starter cliks

[wwc]

After installing a new battery, and battery cable, my L3750 starts intermittently. Most attempts result in a click. All lights come on, neutral position for gears, and clutch depressed. Sometimes after several clicks it will start, or maybe on the first try.
A dealer suggested a John Deere starter booster relay. He did not give me the number, but other sites say part, AM107421 will work. The dealer wanted $50, and they are online for less than $30. Anyone know if the booster will improve the condition, and if so will this part work on a Kubota? Any other ideas about
to cure the clicks?

 

[Kingcreek]

Check and clean your connections. If it worked OK before the battery and cable change then you don't need a $50 booster.

 

[GWD]

Had the same issue on my L3650. It was solved by connecting the battery ground directly to the engine block. Lots of bolts on the block to choose from.

To check, use a jumper cable to ground the battery negative to something on the engine - even the stater itself. If the tractor starts right up then you have the answer.

When mine had the problem the tach used to jump wildly. Apparently the battery contact was intermittently working.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

If the "click" your hearing is the starter solenoid, then what you need is a new starter solenoid.
There is a set of contacts inside that power the starter and if they are bad then it will not pass on the power.

 

[bandaidmd]

If the "click" your hearing is the starter solenoid, then what you need is a new starter solenoid.
There is a set of contacts inside that power the starter and if they are bad then it will not pass on the power.

Yeep, what he said.

 

[Billy13]

When mine had the problem the tach used to jump wildly. Apparently the battery contact was intermittently working.[/QUOTE]

Exactly what mine is doing. I have been searching for a good fix that doesn't involve a cable failure. Thanks

 

[GWD]

When mine had the problem the tach used to jump wildly. Apparently the battery contact was intermittently working.

Exactly what mine is doing. I have been searching for a good fix that doesn't involve a cable failure. Thanks[/QUOTE]

It usually will take a much longer ground cable to reach the engine block from the negative battery post. Most auto stores carry cables that will work. I ended up using a positive cable to get the length needed. For some reason they are longer.

Worked great.

 

[GWD]

If the "click" your hearing is the starter solenoid, then what you need is a new starter solenoid.
There is a set of contacts inside that power the starter and if they are bad then it will not pass on the power.

I could be the solenoid. Sometimes tapping it with a hammer will help.

But if the battery is unable to supply enough amps because of a bad ground these symptoms might appear.

It is the same as when a battery is dying. The click is heard but there is not enough juice to make the starter drive gear engage the flywheel.

 

[lsmurphy]

Connections connections connection..........cables cables cables...............


How many times does this have to be said? discussed?


Clean clean clean.............or replace and clean.


Grounds are as important as the positive connections.

 

[Frank minarchi]

After installing a new battery, and battery cable, my L3750 starts intermittently. Most attempts result in a click. All lights come on, neutral position for gears, and clutch depressed. Sometimes after several clicks it will start, or maybe on the first try.
A dealer suggested a John Deere starter booster relay. He did not give me the number, but other sites say part, AM107421 will work. The dealer wanted $50, and they are online for less than $30. Anyone know if the booster will improve the condition, and if so will this part work on a Kubota? Any other ideas about
to cure the clicks?

I had a B1700 with the same problem.Changed the starter solenoid still clicked.Took starter out had it completely rebuilt,still clicked.Checked all my cables cleaned them all and greased them at the post still nothing.Ordered the relay your talking about from john deere put it in and has been perfect ever since.My dad has a B2400 same problem put one in his for him and perfect.has something to do with the starter not getting the full12volts it needs i think and the relay does that.

 

[lsmurphy]

I had a B1700 with the same problem.Changed the starter solenoid still clicked.Took starter out had it completely rebuilt,still clicked.Checked all my cables cleaned them all and greased them at the post still nothing.Ordered the relay your talking about from john deere put it in and has been perfect ever since.My dad has a B2400 same problem put one in his for him and perfect.has something to do with the starter not getting the full12volts it needs i think and the relay does that.

A solenoid is nothing more than a switch. What makes one think that adding switch B to switch A will make switch A function is mind boggling.


Wish I could figure out a way to get $50 out of you.........for nothing.

 

[Stubbyie]

Anyone ever actually seen one of JD's "starter booster relay"?

What is it and what does it do?

Sounds like JD had to come up with a fix to a problem that shouldn't have existed in the first place.

In everything else is working, there should be no reason the starter doesn't 'see' 12-vdc with sufficient amperage to engage the starter and turn the engine.

Is the "starter booster relay" just a different style or type of starter solenoid? How would it be "boosting" battery output?

Is the JD part being used to replace an undersized Kubota starter solenoid?

I'd go looking for bad battery cable connections, bad battery, corroded terminals, something else before installing some odd part.

Thanks in advance; all experience insight and knowledge appreciated.

 

[Tx Jim]

Anyone ever actually seen one of JD's "starter booster relay"?

