TO-30 quit while working...

Burried it in the yard. Was using the truck to pull it out, about 20 min with start and stop to dig, in reverse and when almost over the hump, the tractor just quit. Noticed a little puff of smoke from rear of engine, somewhere under the battery and smelled what I thought was electrical. Tried to restart and it won't turn over at all. Clicking like a dead battery but battery is fine (tested with meter). Could it be the solenoid? I wouldn't think that it would make it quit if it gave out. Almost like it's locked up, but didn't hear anything serious when she quit. Plenty of water, wasn't overheating. Weird. Thinking it can't be too serious. Going to jump the starter from the battery to see if I can get the starter to turn and see if that does anything. Any other ideas? Thanks!

I would grab the fan blade with one hand and push on the belt with the other to remove any slack. Turn the fan blade. Does the lower pulley/crank turn?
Fix the engine.
Doesn"t turn?
Oops!
Time to get the other tractor. . .

You thinking broken crank? Just went out and tried to jump the starter- no joy... just a bunch of sparkin. Turned the key a couple of times, saw the crank pulley budge but not spin... Oil looks good. Can't really get in there to turn by hand cuz the fan shroud, alternator, etc in the way.

Didn't think I was putting a ton of load on it and was in reverse with about 3/4 throttle, with a vehicle pulling on me. Wheels were spinning quite a bit, so not really biting much. If it is a crank, what do you think that will run me to replace? I would think they would have to drop the pan, unbolt the pistons, disconnect from tranny in rear and pto pump in front and take the mains off, then swap it, right? As long as there wasn't any other damage done? Hope that isn't it.

Could it be stuck in two gears?

Try the other side from the alt.
Can't get it?
Pull the starter and turn the flywheel teeth with a prybar/large screwdriver.
I need a full 360 degree turn.
No clanks allowed.
If it neeeds a crank, you get to pull the engine. . .
Oops!

I hope you do not need a crank but if you do call me as I have a fresh reground one with a set of Clevite bearings. Call me Jim --No-Advertising-in-Forums

Try using a jumper from the battery directly to the starter power lug WITH THE TRACTOR NOT IN GEAR! Just touch the jumper to the lug to see if the starter works. If the starter turns over, there "s a problem with the starter switch or the cables between the battery, the starter switch and the starter. If the starter doesn"t turn over when directly connected to the battery, the starter is probably bad. Sounds to me like you let the smoke out of the starter or the starter switch which is located on the bell housing below the battery.

Tried to jump to the starter. All I got was sparks, no engage. Didn't work at all. The tranny is in neutral now, definitely not stuck in gear. Tough part about working on it is it's buried up to the belly on about a 15 deg angle (forward wheels sunk in, then the back dug in). I'll take the starter off and test it.

The smoke seemed to come from below the "dash", and that is exactly where the solenoid is sitting, which was my first thought. It kinda sounded like it was spinning the starter when I turned the key to restart right after she died, but quickly went to clicking like battery was dead. It's not. When I jump to the starter it should kick, shouldn't it? Or do I need to jump to the solenoid? I tried positive from battery right to positive post on starter. Like I said, sparkity spark!

I'll try turning the flywheel. Once the starter is off I should be able to mark it and turn it 360. Why? Not sure where that is leading. I'm gathering any clanking means crank is toast... Other side of tractor from alt is tight for access too, so I can't get the belt slack out. I have a loader on the front which also limits access.

Have you tried removing the starter and turning the Flywheel with a pry bar. If the Safety Switch is smoking it is either incorrectly adjusted or the contacts have burnt and not making a proper contact anymore or the Starter is overloaded and cannot turn the Engine for one reason or another. Have you tried the Starter on its own, does that turn without the Engine..John(UK)

Haven't got the starter off yet. I'll give it a shot later today or on Wednesday as I have to go on a biz trip for a couple of days. Thanks for the pointers. The plan now is to take the starter off, bench test it and turn the flywheel to see if it's locked up or I hear ugly noises... Sure hope not. I would think a catastrophic failure would have made more noise/been more violent than just a little puff of electrical smoke. Thanks.

Unless someone changed the front pulley, it is made for a crank. If you can't find a crank handle, just get something to fit in the notches and socket extension and try to torque it by hand. For the heck of it, have the starter off, loosen the spark plugs. If you can't spin the crank with your arms, you got a problem. Even a gear or a valve jam is a reason to stop trying and start pulling things appart. Good luck.

One more quick question... I noticed, after the shut-down and smoke, when I lifted the hood, that there was a small burn spot on the underneath of the hood and on the positive battery cable/post. The previous owner had put a piece of rubber mat over the top of the battery to shield it from the hood, but there was a wear spot and they must have touched. It appears that there is a voltage regulator in the wiring diagram. Would the hood shorting on the battery have fried the regulator, thus causing the shutdown? Still have to check things out, but I wanted to ask this question. Thanks again for the pointers so far.

Neighbor got me out of the muck... Now its on the gravel drive and I can work on it. Wish me luck... Any answers on my previous question? Thanks.

Took off the starter. Can spin the flywheel and the front PTO/crank pulley just fine, so it's not locked up. Starter bench tested fine. So I took off the starter switch/solenoid and the plastic 2-pole switch attached to the back of it (not sure what it is) and will replace them to see if it fires. That's all I can see in the system between the key and the starter. All the wires look fine. The starter switch clicks but doesn't seem to be activating the starter, and it's roughly in the position where the initial smoke came from, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. In any case, I don't think it's a mechanical problem, so I am thankful for that.