Runaway starter!!

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:
 
Yea it is sticking to the contacts. NOW if you are careful you can take the solenoid apart and clean up or turn the contacts a half turn and on some you can flip the disk over . A good new small flat file will clean things up and you can get by for awhile . If you have a Dodge Cummins truck you ain't lived till you have one of them stick ,they don't care it you unhook the battery or not as for some reason once they are running even with the battery unhooked they will not shut down till ya unhook the fuel solenoid and manually shut the fuel off .
 
I always say if something is not working right hit it with a hammer and if that doesn't fix it it's an electrical problem.
 

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