5000 won't start

[Stan54]

Used my diesel 5000 last week to brush hog, ran fine. Today it would not start. I think it is a 1965. Generator and oil lights come on, lights work, but it will not even turn over. Any suggestions appreciated.

 

[chevytaHOE5674]

Battery charged? Connections tight?

 

[Ultradog MN]

Starter solenoid bad? Key switch bad?
I would at get my handy dandy wirebrush out and one at a time clean every connection on that tractor.
The mantra is keep em clean bright and tight.
If that doesn't help it's time to get your $17 multimeter out and start checking things.
The help is here if you ask for it.

 

[awhtx]

My '67 5000D does the same thing. Some times I have to turn the key to Start 3 or 4 times before the starter will crank the engine over.

 

[Stan54]

Cleaned the batery terminals and made sure connections are tight. Plenty of spark, believe you me! Will try the other suggestions.

 

[Fordfarmer]

Could also be the neutral safety switch going bad. Try wiggling the shift lever when trying to start. The one on my 7000 is a bit touchy about where the shift lever is.

 

[Bern]

For $17 I'd retire that analog meter!

 

[Stan54]

Fordfarmer - you made the call! Switch must be bad. It would start when I disconnected the wires and held them together. Thanks to all for the suggestions and to Fordfarmer for being spot on.

 

[Jerry Foster]

How old are your battery cables?

The connections on mine were good and clean. But I had to turn the key a bunch of times to get a start. Sometimes, I would only get a partial engine turn over before the starter stopped. It got progressively worse until you could turn the key 100 times and never get a hit on the starter.

Some guys on this board advised to put on new cables. (mine were original to the tractor and 20 years past their 20 year predicted life span). I did and the starter spun up on the first turn of the key.

Later I stripped the insulation off the old cables and they were full of corrosion. But there was no way to tell that until I stripped the insulation.

Don't settle for cheap auto parts cables. Go to a truck or tractor shop and get heavy duty custom made cables. What you find at the auto parts store probably won't be heavy enough to handle the amperage load.