1950/51 John Deere B (styled) starting issues

[AllisD14]

Happy Fall. Writing you from Eastern NC.
Gave this B a wash on Thursday last week. Afterwards, would not start. I assumed something was wet. (Did not use power washer). Friday morning, cranks like a charm. Friday afternoon, no starting. Like nothing, not a slightest try . I noticed the starter push rod appeared loose or spring was loose????. C

harged battery overnight (new 6 volt) . Nothing at all Saturday morning.
Tractor was restored 2010. There is a receipt for starter rebuild/repair.
Starter rod assembly is in tack. Connections at starter appeared secure.

One last point. I'm a novice with mechanics however I've learned much from this B. Speak clear. Lol.

 

[Fixingfarmer]

Battery cables up top loose? Status of ground cable? Do the lights work?

If no lights likely to be a faulty ground or loose connection where that white wire in your starter picture attaches

If lights dim when trying to start by pushing the pedal it is trying and there’s an internal stater problem or bad connection

If nothing occurs no dimming lights are on normally then you have a linkage or button switch on the starter issue.

You have ruled out the battery

 

[AllisD14]

Stay tuned and thank you. Might be Wednesday before I return

 

[AllisD14]

Quick question. You are leaning towards electrical, not the starter?

 

[AllisD14]

In your first reply internal stater = internal starter. Correct?

 

[620 John]

By chance do you have access to a multimeter and some small jumper wires???

Keep in mind just because the battery cables may be clean and tight doesn't guarantee a good connection. The ground cable get's attached to a battery box that is often rusty and corroded. You could have a bad ground connection from the box to the frame. I've also seen it more than once where a battery cable is clean and tight but internally it's corroded and has high resistance which results in little to no cranking ability. Looks like the cable is relatively new so I doubt that's the case.

Just to eliminate linkage issues, try pushing the button on the starter switch shown in your pic manually with a screwdriver or something and see if it does anything.

 

[Fixingfarmer]

Quick question. You are leaning towards electrical, not the starter?

Yeah I’d start at the ground cable

 

[Fixingfarmer]

In your first reply internal stater = internal starter. Correct?

Yes

 

[AllisD14]

Yeah I’d start at the ground cable

 

[AllisD14]

Ground wire (red) removed and cleaned, put back.
Negative battery cable cleaned.
Battery is new.
Lights burn bright.
Using foot starter, Lights dimmed when trying to turn over.
Manual push of starter button had same results as using foot starter.

Thank you

 

[Fixingfarmer]

I’d be suspicious of that starter then after going through that process

 

[AllisD14]

Good morning.
Thank you for the guidance. Repair shop not far from here. Off it will come.

 

[AllisD14]

Good evening my 2 cylinder friends.
I delivered the starter for repair. Absolutely nothing wrong with the starter. Hopefully pick it up tomorrow.
Sounds like I'm back to the wiring. Or put it back together and see what happens? Possibly something loose that will be corrected putting it back together?

For sure, I'm learning a lot. Thanks again for the guidance

 

[Jim.ME]

Where is the tractor end of the ground cable connected to the tractor? Picture?

When installing the starter pay close attention to the stud on the manual switch. It can cause issues if the stud turns some while tightening the nut on it. If it did that and it turned back when you loosened the nut, the starter shop would not see that problem.

 

[AllisD14]

I'll send a picture of the ground wire. One end is on the side of the battery box.

Stud on the manual switch the manual starter rod or the location where it's connected with the starter area? The piece that holds the starter.

What about the location of the nut on the starter rod?

I'll post pictures tomorrow. My toy is in the dark, not in my garage.

 

[joeysmith]

Can you turn the engine by hand?

 

[AllisD14]

To Jim.ME
If you are able to scroll through this stream of discussion there's a picture of the starter before removal. The other end of the ground wire is attached to the starter.

 

[AllisD14]

Haven't tried to turn it by hand. That involves removing the steering wheel and attaching to the flywheel right?
Thanks for the questions. Hopefully you can read the initial post.

 

[ET]

Use a set of jumper cables and hook one end to the grounded battery terminal and the other end to the casting of the starter compartment. This bypasses all the ground curicut.

 

[AllisD14]

That confirms wiring issue from battery to starter right?