52 8N 12v Electrical troubleshooting

[Kenster]

I've begun to try to figure out why the tractor is dead. Nothing happens when I turn the key. I had a charger on the battery for several hours.
I had a spare keyed ignition switch and starter solenoid so I replaced those.
I have removed the starter and wirebrushed the metal where the starter contacts the body of the tractor. I have removed, scrubbed shiny, and replaced every connection and cable.

Still nothing.

I don't have a volt meter but I do have an "ice pick" probe. I got a light on most wires with the switch off and a few more with the switch on EXCEPT that I could never get a light from the solenoid to the starter.

I tried shorting across the small solenoid terminal to the large terminal that connects to the starter cable. I suddenly got a loud clicking, plus maybe the sound of the tractor trying to turn over. I did this a couple more times with the same result. To my thinking, if I can get some action by jumping the solenoid, then the new solenoid must be bad, right? So, I decided to put the old one back on. Unfortunately, I can't recall exactly how all the wires hooked up to the solenoid. I found some old pics so I know which way the solenoid should face, and the starter cable should go on the large terminal on the "outside" of the solenoid.
There is a right angled push-on connector that should go to the S terminal.
Do all three of the remaining wires, (battery cable, heavy red wire from ignition switch and another heavy red wire that appears to run to amp meter) go on the other big terminal?

Does the solenoid actually ground to the starter housing, or is it merely mounted there? In other words, does it matter if it's mounted tightly or not?

I'm going to try to reassemble the solenoid and cables the way I think they should go, pending your replies. I'll post back on the results

 

[souNdguy]

oem solenoid on an 8n has 3 terminals, small one faces the block, and needs GROUND to engage. the big thumb button on the trans top GROUNDS that lil line.

the oem key switch just turns on power to the coil. nothing is suposed to 'happen' when you turn the key switch on.

make sure you have power at the coil with key on, then crank her over.

if you have a non oem solenoid, or some hokey auto ignition switch with a turn to start setup, then I sugest you rewire as oem, using an oem solenoid and a key switch for power to the coil ( any SPST switch capable of 5a will work for the ignition.. IE.. toggle, pull/push.. etc.. )

soundguy

soundguy

 

[Kenster]

Soundguy, it IS an auto type turn to start ignition switch. It may not be the correct way but it's all I have the moment and has worked fine for the four years that I've owned the tractor.

I appreciate what you are saying but, for now, I just need to get her running again. I have work to do. Can I assume that the short thick cable that runs from the solenoid to the starter should be by itself? And the other two wires should be hooked up with the battery cable on the other big terminal?

(20 minutes have passed.....)

Okay, I just hooked it up as described above. I think I'm actually getting somewhere. I'm now getting a 'bump' (rather than dead silence) but it won't turn over. I've had my electric battery charger on full blast (start mode) for several minutes and it still won't start. I guess now it's time to take the battery into town and get it tested. Maybe that was it all along.
But won't even a vehicle with a shot battery start when it's being jumped?

 

[R Geiger]

""But won't even a vehicle with a shot battery start when it's being jumped?"


Mine will not. sounds like your battery is toast. Have it tested.

 

[Kenster]

(quoted from post at 16:53:50 06/07/10) ""But won't even a vehicle with a shot battery start when it's being jumped?"


Mine will not. sounds like your battery is toast. Have it tested.

Just had the battery tested. He said it tested as strong as a brand new one.
I did buy a new positive cable.
I brought it home and cleaned the posts shiny bright.

No joy. Still getting the same bump of the system, like the very first second of it wanting to start. A couple of times it went a little further and I could see the fan turn a bit. The starter to solenoid cable is now very hot.
What is that telling me? A wrong connection somewhere?
I'm still not sure if I have everything hooked up correctly. The starter cable is by itself. Two wires (one from ignition switch and the other from the amp meter, I think) are on the same big terminal as the battery cable. And the other thin wire coming from the ignition switch to the "S" terminal on the solenoid.

What am I doing wrong?

 

[Kenster]

Now it's turning over pretty good but won't fire off. The starter cable is still getting very hot but that may be normal when you continue to crank it for a while? I pulled the distributor cap and found that the rotor was broken in half. Don't know how that would have happened but I had a new one at my fingertips so dropped that in. That's when it started turning over pretty good.
I have a freshly, professionally overhauled carb that I just installed today.

Any guidance out there?

 

[Anonymous-0]

could be a bad starter

 

[Kenster]

(quoted from post at 18:57:15 06/07/10) could be a bad starter

I was hoping not. It's only a couple of years old. It's always fired right up until very recently.

How do you test for a bad starter?

 

[Kenster]

Any help out there?