I have a Ford 600 that will not start. I have traced the problem to it seems like the starter is not getting ground. If I hook a wire straight from the ground on the battery to the base of the starter it works. I have tested the battery cable and it is good, I have also taken the starter off and cleaned the base and where it connects to the tractor. What am I missing?
- Thread starter 600Bill
- Start date
Bern
Well-known Member
- Location
- Mount Vernon, WA
How did you test the battery cable? If you used an ohmmeter to check for continuity, that's not good enough. You could have
heavy corrosion inside that cable and the ohmmeter would never detect it. The problem is that the small batteries inside your
meter cannot send enough current through the cable to adequately test it. Battery cable testing can really only be done via
voltage drop testing.
You've essentially proved you have a bad battery cable by jumping across it. Replace it, and consider doing the positive at
the same time if it's similar in age.
heavy corrosion inside that cable and the ohmmeter would never detect it. The problem is that the small batteries inside your
meter cannot send enough current through the cable to adequately test it. Battery cable testing can really only be done via
voltage drop testing.
You've essentially proved you have a bad battery cable by jumping across it. Replace it, and consider doing the positive at
the same time if it's similar in age.
Sean in PA
Well-known Member
Where does the ground cable from the battery actually go? Have you tried jumping from that far end of the battery ground cable directly to the base of the starter? That would either prove or eliminate the ground cable itself as the culprit. Is the spot where the battery ground cable connects to and the cable end itself clean and bright and the connection tight?
showcrop
Well-known Member
Yours is a very common problem. The solution is almost always to clean the already clean cable ends. The grounding is very unlikely to be the problem unless you have a few good coats of paint on the housing. Provided that the starter DOES crank the motor you can feel for heat to find the problem connection. My 901 was cranking slowly this last spring. The connections were clean, but not shiny. I cleaned one and It cranked much faster. The battery post needs to be shiny as well as the cable end that goes on the post.
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