1955 mf to35 starting problems

I have a 1955 MF to35 that has been running great until last week. I went to start it and it turned over twice before it just died. The starter solenoid would just click like the battery was dead. I had the battery tested and it was fine. I then attempted to start the tractor but putting jumper cables to the starter and it would do a quarter turn at the time. I took the starter off and took it to someone to test and they said it was good. I couldnt get it to crank by jumping it off either. The only way I was able to crank it was to take two jumper cables connected my truck battery and the tractor and run those to the original pos. Neg. Cables on tractor. Then it would fire right up. I replaced the starter solenoid several weeks ago and it has been running the best it has ever ran. Any ideas what might be wrong? Just seems its taking more amps to turn starter over.

Possibly something interfering with the starter ground to the bell housing?

Make sure all your battery cable connections are clean and tight. If any cables are cracked replace them. If you have a 6 volt battery use 00 battery cables. Get yourself a hydrometer and check each battery cell to see what the specific gravity is. 1.280 would be a good cell.
If one is around 1.100 you need a new battery. Hal

Take a volt meter and measure the voltage you have at the starter while cranking. I will bet that you have low voltage at the starter.

Here are some steps to figure out where the issue maybe:

1) Check the voltage at the starter while holding it in the crank position. If it is under 10-11 volts(12 volt system) or 4 volts (6 volt system) Then there is no way the starter will crank it with that low of voltage.

2) Check the voltage at the battery while you hold it in the crank position. If the voltage is low there then you have a bad battery. They can fail suddenly. IF the battery voltage is not as low as the starter voltage you have a cable/ground problem. I have seen many cables that look good on the outside but are corroded under the insulation and have a high resistance.

3) If the voltage is not too low at the starter while cranking then the problem is the starter or something is making the engine crank too hard.

You state that you just replaced the starter solenoid just a few weeks ago. It could have failed already. Many of the ones you buy today are cheap Chinese junk. I have had to try several "new" ones just to get a single "good" one.

The issue is really not that hard to figure out. You just need a volt/ohm meter to see what voltages you have at the starter/battery. Just "Guessing" at what the problem is just throwing money/time away.

I'm showing 12.7v on battery. The voltage drops to 6.2 when cranking going into the solenoid and nothing going out. Is the voltage dropping to low?
I replaced the ground cable and wired it to one of the starter bolts.
I'm thinking bad solenoid and or battery????

With 6.2 volts at the battery while cranking your battery is JUNK. Replace it first but I think the solenoid is bad too.

PS this is checking the battery across its terminals. Not checking to to the tractor ground. If you have a bad ground cable the voltage can show low voltage because of a bad cable, checking to the tractor.

I had something similar with my 1959 TO35. I thought the battery was suspect, new solenoid, new cables, new start switch. Turned out to be a bad starter was drawing WAAAY too much current. Took the starter off and poured gear oil out of it......since then I've split it and replaced the transmission seals and had the clutch rebuilt! Hopefully your problem is a little less severe than that.
It could also be that the starter is not getting a good ground. Try cleaning off the mating surfaces between the starter and bell housing and I've also added a nice heavy ground wire to one of the bolts which hold the bell housing to the engine. It probably doesn't make 2 rotations before it starts now!

I had the battery tested again and it still tested good but needed a charge. I had charged the battery twice during the last week so I went ahead and bought a new battery. Installed the battery and it fired right up. Thanks for all the tips and help.

(quoted from post at 04:17:40 08/31/13) I had the battery tested again and it still tested good but needed a charge. I had charged the battery twice during the last week so I went ahead and bought a new battery. Installed the battery and it fired right up. Thanks for all the tips and help.

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Glad you found your problem. I have had battery supply people tell me that summer heat kills just as many batteries as winter cold.

As for the battery testing good but not cranking. If it is one of the little testers that just has a switch in the bottom and some resistance wires that look like shoe laces in it, they will not load a very big battery enought to test it. You need a carbon pile battery tester. They will pull enough load to tell if a battery is bad. Most places do not have one of them. They cost a lot more than the little ones

If someone load tested the battery and said it was good, but weak, you need to make sure your tractor is charging properly. Voltage needs to be in the 13.2-14.8 range with the tractor running to properly charge the battery.