john deere 530 starting

[Jeff E Johnson]

every so often not every time I try and start my 530 it wont stay running unless I keep the starter button pushed in, as soon as I let the starter button off the tractor stops. it starts right up again as long as I keep the button pushed in. this only happens sometimes not every time
any thoughts would be appreciated
thanks

 

[teddy52food]

Bad resistor or a loose connection from the switch to the coil or a bad switch.

 

[Tom OConnor]

Jeff,

On all the Waterloo gas 30 series tractors there is a resistor under the dash panel on the right side of the tractor that fails. John Deere has that resistor and it is not expensive but it will fix your problem. If you need a temporary fit you can run a jumper wire from one end of the resistor to the other. That resistor is about 3/4 inch wide and about three inches long and is only on the 30 series gas engine tractors.

 

[John T]

Jeff, Located in series between the switch output and the coils input is a Ballast Resistor. Its purpose is to reduce the battery 12 volts down to 6 to operate the 6 volt coil. To aid in starting the resistor is by passed ONYL WHILE THE STARTER IS OPERATED so the coil sees battery voltage NOT the ballast reduced voltage. So if the resistor or one of the connections from switch to ballast is bad she can still fire while cranking (due to the by pass circuit) but fail otherwise.

Id check all the wiring and terminals and connections from the switch down to the ballast and from it to the coil. My best guess is EITHER the ballast or one of those connections is the problem. The ballast typically has a value of from 1.5 to 2+ ohms. They are cheap and readily available in case its bad but check all the connections first.

Hope this helps

John T

 

[Hugh McKinney]

I could be mistaken, but my "70" has the ballast resistor, and it appears to be a factory installation. It could be dealer retrofitted of course. Any thoughts about this? Thanks, Hugh