No juice to the starter

[dvto2]

20 year old bx23.

my tractor was having increasing problems turning over. I thought it might be one of the shut off sensors but I made the determination the battery was just old - it would not hold a charge on or off the tractor. I bought a new battery and had the same problem of not turning over. If I test the new battery off the tractor it’s fine. If I test it on the tractor it looks bad. If I turn the key the load tester drops to zero.
I checked the fuses. There are 3 15 amp fuses and one 20 amp fuse. The 20 amp looked bad so I replaced it. When I tried to turn it over I heard a pop and the load tester is dropping to zero again. I tried replacing all the fuses and the load tester drops to zero. There is a 30 amp fuse near the starter and that looks ok. I don’t see any other fuses. I’m just checking to see if any one has any good ideas before I rent a trailer and haul it off to the dealer.

 

[85Hokie]

That pop may have been a fusible link - which is in the hot wire to the starter. That fuse may look ok - but may not be.

I would check you cables - those can look fine but still be "bad" - the ground cable especially.

The bad cables do describe the increasing problems - as the cables have corroded, the flow of amps dissipates.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

HOW did you 'load test' the battery in the tractor ?

 

[dvto2]

That pop may have been a fusible link - which is in the hot wire to the starter. That fuse may look ok - but may not be

Might that be the large 30 amp fuse near the starter?

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

What and how are you load testing it?

 

[GreensvilleJay]

odds are the battery cables are done for if they're 20 years old....
I've even seen 6 year old cables not pass enough electrons.

 

[Tx Jim]

Ditto on poor battery cable or bad battery cable connection.

 

[skeets]

Always check the simple things first ,meter the fuses, meter the cable fuzable link, and check the grounds.

 

[dvto2]

What and how are you load testing it?

Three different ways.

1. battery fully charged and off the tractor: tests fine.

2. Battery in the tractor with the cables connected: load tester drops to near zero.

3: battery in the tractor and I turn the key: load tester drops to near zero.

here is the load tester:

 

[GreensvilleJay]

where did you connect the load tester , battery posts or 'somewhere' ont he tractor ?

 

[dvto2]

where did you connect the load tester , battery posts or 'somewhere' ont he tractor ?

The cable ends on the posts.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Yea you can use a carbon pile load tester on a live system.
Start checking fuses, like main by the starter.

Then pull both ends of both battery cables and check.
A bad cable or bad connection with make the resistance go too high.

 

[dvto2]

The main looks ok. The 20 amp fuse under the ignition looked like it might be bad and that’s the one I changed and then heard a pop when I tried again. The three 15 amp fuses looked fine but I changed them anyway.

Here are pictures of the cable ends:
Negative

And positive

 

[dvto2]

Oops, here’s the positive on the starter.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

I personally would start by replacing replace both cables.
They both look bad.
And clamp on ends are always problematic.
Corrosion under the clamp happen far too often.

 

[dvto2]

I personally would start by replacing replace both cables.
They both look bad.
And clamp on ends are always problematic.
Corrosion under the clamp happen far too often.

I’ll start with that. Thanks.

 

[StephenR]

The first problem I saw was the bolt on cable end. I strongly suggest throwing that cable away and getting a new cable for that. When you get a new cable, get the next gauge larger that will carry more amperage when your battery gets toward its end of life.

Also clean all of your cable end connections and the battery posts. I have a battery cleaner that I put a bolt through the end to use on my drill, and a wire brush that will go through the cable end to clean them ( It took me a while to wear one down that is a good fit, but it's worth the trouble), Electricity cannot flow through corrosion so you will lose a big part of your amperage through a dirty connection.

Battery connection maintenance is very important for tractors or any outdoor equipment.

 

[dvto2]

Ordered all new cables. Turns out there are actually two ground cables. One from the battery post and another small one off the starter

 

[dvto2]

I personally would start by replacing replace both cables.
They both look bad.
And clamp on ends are always problematic.
Corrosion under the clamp happen far too often.

It took me two months to attempt this. We’ve had such rainy weather every time I wanted to try this. First sunny day when I had time and it took only about 45 minutes to swap out the cables. The tractor fired up right away.

Thanks, wolfman!