John Deere 3020

[Grant Q]

Hello,

I have a gas John Deere 3020 that’s having a problem with the ignition. I got this tractor on trade a few weeks ago and it seems to be a solid deal. The guy I got it from told me it had a faulty key switch. He ran a bypass from the positive battery terminal to the coil. If that bypass is hooked up it will start and run fine every time. If it’s not hooked up it is hit and miss. It can either not light up the “gen” light at all, or if it does start it may run for a minute and then shut off. I took the switch loose and took the connections off and cleaned the posts, it may have helped a little. But it seems like if the wires touch another wire it shorts out. It may be the way they bend inside the connectors. I don’t know. I’m not very handy and I’m pretty new to all this. So if you have any ideas let me know in a simple language

Also if it’s running and you take the positive cable loose on the battery it will shut off. I don’t know if that matters but that’s a bit of extra info. Should I buy a new switch and see if that fixes it or do you think it’s something else?

Thanks!

 

[Fixingfarmer]

So that’s what the generator light is supposed to do. It will go out once running. It should also come back on if the tractor dies.

That is also what it should do if the battery cable is pulled off. Condition of the cables going to the switch. My other question would be fuel tank level gauge does it come on when the rest of the switched power isn’t working? You also have some breakers up by the starter that could be malfunctioning. Your bypass comes straight from battery I assume?

 

[dieselade]

so,,,why not a new key ignition switch. key switch is nearly the only repair on the 3010,3020, maybe the 4020 and the other like tractors. i have no idea why they do not last more than five or so years or less.

 

[8850dave]

It depends if you still have the original generator or updated to alternator as each uses a different ground, you best get a wiring diagram so you know what you are doing

 

[steve in ok]

My experience on a 3020LP I had was a bad connection in the wiring harness under the hood. It would just shut off and if I turned the key off and back on it would keep running most of the time. The harness connection is back against the firewall under the hood. The coil wire goes through that connection and it had melted the plastic around it, I bypassed the coil wire connection and never had another problem. Something to check.

 

[Grant Q]

It depends if you still have the original generator or updated to alternator as each uses a different ground, you best get a wiring diagram so you know what you are doing

It does have an alternator. Is that not normal? I really don’t know much about these tractors so any help would be much appreciated

 

[Grant Q]

So that’s what the generator light is supposed to do. It will go out once running. It should also come back on if the tractor dies.

That is also what it should do if the battery cable is pulled off. Condition of the cables going to the switch. My other question would be fuel tank level gauge does it come on when the rest of the switched power isn’t working? You also have some breakers up by the starter that could be malfunctioning. Your bypass comes straight from battery I assume?

Yes straight from the battery. Would that hurt anything in the long run? And I don’t believe the fuel gauge pops on when nothing else works

 

[Grant Q]

so,,,why not a new key ignition switch. key switch is nearly the only repair on the 3010,3020, maybe the 4020 and the other like tractors. i have no idea why they do not last more than five or so years or less.

I will start there! Thank you

 

[Grant Q]

My experience on a 3020LP I had was a bad connection in the wiring harness under the hood. It would just shut off and if I turned the key off and back on it would keep running most of the time. The harness connection is back against the firewall under the hood. The coil wire goes through that connection and it had melted the plastic around it, I bypassed the coil wire connection and never had another problem. Something to check.

How did you bypass that wire?

 

[Tx Jim]

It does have an alternator. Is that not normal? I really don’t know much about these tractors so any help would be much appreciated

3020 came from factory with a generator & alternator was exchanged for generator later in its life

 

[Fixingfarmer]

At least in my experience if it starts sometimes and not others it’s less likely to be the switch more likely to be a bad end on a wire. If he looses lights too bad wire feeding the switch or bad breaker. Try one if you like maybe you will be much luckier than me but 4 out of 5 times I’ve put a new switch in those tractors it’s not helped. The wiring is free to check. They want 75 dollars for a switch that you are correct won’t last long once the old one is swapped out the new ones are less than ideal even the expensive ones. Usually when it has it’s been a corroded terminal about ready to break off but it sounds like he looses both side a and side b so I’d follow the wire from the switch to the supply and see what you find. Check the back terminals on it. Search 24 volt conversion 4020 on google. Pick the colonized diagram. It explains nice how the switch gets its power. I think that’s where your problem lies it doesn’t show the coil side off b side of the switch but you honestly tested this by bypassing. Your problem is from the switch to the battery.

 

[Fixingfarmer]

3020 came from factory with a generator & alternator was exchanged for generator later in its life

Voltage regulator I assume you meant

 

[steve in ok]

How did you bypass that wire?

I bypassed the connector with a wire from one side of it to the other.