So a couple weeks ago machine no start no crank. I jumped it and started and ran for a couple minutes then shut off. Jumped again and left hooked up to charge- guessing bad alternator and dead dead battery. Ran for 15 minutes I needed it for then parked. Machine sat for almost 3 weeks and fired right up and ran for a couple minutes till I turned it off to talk. Went to turn back on and got lights and gauges but no crank- tried again and got rapid clicking noises from relays or something under seat or behind me- couldn’t tell but no crank. Tried again and nothing. Jumped it and nothing- Could it be the ignition switch? I am going to try to locate fuses today to check contacts and such and pull down ignition switch to check?
I would start with ground connections, and check battery. Then I would check out the starter for bad connections. The clicking noise is probably a relay or solenoid.
It was a quick repetitive click while the key was on, not a click when the key was turned- it actually sounded possessed Today I checked the battery connections and the starter connections and the ground- they looked clean and tight No noise at all today - nothing when jumped either all fuses looked good and I pulled the relays out and put them back in-
so the clicking is the relay in the fuse panel for the switched power- all conections seem ok- machine started yesterday- moved 20' then shut off while moving- and wont start or make noise or light up now
I was having similar intermittent issues and it was the fuse box below the seat, bad connection.
Check your box like Clyde said. If your getting clicking then your getting a complete circuit. Pull the fuse box out and open it up on the back side. They have a bad habit of years of moisture to corrode and the like. Check all your terminals really well. In the past it was not uncommon to see machines with the relay wires cut loose from the factory fuse block and a relay socket pig tail added to deal with the issue.
thanks- went to machine and got zip out of it yesterday- i will put cab up and see about puling the fuse box to check closer-
so i pulled the fuse box, the box had minimal dust on the backside but was in good visual shape, i saw nothing wrong with it. i pulled the headliner to check the wires leading to the panels but saw nothing wrong there. i also tried another right panel from a working machine and got no results so it isnt the ignition or panel- i dont think its getting power to the switch panel i got 12 volts at the battery with a meter but not sure how to test the starter to see if power is there with the meter..... i shorted the terminals and got it to crank so it has power? i am pulling of wires from battery and checking them and will try to chase the wires out checking grounds but not sure where they actually run....
i pulled battery and battery wires and cleaned them- still nothing pulled starter wires and cleaned them- still nothing pulled ground from battery and frame (short wire) and cleaned- still nothing pulled 2 ground wires off motor cleaned them- still nothing pulled main fuse and bypassed by connecting wires direct- still nothing need to trace more wires out- power just isnt getting to switch to fire anything- dont have a wire diagram so its slow
I have not seen it noted if you have checked the S Terminal on the starter solenoid, yet. That’s the high-wear component in this circuit. Hit the S Terminal with 12 volts and see if it cranks. Use a jumper wire. That will narrow down your trouble shooting. The S terminal is the small wire on the solenoid that receives power from the key switch.
So I used a wrench to jump the starter terminals- cranks right away without the key in the cylinder- I thought the key had to be “on” to complete the circuit? I was surprised it jumped across with out the key on
so i am not proficient in using a meter at all..... 12 volts at battery 12 volts 1 lead on starter 1 lead grounded on battery 12 volts at computer fuse with a lead on each port 12 volts probing around in relay ports so if i i did this right then not sure how to test wires at switch display to check for power there. all wires in loom and hard to see but all look ok......... gotta probe connectors i suppose?
So, you know it cranks. That narrows down your search. It would still be nice to know if it cranks by applying power to the S-Terminal on the solenoid vs jumping the B & M terminals. I would try replacing the starter relay or just swapping it with a neighboring relay like the glow plug relay. I believe they are the same. It’s located in the fuse panel.
ok- i found it the wire harness coming from the battery to the front- right under the seat area the harness splits into a connector- the red wire on the other side of the connector harness was broke inside the insulation. once a new section was splicwd in the machine was fine. thanks-
nice job.