B8200 stopped while running

[jmjbrtw]

I have a B8200 tractor and was using it yesterday when it stopped suddenly just driving and no load. It just died
I was acting normal with no issues before that.

It will not try to start, lights are not working either.
The positive battery cable was getting warm so I unhooked it.
I cleaned battery terminals and tried again and it was again getting warm, so I kept it off

The fuses (2) are both good and the fusable link at starter.
The PTO is not engaged.
I bypassed safety switch and that didnt work either .
It has no electrical power.
Battery sitting idle is 12.92v
Fuel and oils are all good

Any suggestion on what to look for would be greatly appreciated I need to use it this weekend.

Key Switch?

 

[rentthis]

"It will not try to start". Does this mean the starter doesn't turn the engine or it won't fire when it does? If the starter doesn't turn the engine over, check battery voltage while trying to crank. It might be as simple as voltage drop due to a dead battery cell.

 

[jmjbrtw]

All power is dead, nothing works including starter, lights, instrument panel, ect.
Battery was already checked and is good, and I even tried a new spare battery, and still no power to anything.

 

[D2Cat]

If, in fact, all the wiring including fuses and fusible links are proper, battery is fine and you're getting no power to anything would lead to believe it's in the main switch.

I would think once that tractor is running it needs no electrical power to keep running. For it to just shut down seems way out of line.

I had one of the same switches go out on a grasshopper mower. It's about a $50 switch. So I sprayed the keyed slot with WD-40 and blew it out with an air hose, probably twice. Put the key and and she fired right up.

I had a Ditch Witch trencher, which has no accessories like lights, horn or anything else to indicate if battery was causing power loss to not start this engine. I removed the battery and tested it after charging. Battery showed good. I checked all the wiring. Couldn't find any fault. Removed the starter and took it to the rebuilder to have it tested. Tested fine.

By now I had spend 1/2 a day getting nothing done! Reinstalled starter, battery and nothing. I took my test meter and and checked one battery terminal to the clamp around that terminal. Fine. Did the same with the other terminal. Low voltage.

I had a battery clamp that had split on the bottom side and no matter how clean, no matter how tight the nut was, it wasn't making a good connection.

Cut the cable, installed new clamp and went to work!!

Point of story: Sometimes simple is too obvious. Start there.

 

[rentthis]

It really does sound like a bad ground. A jumper cable from battery ground pole to the engine is a 2 min. test.

 

[jmjbrtw]

I checked for ground last night using multimeter. From battery positive post to anywhere on tractor I have 12.62-12.80 volts, so my ground is good. That was my first guess too.
I still confused why tractor shut down while running.

 

[gpreuss]

If your positive battery cable is getting warm, somewhere it is touching chassis. While checking battery voltage, touch the positive cable to the positive terminal and see if the voltage drops. I'd check the big cable from the battery to the starter, then the smaller one to the fuse panel.
There is also a chance you have a blown alternator.

 

[jmjbrtw]

If alternator is bad, would I have no electric power to anything including lights.
I thought a bad alternator would just drain battery because its not charging. Am I wrong?

 

[jmjbrtw]

View attachment B8200wiringdiagram.pdf

Wiring diagram for B8200

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Can you manually turn the motor?
When you connect the Battery cable does it spark and get warm fairly quickly?
I'm thinking you have a shorted starter, possibly caused by the starter hanging and running with the motor????

Remove the starter and have it tested.
Or first remove the 2 wires off the large terminal connection and secure them together, did all the electrical functions resume on the tractor, yes besides the starter turning?
When you turn the key to start do you now get a click out of the starter solenoid?

 

[gpreuss]

If alternator is bad, would I have no electric power to anything including lights.
I thought a bad alternator would just drain battery because its not charging. Am I wrong?

Looking at the wiring diagram, the alternator is really a dyanmo. The described problem most likely is not the dynamo, but could possibly be in the regulator. Internal parts can short, and represent a very low impedance to ground. You can unplug the regulator and eliminate it.
The regulator could explain the positive cable getting hot. I'm not sure about killing the engine in the first place. The tractor does not appear to have a fuel solenoid. I don’t see anything in the diagram to kill it.
A poor ground connection would not cause the positive cable to get hot; only a path to ground from the positive battery post will do that.
Since the cable gets hot, and you are not blowing fuses, you are left with a current drain in the primary cabling.
As wolfman said, there is a chance the problem is in the starter, but only if the start solenoid is stuck on. Otherwise the lights would only go out when you tried to start. It is well worth doing his cable test.
Please do keep us posted - I never pass up the chance to learn more about electrics.

 

[CDKenn]

Wow -I am anxious to learn what killed the engine. But besides that -
Do you get a spark between the positive cable and battery post when main switch is off? This would imply current flow somewhere it Should not be . The ground cable to Batt will be the same test. Wolfman's ideas seem inline to me. Keep us informed please. CD

 

[Stubbyie]

Be aware that a continuity test (ohms, beeper, buzzer) won't tell you if the negative battery cable connection at the chassis is capable of conducting the amount of amperage required to start your high-compression diesel.

A cable can indicate continuity and still be failed due to corrosion, bad connection, broken wire.

Per another poster (this thread or another) try using heavy jumper cable and connecting the battery negative terminal directly to a known metallic location on the chassis.

Please post back your experiences so we may all learn.

 

[phildac]

Had a similar issue on my B8200 where I had a bad ground. I could put my test light on the battery neg. post and then put the probe anywhere on the frame and when I would turn the key to start/crank, the test light would come on. Fixed the chassis ground and all was good.

Would still like to know why the engine stopped. So far N.I.W. has the best idea on that. Or it's just something totally unrelated and just coincidental.