Ford 850 started yesterday - not today

Ralph Arvin

New User
I posted weeks ago about two situations that happened together while using the 850. One, I drove into a branch that poked a hole in the radiator and the fan was blowing coolant back around the engine. Two,
the engine sputtered and died before I could get back to the barn. I don't think this had anything to do with the hole in the radiator, because it only lost about half of the coolant. For weeks the tractor has sat in
the shop without even a click or anything when I turned the key, but yesterday it started as though nothing was wrong. Today it will do nothing again. I replaced the radiator today, and I sought to start the
engine to circulate the coolant but to no avail - just a click or two from the solenoid. So, I put on a new solenoid - still won't crank. The battery is good and fully charged, new radiator, new solenoid - can't
figure it out. Electrical problems completely stump me. How can I trace down the problem?
 
Clean and tighten both ends of your battery cables.
It's a free place to start.
After that you can diagnose it with a voltmeter by checking
each connection to see where the voltage disappears.
The later is a reliable test but will likely take longer than cleaning.
 
Should have never replaced the solenoid, since you didn't KNOW that it was bad. A pair of screwdrivers or pliers would short solenoid big post to big post & either resulted in cranking or not. Then you would KNOW something. Never too late to try.
 
My truck has those symptoms. My mechanic told me to take a hammer and give it a good rap on the starter. I think you have a hung up brush on the starter.
 
I tried that at different times (connecting the big posts together) and I don't get a click, spark, or anything. I'll examine the battery cables this morning to see if there's a problem there. Thanks.
 

Classic battery cables!! 98 to 2! Even if they look nice and clean! They get a little corrosion in the connection. They get a little loose, you hit the button to start and zap, an arc in the connection. This arc, totally unseen, puts a coating of the super insulator, carbon, in the connection. This carbon is gray, the same as the terminals, so it looks like just clean gray terminal. It is not clean unless it is shiny.
 
if jumping the solenoid did nothing, then either the battery is dead, cables or ends are bad, or the starter is open ( brushes? ).

Disconnect the starter wire, does the relay click now?
 
SoundGuy, there was a problem with a cable. When I was jiggling wires and cables around, the red cable slipped completely out of the cable end that was still attached to the battery. I cleaned the exposed ends and the inside of the sleeve where it goes, and tried to clamp down on it with some large channel locks. That didn't tighten it - it still was loose. So I laid it down on a block, took a hammer and tried to mash the sleeve so that it pinched the cable tighter. I reinstalled it, turned the key, still nothing. I'm going to try using a jumper from the battery to the solenoid and if that works, I'll know it was a bad cable. Thanks.
 
(quoted from post at 08:54:25 01/31/18) SoundGuy, there was a problem with a cable. When I was jiggling wires and cables around, the red cable slipped completely out of the cable end that was still attached to the battery. I cleaned the exposed ends and the inside of the sleeve where it goes, and tried to clamp down on it with some large channel locks. That didn't tighten it - it still was loose. So I laid it down on a block, took a hammer and tried to mash the sleeve so that it pinched the cable tighter. I reinstalled it, turned the key, still nothing. I'm going to try using a jumper from the battery to the solenoid and if that works, I'll know it was a bad cable. Thanks.

you can put a new end that cable if you are inclined, or you can replace it. If you elect for a new one you want a 00 cable.
 
ShowCrop, I took the cables back to the auto parts store where I bought them last year, and they crimped them at no charge. They're back on the tractor and it fired up first time. Thanks!
 
(quoted from post at 17:41:11 01/31/18) ShowCrop, I took the cables back to the auto parts store where I bought them last year, and they crimped them at no charge. They're back on the tractor and it fired up first time. Thanks!

Thanks for posting back with the outcome.
 

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