John Deere 4440 won't start

[sbs]

1978 4440 won"t start. Acts as if the batteries are dead. Tried starting in 20 degree weather tractor was plug in for 6 hours, turned the key the starter turned over a little bit then quit. Had batteries checked they are fine and full of distilled water. The cables are clean. Any thoughts?

 

[mike321]

If your batterys are good then it almost has to be a connection issue. Does it help to put the charger on it or a starter charger? I would recheck your connections. Could be a solenoid on the starter, tap on it when you are trying to start it. But as I said I think its your connections. Are you running 2 6 volts or 2 12 volts. Had a 4850 that did the same thing and we switched it over to 2 12 volt batteries and it turned over better.

 

[sbs]

It Has 2 6 volt batteries. Also charged each battery separately thinking my batteries had a low charge and it didn't help. The battery connections didn't have any corrosion on them just the usual dull gray look.

 

[mike321]

I would take all the connections apart and clean them up to eliminate the easy stuff first. How did you test the batteries? Load test? Sometimes you can have one good battery and one bad one and the bad one will ruin the good one. If you have good batteries with a load tester then it almost has to be a connection issue. Did you check your ground connections? and starter connections? Hope this helps. Good luck. Post back with progress

 

[Tx Jim]

Maybe starter is dragging plus cold temp. lowers batteries efficiency. May need battery warmers. Possibly need hyd pump de-stroker valve

 

[M w J]

Hold a wrench to the side of the starter frame when you hit the key if the wrench sticks like it is magnatized then the field coils have power.Do the lites work what do they do when you turn the key ? Has the starter been making a dragging sound? The brushes could be woreout. There is also a starter relay that could burnout but most of the time if if is that you could hear it click once each time you turn the key.

 

[Anonymous-0]

If you are sure your cables and batteries are good you may need a new starter. My 4230 was a slow cranker. I replaced the Delco starter with a Nippondenso and it spun it MUCH faster. It is pricey though.

 

[mlauk]

I would jumpstart it and see what it does.

 

[IowaJohn]

If you"re sure your batteries are good and the connections are clean, make sure you check the terminal on the starter, then It almost has to be the starter. I"m not sure which starter your 4440 has but if it"s a delco I"m with mjbrown you"ll be much happier with the nippondenso. I have switched all 4 of my tractors to the nippondenso and they turn over so much faster in all conditions. No more looking like a goof turning the steering wheel back and forth to relieve pressure so it turns over faster.