Nebraska Kirk
Well-known Member
I was using my Farmall 400 to do some odds and ends today. I pushed a dead tractor into the shed with it and then hooked onto a pickup box trailer and was pulling it around to load up some scattered scrap iron. I had started the tractor a few times with no problem until I went to start it the last time... I hit the key and the engine fired up but then I heard the starter still running, I turned off the key and the starter continued to run, although it was not turning over the engine. It was a mad scramble to unbolt the seat, flip it up and disconnect the battery!! Just to test I hooked the battery back up and tried starting the tractor again, it started fine a couple more times and then every time I tried the starter would not stop. I suspected a bad solenoid, so I tested it and sure enough, that is the problem. In all fairness, when I rebuilt the engine several years ago I did not replace the solenoid so I have no idea how old it is and I have put about 100 hours on the tractor since it has been rebuilt.
I still needed to use the tractor so I thought I would try starting it with the hand crank. It surprised me when it fired up after a couple of quarter turns of the crank! No doubt it helped that it was already warm. I sure would not want to have to start it that way all the time as it has good compression and turns over hard :lol:
I still needed to use the tractor so I thought I would try starting it with the hand crank. It surprised me when it fired up after a couple of quarter turns of the crank! No doubt it helped that it was already warm. I sure would not want to have to start it that way all the time as it has good compression and turns over hard :lol: