I need some help

So I've been fiddling with my 1976 Ford 4600 all day. It doesn't seem like I have power at the starter. I have good voltage at the battery and good voltage from the hot wire to the solenoid. That being said, when I turn the key on, i don't have power where i think i should have power. There's a wire that runs from ignition to what i'll call a flat switch on the solenoid. Shouldn't it have 12v with the key on? I have some pictures of how everything is setup, guess i just need to figure out how to post pictures. There's also what i'm guessing is a neutral safety switch that's been unplugged, but the tractor has ran before with it being unplugged.
 

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This is what i've got so far. I'm not sure if this will work or not.
 
What does that mean? Pretend like you're talking to a guy that knows absolutely zero about tractors, and ignition systems in general. Because i know very very little. I'm not retarded. But i'm kinda retarded.
 
Assuming you have the Ford type solenoid the wire coming from the key switch is suppose to be wired to the "S" on the solenoid. Then if you have a coil resister the "I" wire goes to the positive side of the coil.
 
In the top picture, the black wire stuck into one side of the connector, that used to be jumped to the other terminal of that same plug. That bypasses the neutral switch.

In the bottom picture, the blue wire with the red band is what pulls the starter in. That wire should be hot when the ignition switch is in the "start" position. If you have power to that wire, and battery voltage to the big cable under the nut, the starter should be cranking.

Really need to get the neutral switch back in circuit. Once you get it starting, try removing the jumper and plug the neutral switch back in. If it works, great. If not, a new switch is a lot cheaper than a trip to the ER!
 
I know you say you have good voltage at the solenoid but, I would go back to the battery , pull off the cables , and clean the cables and terminals, then try it again. Might sound like a waste of time, but I have seen the lights on a tractor shine bright, but the starter still would not turn, just not getting enough juice.
 
To make a full circuit your need the power side + and a ground - to have a complete circuit. On some Ford products the solenoid has the power+ to it but the negative- is controlled by the safety switches. Many lawn mowers do this too. A more common application of this is the interior lights on your older cars before body control computers. By using the ground side you can complete the circuit at numerous locations. This is how an interior light circuit works. Any of the door switches can ground an make the lights come on.

I know the older Ford tractors, ones with the push button starter switch on the top of the transmission, use a solenoid that was grounded by the switch to activate.

So I am not sure what type of solenoid your Ford 4600 uses. With a volt/ohm meter you can figure it out. You need to track the positive side and see where you have power and where you do not. If you have no power see if your switch grounds the wire going to the solenoid.
 
If your negative cable from the battery is attached to ground lug on the end of the starter remove it. Attach it under one of the bolts that mount the starter to the engine. Fought this battle several times over the years. The bolt in the end of the starter will lose ground and the starter will not work.
 
Read what Steve@Advance says. The terminal with the yellow wire and blue wire with yellow band has a jumper on it. One side of the jumper has come out of the terminal. Start there. Make sure tractor is in neutral. That jumper bypasses the neutral safety switch.
 
So.. after what reading what you said, i went back over this morning and put the black wire back into where it used to jump the safety switch and she fired right up. That being said, those 2 wires that look like they need to be plugged into that switch, where do they come from? Because i'm with you in thinking that needs to be hooked back up correctly. Because she'll fire in gear no doubt. and that seems quite dangerous. Shes a pretty large tractor.
 

The two wires your holding with you hand in the first photo go to the neutral safety switch under the shifter cover.
They plug in to the wires with the jumper.
 

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