what's causing solenoid to click?

golferjones · Oct 12, 2015

Hi All- I'm at my wits end w/ my TO30 and hoping you all might have an answer. I recently put a new starter on, new battery, new solenoid, and the same problem persists, a solid click at the solenoid when I engage the start button and the starter doesn't do anything. I took off the starter and took it to a starter rebuild place and they told me it was good. Thinking maybe my battery could of went bad (even tho it was less than a year old) I swapped it out for a new one with the same result. My only possible explanation from what I have seen online is maybe the starter is jammed or the flywheel is? Does this make any sense? Any advice anyone can offer would be greatly appreciated. I've been fighting w/ this tractor all season and not being a mechanic, I'm struggling figuring this thing out. It's a 12V system btw.

Anonymous-0 · Oct 12, 2015

Have you checked the contacts on the starter switch? The starter switch is located inside the transmission and is easily removed. The contacts in the switch may be bad and a replacement will fix the problem. An easy way to diagnose if this is the issue it to jump the terminals on the top of the starter switch. If the starter turns over without and issue, there is a switch issue.

Here is the wiring diagram for the Ferguson To-30.
Untitled URL Link

Steve@Advance · Oct 12, 2015

If the starter is jammed in the flywheel, the cables should be heating up when you try to start it.

Recheck all the cable connections. If any are getting hot, that is an indication of a bad connection. If the
ground cable is still bolted to the sheetmetal, that is a good place to start. Moving the ground cable
directly to the engine works better.

A simple test light makes trouble shooting much easier.

2tractors · Oct 13, 2015

Paint behind mounting surface.

Bruce(OR) · Oct 13, 2015

Pull the spark plugs. Rotate the engine by hand. Grab the fan, pull the belt tight, turn the fan.
if it don't turn...oops. Put tractor into 4Th gear and pull with car, plugs out.
If the wheels are a skiddin' you got problems.

wjajr · Oct 13, 2015

If the starter solenoid is clicking, the contactor is closing. This part of the start equation draws very few amps. If there is a poor ground connection between battery, and connection to block or cast iron carcass of tractor this causes a voltage drop, and inhibits flow of electrons sufficient to turn starter over.

Clean all connections to starter, starter to solenoid, solenoid to battery, and battery to ground. Make sure of the polarity of your electrical system. Original was 6v positive ground, conversion to 12 v would be negative ground.

Second thought, did you purchase a 12 volt starter, to be used in a 6 volt system?

phil(va) · Oct 13, 2015

Simple test of starter and flywheel and engine. Tractor out of gear. Pull you vehicle with known excellent battery up alongside.
Tractor out of gear. Take good jumper cable, the bigger the cable the better and hook to your vehicle battery and one connection to top
bolt on starter. Tractor out of gear. Touch other connection to a good ground like bellhousing bolt near the starter. Starter should
turn the engine over. If it does, nothing wrong with starter and starter connection to flywheel and engine. Eliminate those items. Very
simple. Doesn't matter which connection goes to starter top bolt and which to ground on tractor. Starter doesn't care about polarity.
If all that is ok, then look at connections prior to that, like at Solenoid, etc., and Solenoid itself and of course the battery. In
other words, start at the end and work back to beginning until you find it.

steve19438 · Oct 14, 2015

these things come in real handy. I have six tractors and three have dead batteries. when I want to use one of the "dead" ones this battery pak makes starting the engine easy. pos. cable to starter, neg. cable to gear shift lever. turn key to on position, pull choke, (if necessary) turn switch on battery pak and engine fires up.

make sure tranny is in neutral before doing anything.

if I forgot a step some one will let us know about it. this site has a wonderful system of checks and balances.

golferjones · Oct 14, 2015

Thank you all for your thoughts on this! I have a voltmeter and it looks like I'm getting 12V to the starter (it is a 12V starter on a 12V system). So it's either the starter or something is up w/ the flywheel correct? A starter shop told me the starter was good so I guess it's jammed? I'm going to try what one suggested and pull the belt tight and see if I can move the fan at all. The suggestion said to pull the plugs-what's the reason for this, so that it can turn over? Just curious. Also, I know it's not the battery, the parts store guy was awesome and let me swap out my battery for a new one and still have the same problem. This issue has really made me cuss a lot recently!

daisyman · Oct 22, 2015

Unless you're referring to the manual starter switch on the transmission as the solenoid, there is no electric starter solenoid on Ferguson tractors. Or at least there shouldn't be. If there is, take it off and throw it away, and use the original gearshift start setup. That is the safety setup so it can't be started in gear.

Irv

Inno · Oct 27, 2015

(quoted from post at 16:26:00 10/14/15) Thank you all for your thoughts on this! I have a voltmeter and it looks like I'm getting 12V to the starter

But is the starter properly grounded? Test from the case of the starter to the +12V post on the starter while trying to crank it.
Grounds are every bit as important as power, without a return path to the battery, no workie!

What I've done on my tractors is run a nice heavy (at least 4 gauge) wire from the neg. of the battery to one of the starter bolts.

what's causing solenoid to click?

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