What is it and what does it do?

Sounds like JD had to come up with a fix to a problem that shouldn't have existed in the first place.

In everything else is working, there should be no reason the starter doesn't 'see' 12-vdc with sufficient amperage to engage the starter and turn the engine.

Is the "starter booster relay" just a different style or type of starter solenoid? How would it be "boosting" battery output?

Is the JD part being used to replace an undersized Kubota starter solenoid?

I'd go looking for bad battery cable connections, bad battery, corroded terminals, something else before installing some odd part.

Thanks in advance; all experience insight and knowledge appreciated.

Here's a relay kit JD has utilized on utility tractors for years. In essence it routes a larger wire to the "S" terminal than factory wiring so that the starter solenoid exciter "S" wire gets more amps. The reason I'm mentioning this kit is because the schematic is more explicit than the lawn mower relay kit. All one needs is a relay for older Ford auto starter & some wire. Here's just the relay from JD. RE164448 Starter Relay ADD 25.37 USD

 

[wwc]

Glad to hear the JD part cured your problem. For less that than $30 from ebay I will try the booster before starting what you have done. My first thought was the solenoid, but after reading oinline about many people having the same "clicking" problem, the booster seems the logical place to start. It must be a common problem or JD would not recommend or sell the part to fix it.

 

[Kingcreek]

Forgive me, for I'm repeating myself here.
Did the tractor (or tractors) NEVER start properly until this magic booster thingy was installed? If so, then maybe a design flaw that needs some gizmo to fix it?
If the tractors started normally for much of their service life and then after changing a battery or cable etc, they NO LONGER start properly? then maybe a magic booster thingy is just an extra doodad making up for some other weakness like a poor connection? Before spending 30 or 50 dollars on something it never needed before, I would certainly take 10 minutes and rework the connections and maybe test the output on the new battery.
But maybe I'm just stoopid...
Help me understand. please...
Maybe my tractor just doesn't know it needs a magic booster thingy yet.

 

[BadDog]

Sounds to me more like the classic headlight upgrade.

Basically, DC voltage drops fairly rapidly over distance in a wire, more so if the wire is smaller gauge. To save money, wires are engineered to be the smallest to do the job, putting voltage at the end within a specified acceptable range, and heavy enough to prevent amperage from burning it out. For headlights, that means that they get say 11V instead of 12V. But they are actually built to provide the specified lumen output at 12V. After decades of use, and corroding connectors (less an issue now than in the past), voltage may only be 10.5V, so headlights aren't as bright.

So folks use the stock harness to trigger a solenoid near the headlights. Then they run a dedicated larger gauge line directly from battery hot (some include dedicated ground too, but that's another topic) to guarantee 12V (or 13+ when charging) at the light for noticeable improvement in light output (and shorter life span).

This seems to be the same thing, except giving more power to the starter solenoid. Heh, a solenoid to drive a solenoid...

 

[Frank minarchi]

Forgive me, for I'm repeating myself here.
Did the tractor (or tractors) NEVER start properly until this magic booster thingy was installed? If so, then maybe a design flaw that needs some gizmo to fix it?
If the tractors started normally for much of their service life and then after changing a battery or cable etc, they NO LONGER start properly? then maybe a magic booster thingy is just an extra doodad making up for some other weakness like a poor connection? Before spending 30 or 50 dollars on something it never needed before, I would certainly take 10 minutes and rework the connections and maybe test the output on the new battery.
But maybe I'm just stoopid...
Help me understand. please...
Maybe my tractor just doesn't know it needs a magic booster thingy yet.

WOW I did not think 30 bucks would break your bank!! I trouble shooted mine forever tryed everything as soon as i spent 30 bucks holy S--T it works perfectly fine ever since no prblems to this date with either one.Go Figure!!

 

[bandaidmd]

If its just low voltage on the exciter wire one of the square black Bosch style relay should be a easy upgrade.
Feed the relay with a 10/12 ga wire from the hot post of starter place the existing exciter/ solenoid wire on the solenoid then run a new 12 ga wire to the solenoid where it was org
It would be the same wireing with a ford style solenoid.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

 

[BAP]

Check that the starter is grounding to the block. Over time rust and grime can form between the starter and the block to the point that it is not forming a good ground. We had a large tractor that use to start hard until I finally figured out that this was happening. I made a ground wire that ran from battery to one of the bolts that held the starter on. Cleaned the surface of starter that was under the ground wire, and the tractor stars better than it has for years. A lot of electrical issues on vehicles can be traced back to poor grounds.

 

[lfarmer]

On my 3750 with the same problem I jumped a short wire from the spade connector to the solenoid to the hot battery cable to the starter motor. It turned the starter without fail. I then ran a new wire from the ignition switch to that connection and it has started ever since. Im not sure about any relays but it has worked reliably since I ran the new wire. A cheap solution, worth a try, I dont see how it can hurt anything.