Changed plug wires on Ford 3000... now won't start

OK I know if it's not broke don't fix it...but, the plugs & wires were painted, cracked, oily, etc; so changed the plugs and ordered new wires. I changed the plugs and used the tractor several times before the new plug wires came today. It has been running & starting great...but now, I went to start it afterwards, and nothing. No crank, no click, nothing and my battery is charged, lights work, etc; Did I accidentally unhook a wire or do you have ideas? They were hard to change as there was little room and at one point I loosened the cap on the distributor to be able to get a wire on. I don't think I did anything to it and I put it back the way it was. There is just nothing when I go to start it... HELP! Maybe the switch that runs the neutral/start, is it located anywhere around there? But there's not even a tick just nothing when you turn the key.
 
Depends on the tranny but that sounds like the safety neutral switch. Try putting it in gear and back into neutral. It's usually located on the range shifter...at least on our 5000.
 
As the others have said you may have a safety switch problem or it could be just one of those things where something went bad. Check and double check it is in neutral and also maybe if it has a clutch safety switch make sure it is hooked up. One way to trouble shoot is to try a heavy jumper wire on the solenoid the 2 big post to see if it will spin over. BE 1000% sure it is out of gear if you do that. If it spins over then good chance it is a safety switch issue
 
Thanks so much for your answers, I had to go into work so won't be able to check it out until later tonight and I'll post back to let you know.
 
It appears I'm not going to get a chance to really check it out until the weekend now. The only thing I did tonite was make sure the gears were in neutral again (several times) and observed if any wires had gotten unplugged or broken. Your trouble shooting idea sounds good, I will try that. I'm not really sure where that clutch safety switch is. I did see that the wires run into the top of the transmission by the shift levers and I also see a small fusible link behind where the wiring comes in or goes out by the wiring harness for the instrument panel. Does that fusible link have anything to do with the safety switch?
 
It is a dual stick transmission and I played with both shifters, moving them in and out and back to neutral etc; and nothing. I'm just wondering if that fusible link has anything to do with that safety switch...
 
there are 2 wires that enter the trans top.. they go to the neutral safety switch. you can unplug them, and as a test plug the pair together that comes from the tractor harness.. that BYPASSES the safety swtich.

If this helps, your switch has failed. If this does not help, use a test lamp and see if you have power at the back of your ignition switch.

post back.

PS.. you don't happen to have a relative that is a Judge on Face Off? do ya? ;)
 
There was no fusible link on that tractor from the factory. There was a resistor wire for the coil that looked like a fusible link, but it wasn't connected to anything on the instrument cluster. It goes from the coil in the engine compartment to the key switch and looking at it from the engine compartment one could think that it goes to the instrument cluster as the wire disappears in that general direction.
 
I am going to try your suggestion Sat pm and see what it tells me.

I've never heard of Face Off, but I don't think I do! What channel is it on?
 
(quoted from post at 04:57:26 06/30/17) It has about a 1/2" to 3/4" long fuse in it, could the fuse have blown? Could that be the
problem?

A fusible link is a fuse that looks like a fat section of a longer section of wire. What you're describing is a regular fuse in line with a wire.

The only fuse on that tractor, if it has a "C" serial number, is for the instrument cluster itself. If that fuse is blown then the oil pressure warning light, fuel gauge and temperature gauge will not work, but it should have no effect on the starter or ignition circuits.

If it has an "A" or "B" serial number there is a second fuse in a fuse holder built into the back of the headlight switch that is only for the light circuit.
 
Good luck on the test.

Face off is on syfy

Judge's name is Glenn Hetrick. I think he runs Alchemy Studio.
 
(quoted from post at 10:09:21 06/30/17)
(quoted from post at 04:57:26 06/30/17) It has about a 1/2" to 3/4" long fuse in it, could the fuse have blown? Could that be the
problem?

A fusible link is a fuse that looks like a fat section of a longer section of wire. What you're describing is a regular fuse in line with a wire.

The only fuse on that tractor, if it has a "C" serial number, is for the instrument cluster itself. If that fuse is blown then the oil pressure warning light, fuel gauge and temperature gauge will not work, but it should have no effect on the starter or ignition circuits.

If it has an "A" or "B" serial number there is a second fuse in a fuse holder built into the back of the headlight switch that is only for the light circuit.
ean, there is another guy on one of these forums asking where that instrument cluster fuse is located on the "C" tractor. where????
 
Sean, there is another guy on one of these forums asking where that instrument cluster fuse is located on the "C" tractor. where????

I've never had to hunt one down. According to the wiring diagram it is somewhere on the wire from the key switch to the voltage stabilizer, but I can't say exactly where. I thought that I remembered seeing it behind the instrument cluster when I had the cluster off of my '73 4000, but that was several years ago and my memory isn't as sharp as it used to be.
 

On my 3000 and 3600 it's behind the cluster tied to the wire bundle. Bear to get to and get the fuse out. They didn't leave enough free wire to easily remove the fuse.
 
ya got some good advice.
If a 3000 is like a 5000, I like to add one thing to these, no crank, no nothing, when turning the key, posts.
There is a little blade connector on the starter/solenoid that is very easy to pull off.
It can be a real head scratcher until you find it :)
 
I'm gonna have to check out that show, far as I know I'm not related to him. There's also a Hetrick, he's a coroner and has a show on the ID channel (from PA). The Hetricks pretty much came from PA, but I've not looked too much into it as yet.
 
An old friend of mine just stopped by and I was telling him about the tractor. He wanted to take a look, so we went out and he started tracing wires that I might have come in contact with and the first one he came across (coil to starter) had worked it's way loose, tightened it and it started! Sorry for all the trouble...I swear I checked all of those wires first off, but somehow I missed that one's connection. I have removed the cluster, changed the glass (cause I broke it), replacing seals, checking out the gauges (none worked)etc; Hopefully it will all be good when I'm done, I've downloaded lots of material from here on testing all sending units etc; when I get it all put back together. I have a feeling that you'll probably hear more out of me before this is all over with, Ha! I got this one in Feb to use for pulling a baler after going tractorless for several years and I've gotten rusty on my tractor IQ. Thanks again for all your help!!!
 
Thanks for your explanation on fusible links, I thought it was just a link where a fuse was input to like back up the original connection if failure occurred. It's also good to know that nothing in the instrument cluster as far as sending units will work without the fuse located there behind the cluster. This tractor is a C, but the instrument cluster says it was made in England, and that's where some of my confusion comes from! The instrument cluster is my ultimate goal (to get it completely fixed, as nothing works on it now). I just have a feeling I'm gonna pull my hair out over this one!
 

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