome to the forum. When you finally do figure out why the tractor won't start be sure to come back and tell us so others can learn.
 

Russell King

Well-known member

Equipment
L185F, Modern Ag Competitor 4’ shredder, Rhino tiller, rear dirt scoop
Jun 17, 2012
4,704
1,010
113
Austin, Texas
You can test the starter by application of voltage directly to the large stud.

If you don’t know what to do then don’t do it! It is somewhat dangerous so be safe not reckless.

You can remove the starter and have it tested at a auto parts store. Take pictures before you start so you can put it back together.

You can also clean both ends of the battery cables, especially the ground cable. If you feel confident doing it you can use jumper cables to substitute the actual battery cables and see if the starter will crank.

Some of the suggestions will energize the starter directly and bypass the safety switches on the tractor so please be sure the tractor is in neutral and will not move if it spins and starts. The tractor can run over you so please be careful and work within your knowledge limits.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 

thedevilyoulove

Member

Equipment
L3901 HST with LA525 FEL, Land Pride RCF2572, pallet forks, 3 pt carry all
Jan 27, 2016
143
7
18
Woodbine, Maryland
Is it gear shift or HST (hydrostat)? If HST, wiggle the forward/reverse petal back and forth as you try to start it. It might be stuck in the wrong position.
 

skeets

Well-known member

Equipment
BX 2360 /B2601
Oct 2, 2009
14,200
2,857
113
SW Pa
My condolences on the loss of your Dad.
You dont say what tractor it is, so lets start, you connected the seat switch ok, check the PTO lever make sure it is not in the run spot like for a BX if the PTO lever is engaged it will not start. Wiggle every knob and lever everything foot pedal ,it may just be a switch, look for the silly things first
 

GBJeffOH

Active member

Equipment
L4060, EA Grapple, 6' LP Brush Hog, 8' snow plow, 6' LP tiller, EA Forks, Spraye
Nov 17, 2014
237
85
28
Jefferson, Ohio
Did you add the right fluid? Nothing to do with starting. A lot of tractors use UDT fluid.

You should get an owners manual.

You should out a voltmeter on the big terminal on the starter and on ground close to the starter. I think it should stay above 11 volts if it is not cranking.

After you get it to crank DO NOT GIVE IT ETHER.

You can bend rods and brake pistons with ether.
 

Captain13

Active member

Equipment
M7040 4WD ROPS, ZD28, Woods (84” box blade, 72” harrow, 48” pallet forks)
Feb 27, 2019
516
168
43
Kathleen, GA
Could be the starter relay. Not knowing which tractor it is, normally, you can swap the starter relay with the glow plug relay. That is of course after you've done the above moves and jiggles to see if there is a safety switch keeping it from starting.
 

Tornado

Well-known member
May 7, 2019
793
252
63
usa
stupid novice advice from a novice......When I first got my brand new kubota 2501 HST, I made the mistake a couple times the day or two after owning it of jumping up in the seat, popping the park break off and trying to fire it right up. It isnt a gear constant transmission so I just kept overlooking the fact that kubota still puts a clutch on these hst machines and is required to be depressed to start the engine. So just make sure you dont have a clutch that isnt getting pressed, or some other equally overlooked simplicistic fix.
 

cweveritt

New member

Equipment
BX2200, LA211
May 9, 2019
2
0
0
Bascom, Fl. USA
I have an old BX2200 tractor and I have found that sometimes it acts the same way. I got this wild idea and reached to the starter and rotated the armature a tad, then tried starting and it started up right away. This happened several times and I just drilled a small hole through plastic cowling to allow me to push a little stick through to turn the armature. Works great!