Neutral safety switch on 1971 Ford 2000 3 cyl gas tracto

Thorn · Jul 2, 2021

Does it matter which way the 2 wires hook up on the neutral safety switch under the transmission cover.

buickanddeere · Jul 2, 2021

If it is a single pole switch and isolated from chassis. The wire connections will not matter .
ThankYou for not jumpering out safety equipment .

Mike(NEOhio) · Jul 2, 2021

Mea culpa. Mine is jumpered. I used to do it for cold weather because the would not make. Even warm it was iffy, had to wiggle the lever. I blamed it on the 90 wt. in the transmission. Eventually changed it to 134 and it got worse. I know, simple enough to get a new switch in it, just haven't done it.

Thorn · Jul 2, 2021

Thanks for the reply. I stopped my tractor to talk to a neighbor and it won't crank. I suspected the neutral control switch but that didn't help upon replacement. I replaced the ignition switch and solenoid but it still didn't fix the problem. My battery is fairly new. I seem to have intermittent voltage at the battery side of the solenoid. What would be your guess on what it could be. Are there any switches or relays involved in the ignition process? When I turn the ignition key nothing happens other the ignition switch clicking on. I guess it could be a bad wire or battery cable.

Steve@Advance · Jul 2, 2021

Could very well be a bad cable connection.

Intermittent connections are the hardest to troubleshoot. Always test under load. A simple test light is the easiest and most practical tool to use.

It helps to have an assistant hold the switch to start while testing where you have power and where you don't. Start at the battery posts (the actual posts, not the cable ends). Then systematically start moving the test light to the next connection. Example, across the posts checks good, so move one test lead to the cable end, good, move the other lead to the cable end... And so on until you find where the voltage drop is. Along the way look and feel for hot connections, smoke, discolored insulation, corrosion, etc.

Common failures are the ground cable to the engine or sheet metal, the connections to the amp meter if equipped, the solenoid base ground, fuse connectors.

Just be very careful that the tractor is in neutral and aware it could begin cranking at any time during the test!

Thorn · Jul 2, 2021

Thanks for the reply. I am now thinking it might be the battery. I couldn't jump it off at the battery but I have seen that happen before. The battery just goes completely dead and can't be jumped off. The battery is almost new, but I have seen that happen also. I will get the battery tested at NAPA tomorrow and if that isn't the problem I will replace the battery cable. A bad battery could explain the intermittent voltage with the test light at the solenoid feed.

Hay hay hay · Jul 2, 2021

Please do not over-ride a neutral safety switch. It is easy to over-ride, short circuit, but you are putting someone's life on the line.
Be careful, be over cautious. The life you save may be yours!

Ultradog MN · Jul 2, 2021

I never cared much for safety nannies.
They are often the ones who can't get
anything done on account of a simple wire.
But may God love them just the same...
The best safety devices are the ones you
practice yourself and not those which are
built into a machine.
The first and best practice to use is
insuring that your colon isn't blocking
your view Before you get onto the tractor.

buickanddeere · Jul 2, 2021

So what do you have in mind for the people who are not as smart as you ?

Steve@Advance · Jul 2, 2021

Yep, that's a common failure with batteries, an internal break where a young healthy battery suddenly goes to nothing without warning.

The last several battery failures I have had did just that. Scary too, perfect storm for an explosion!

Thorn · Jul 2, 2021

What is really scary is that most everything will be running on batteries in the future. I can see a lot of vehicles stranded beside the road. Pollution or not, gasoline is a lot more reliable.

old · Jul 2, 2021

I learned years ago depending on a safety switch or other such things was only made for fools who are not smart enough to use the machine in the first place. I was taught to never depend on any safety device because they where made by man and they do not work all the time. The only safety device that work is between ones ears

TomA in CA · Jul 3, 2021

On my 2007 tractor I just keep a
screwdriver handy and jump it at the
solenoid at the starter. I don't have
enough time to fiddle around with
poorly made switches and relays.

Ultradog MN · Jul 3, 2021

Hard knocks.

Hay hay hay · Jul 3, 2021

I wonder how many innocent people have been killed by that attitude?

Thorn · Jul 3, 2021

I had to do that to get it back under my shed. On the other hand, I have had a good friend and another neighbor get run over by a tractor jumping out of gear while standing beside them working on their tractor. One was hurt pretty bad and the other was more fortunate.

old · Jul 3, 2021

You miss the point. Safety device stop working and if you depend on them you get hurt simple as that. Only someone who it dumb depends on a safety device to save them from getting hurt

buickanddeere · Jul 3, 2021

(quoted from post at 08:41:45 07/03/21) I wonder how many innocent people have been killed by that attitude?

These elite superior types dont think about or care what can happen if friends or family ever operate the equipment . Someday all these wisemen will be gone and take all their learning with them .

Thorn · Jul 3, 2021

I know what it is not:
(a) Battery. I had it tested at NAPA.
(b) Neutral safety switch. I replaced it.
(c) solenoid. I replaced it.
(d) battery cables and cable from solenoid to starter. I replaced all 3.
(e) I haven't detected any breaks in wires(although it could be).

What else besides the fuses(where are they located?) might it be? What about the voltage regulator? The problem is electrical. I know that. It is either a switch, relay, fuse or wiring problem would be my best guess. Again, it doesn't do anything but click when I turn the ignition key.

Thorn · Jul 3, 2021

Could the ignition coil be the culprit?

bc · Jul 3, 2021

Not your problem since you replaced the cables but I can tell you from experience a corroded cable at the connector or inside the cable will mimic a run down battery. When you jump start it, the additional battery puts enough current through the bad cable/connection to make it start so you assume it is the battery. Sometimes a new battery powers through the bad place too.

Ultradog MN · Jul 3, 2021

Sarcasm duly noted.
Someday the whole concept of situational
awareness will be erased and people will
think climbing on a real tractor is no more
dangerous than driving a pedal tractor was
when they were 5.
They will also become isolated and
insulated from the idea of personal
responsibility and an understanding of how
things work because there's a safety gizmo
for this and a warning sticker for that.
And they'll pass more nanny state laws and
restrictions.
And they'll kill and maim just as many as
before but their freedom will be gone but
they'll be too dumbed down to notice.

Neutral safety switch on 1971 Ford 2000 3 cyl gas tracto

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