Farmall 504 electrical/starting issues

[RTNystrom]

Hello all, I have a Farmall 504 gas tractor with issues not starting.
When I push the button to start I hear a click/noise from the
solenoid/starter. Then everything goes dead. The 2 lights on the
dash go dead. I have to disconnect battery cables and reconnect
them to get the 2 lights on the dash to light back up and allow me
to push the button again to try starting. When I have the key on
none of the headlights work either. I have taken the starter off the
tractor and hooked cables up with a jumper wire to the solenoid
and the starter spins and operates just fine. Tractor has sat for 2-3
years with no use or anyone messing with it. Its always ran/started
right up for the last 30+ years. Any suggestions/help would be
awesome. Thank you!

 

[old]

Good chance the battery need to be checked and probably charged up. A machine that just sits tend to have batteries get low just from sitting.
And or you have poor battery cable connection and you saying you take the cables off and back on say poor connections

 

[RTNystrom]

Thanks for the advice. I should have added I have a brand new battery in the tractor and its fully charged. I THINK the battery cables look pretty good but I will certainly clean them and check them out.

 

[old]

If the battery is new that is all you can be sure of. I had many new batteries be bad right off the shelve. As for connections they can look good but be bad

 

[Jim.ME]

Welcome to the Forums.

You say it has set for 2-3 years. What is the battery condition? New or the one that has been setting in it? If it has been setting for that time, you should try a different battery. You should have the old battery charged and tested; it may be that it is no longer any good.

Saying you have to disconnect the battery cables and reconnect them says a bad battery and/or cables (could be the ends or the cable internally).

Do you have a handheld multimeter? What is the battery voltage across the battery posts. What is the voltage at the battery post of the solenoid?

 

[RTNystrom]

Jim, thanks for the reply. I forgot to mention in the post that it is a
brand new battery & voltage is good across the posts on the
battery. I have not checked voltage at the solenoid but I will do that
next. Battery cables appear to be visibly ok, but Ill double check
those as well. Thank you again

 

[Jim.ME]

Mouse nest up in behind the dash? Those can lead to chewed wires and corrosion of things from mouse urine.

Check/clean the connections at both ends of the battery cables. When you are checking the voltage at the solenoid do a voltage drop test. With the lead on the battery cable terminal of the solenoid have someone hit start and see what the voltage does. Try the same on the starter side post of the solenoid.

Have you turned the engine a bit by hand to be sure it has not stuck while setting?

This post was edited by Jim.ME on 12/16/2023 at 03:29 pm.

 

[Bob M]

Assuming the battery is good and fully charged, look for a bad battery cable or a loose/corroded connection where the grounded cable bolts to the frame.

Keep in mind a battery cable can LOOK good on the outside but be badly corroded under the insulation - especially where the cables go into the battery post clamps.

 

[caterpillar guy]

Can you turn the engine over with the fan ? It may be stuck. One reason for just a click. Also if it has a solenoid is it just clicking there due to burned worn contacts inside the cap. And as already said the cables and connections if all checks out good then look at the voltage drop when the starter is on. And confirm you can turn the engine over by hand.

 

[BarnyardEngineering]

(quoted from post at 16:04:31 12/16/23) Thanks for the advice. I should have added I have a brand new battery in the tractor and its fully charged. I THINK the battery cables look pretty good but I will certainly clean them and check them out.

You can't tell the cables are good by looking at them.

What you describe is a classic bad battery cable connection. The high current demand of the starter causes an arc to jump within the bad connection, which soots up the connection causing it to fail.

There's nothing electronic to "reset" by disconnecting and reconnecting the battery. What is happening there is disturbing the battery connections is rubbing off the soot and reestablishing the poor connection you had before.

 

[RTNystrom]

The engine does turn over by hand. And when you say the terminals inside the cap do you mean inside the solenoid, or the distributor cap? Thanks

 

[RTNystrom]

No mouse nest and no damage/chewing on wires that I can see. I
took apart a couple electrical connectors and cleaned the
terminals as well. The engine is free, not stuck. I plan on making
sure battery cable ends are cleaned and have a good connection
tomorrow along with checking voltage drop.