Just got a 53 Super A with a 12 volt conversion. I had a problem with a bad battery. After unclogging a fuel line I was having difficulties starting. I charged the old battery with no success and had it tested at the shop and found it to have several bad cells. I replaced it with a brand new one but now the tractor won't start at all. The battery checks out fine and all the terminals are connected however when the starter switch is pressed the only sound is a small spark noise at the positive battery terminal. The starter does not crank at all. Other than the battery nothing else was removed. The starter switch looks to be in working order but I'm concerned about the alternator or possibly the starter being damaged from the bad battery. Any suggestions for troubleshooting?
- Thread starter aquanosis
- Start date
teddy52food
Well-known Member
Sounds like a bad cable connection where that spark noise is coming from. Correct that & it will work.
Check your ground connections: starter to clutch housing, battery ground post to instrument panel, instrument panel to clutch housing. If any are not electrically good, you won"t have current flow between starter and battery.
I found this out the hard way. After I did a "superb" job on cleaning and priming each individual piece of my SA, I had to re-route the ground cable to the starter mounting bolt itself to get a good ground.
I found this out the hard way. After I did a "superb" job on cleaning and priming each individual piece of my SA, I had to re-route the ground cable to the starter mounting bolt itself to get a good ground.
Clean John
Member
Did you check to see if the starter is stuck? Put er in high gear and rock her with the hind wheel if its stuck shud hear it release then try it. Like the other posts say cud be bad connections. I have that problem with the 350 if the battery gets low (sticking)Needs new bendix drive.
tn terry t
Well-known Member
all very good sugestions only thing i could add is that some times the starter contact will get sticky i have had to take them apart and do A LITTLE SANDING TO GET CONNECTION DURN I HATE THIS KEYBOARD
sorry bout caps
sorry bout caps
Paint and rust make good insulators so make sure all connections are clean and tight. If the battery cables are cracked or bare replace them.
I redid an A back in 1975 & 1976. It was in bad shape when I bought and the 16-inch plow for $100.00. I used the 6 volt battery and made new battery cables from welding wire. I had to replace just about everything on the tractor as it was never sheltered. Hal
I redid an A back in 1975 & 1976. It was in bad shape when I bought and the 16-inch plow for $100.00. I used the 6 volt battery and made new battery cables from welding wire. I had to replace just about everything on the tractor as it was never sheltered. Hal
Hugh MacKay
Well-known Member
aquanosis: I agree with what others have said, plus I'll add an idea. It could be the starter switch on top of starter.
Thanks for the suggestions everyone. I'll give them a try and see how things go. Also, I was told by another tractor guy that the first thing I should do when I got this tractor was to convert it back to the original 6 volt setup. He said it's less hassel and better than the unnecessary half rate conversion. Any thoughts or suggestions about converting back to the 6 volt setup?
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