Ferguson Died

ScottnID · May 1, 2018

First time on this forum and post. Hope I'm in the right forum. Have a TO30 that was running just fine. Shut it off and now its "dead". Converted to 12V a little over a year ago. Battery is fine. Starter was turning her over just fine , but now when I attempt to start I get nothing. All wiring/connections look/feel OK. Could it be the isolation box (for lack of a better term)---one lead from the battery goes to this external mounted "isolator" and then another lead goes to the starter...? Any help is greatly appreciated...will upload a photo tomorrow.

ScottnIdaho :?:

Charlie M · May 1, 2018

You need to do a little trouble shooting. Is there a plug in the carb you can remove and make sure you have gas flowing. You can also check to see if you have spark. I bought a spark tester which you can get at any automotive store and goes in line with a spark plug wire. It makes it a lot easier to test spark as you aren't trying to hold and ground a spark plug while trying to crank the tractor. Once you determine if its fuel or spark you can ask some more questions. If you have no spark do you have a resistor in line for the 12 v conversion - if so it could have gone bad. They do go bad and easiest way to find out is with a volt meter. Should be 12 v in and 6 volt out.

steve-in-ga · May 1, 2018

Take a screw driver and jump across the two big terminals on the starter solenoid (isolator) and see if she spins. If so, take it off and apart and clean it so it makes good
connection when engaged. Seems like I have had to do that before on my to30.

If still nothing, double check the 2 battery connections and the connection to the starter that runs through the solenoid. Make sure the connections are clean and tight.
They can look ok but not be. Make sure the cables are in good working order and corrosion free also.

This may help isolate where the issue is.

old · May 1, 2018

One like that can be as simple as a bad connection at one or both of the battery cables or a bad solenoid or bad starter. I would first take a heavy piece of wire like an old battery cable and jump across and post on the solenoid but be 1000% sure it is out of gear. If it spins over bad solenoid or bad connection at the small wire on it. One can also jump right from the battery it self to the starter with a jumper cable and see if it spins over

Steve@Advance · May 1, 2018

The isolation box is the starter contactor.

That could very well be the problem. When you move the starter lever, the contacts close, sending power to the starter. The linkage may just need adjusting, or the contacts may be dirty or have failed. There is no solenoid. Don't be tempted to add a solenoid, that mechanical switch is also the neutral safety device, you'll want to keep that as is.

You may want to invest in a test light or volt meter, sure beats guessing! Once you have a means to test, start checking at the battery. Connect the light/meter and try the starter. When you find the connection where the voltage drops under load, you have found the problem. Just be careful, it could begin cranking any time during the test!

If the ground strap is still connected to the back side of the dash, check that connection. Going with a longer cable and grounding directly to the engine is a common fix.

ScottnID · May 2, 2018

(quoted from post at 10:36:43 05/01/18) You need to do a little trouble shooting. Is there a plug in the carb you can remove and make sure you have gas flowing. You can also check to see if you have spark. I bought a spark tester which you can get at any automotive store and goes in line with a spark plug wire. It makes it a lot easier to test spark as you aren't trying to hold and ground a spark plug while trying to crank the tractor. Once you determine if its fuel or spark you can ask some more questions. If you have no spark do you have a resistor in line for the 12 v conversion - if so it could have gone bad. They do go bad and easiest way to find out is with a volt meter. Should be 12 v in and 6 volt out.

Thanks...I do have fuel in the carb and spark...this problem is I get no cranking when the starter button is pushed...absolutely dead...but further on in this thread is some good things for me to look at...thanks for your time...I will be posting the answer when I find it if anyone is interested...

1948jr · May 2, 2018

sounds like a bad ground check ground post take it off and clean it just because it looks and feels good doesn't mean it is good

Ferguson Died

ScottnID

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Charlie M

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steve-in-ga

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old

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Steve@Advance

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ScottnID

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1948jr

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