Another L3800 starting issue

[Who is John Galt]

2012 L3800 HST, 160 hrs. I keep up with ALL service intervals so she is all greased/lubed up.

Tractor stays in the barn in the winter, start it up every month or so for a 1/2 hour. Gets used quite a bit in the good weather, at least a couple times a week.

So . . last summer a couple times when starting I would just get a click when key is turned to "Start", this spring and winter a few times the solenoid chattered, second turn of the key the starter would engage and normal start.

Yesterday I was skidding logs for next winters firewood and she did the single click (no chatter) thing on a couple starts but always started on the second try. Then a single click and no start on second try, just a solenoid click on each try. removed the battery (original from Kubota) terminal connections were clean, took the battery to my local shop and tested it with an ANALOG (not digital) load tester . . the kind with a big ass resistor and like 00 cable . . and she shows good to go.

It seems like the HST switch is a character to be suspicious of based on my research here.

However . . .

Now, last year it seems like the HST interlock stopped working, what I mean is before I could not move the tractor while not seated in the seat, but then I could depress the HST lever from beside the tractor to get that last adjustment for hooking up an implement. This tells me that the system is seeing it as centered.

Going back down to the farm (13 miles from home) after I post this and

1: Clean all battery connections
2: Try original battery
3: Try known good battery
4: Check HST Interlock switch that is on the right side near my right foot
5: Try the relay bypass trick from this thread: http://www.orangetractortalks.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15917

I'll keep y'all posted, advice is welcome.

 

[Jim L.]

1: Clean all battery connections
2: Try original battery
3: Try known good battery
4: Check HST Interlock switch that is on the right side near my right foot
5: Try the relay bypass trick from this thread:

Symptoms sound to me that not enough power is getting through. So 1 and 3 make sense. I also have to comment on a 7-year old battery, that it is still kicking, but with 160 hours I suppose that is not a lot of starts.

 

[RCW]

I’m with Jim for 1-3 in that order. Betting battery.

I believe any safety switch issues will prevent anything from happening, so I would rule them out unless I’m missing something.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Dave_eng]

The one connection you have not mentioned is the negative battery cable to the frame or engine block.

There have been a few cases on this forum where owners discovered paint between the cable and the engine or frame and the connection just deteriorated over time until it acted like yours.

If you want to be a bit more technical in your troubleshooting, you need to invest around $10 in a multi meter like this one from Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/Etekcity-Mul...=multi+meter,aps,160&sr=8-1-spell-spons&psc=1

With a multi meter you can measure voltage drop between the starter frame and the battery negative post.

As a reference for a thorough diagnosis using a multi meter, this file from DENSO is excellent.

http://densoautoparts.com/Portals/D...s/file/DENSO Starter troubleshooting tips.pdf

Alternatively, you can jump the starter. Remember, doing so bypasses all safety features so be extra careful and even consider having someone in the seat with a foot on the brakes.

Remove the wire from the small terminal on the starter. Use a piece of wire or even a screw driver to jump between the small terminal and the battery positive terminal on the starter. Expect a small amount of sparking.

If the starter engages immediately then you have ruled it out as the problem.

Dave

 

[Who is John Galt]

Thanks for the replies fellas . . . FWIW I mis-stated the hours, she has 291 hrs on the clock.

Went down there with the battery out of the 1987 Porsche . . . new battery last year.

First thing I did was install the old battery w/o cleaning anything . . . jiggled the speed control lever, started right up. Tried starting a dozen times or more, sometimes the solenoid chatters a bit while the starter engages. Monkeyed a bit with the HST speed lever and could get her to just click once a few times. So definitely the HST interlock switch I'm thinking.

So I cleaned the terminals and the terminal connections and greased them with electrical contact grease. Checked and cleaned/greased the negative terminal to frame contact. Still wants to chatter once in awhile when the starter engages.

I had a lot of mowing and skidding to do so I left it there for the day. Tomorrow or Monday I will try the known good battery for shitz-n-giggles, but don't think it will make a difference.

Gonna remove and clean/lube/adjust the HST interlock switch when things calm down a bit . . pretty busy for tractors this time of year here in the farm country of Central New Yorkistan . . .

 

[Jim L.]

When you get to that point, the HST pedal has a mechanical linkage under the tractor which makes contact with a plunger on the HST switch. The HST switch is by your right foot when sitting in the seat, in a pedestal, and has four wires coming out the top.

There are actually two switches inside the assembly. What to look for: that the plunger is getting pushed by the mechanical link, That the switch assy is not getting pushed up out of its holder.