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No cranking on Farmall H.

F

farmergeist

Member
I know this sounds stupid, but my Farmall H will not crank. I replaced the battery and put a new started button on, but the starter motor doesn"t even click.

I rocked the tractor back and forth to see if the throwout gear was stuck. Nothing.

Finally, I took the starter motor to be rebuild.
Previously I had hooked up an electric charger to the starter motor in START mode and the starter motor didn"t budge.

I"m waiting to get the starter motor back, but it bothers me that not even a "click" came out of it.
Is this usual when the starter motor is bad, or is this a ridiculous question? I never had a starter motor get THAT dead! The wiring is thick, I changed those last year and it made a big difference. The battery definitely had a bad cell and I got a new one.

What do you guys think...was the starter just bad or could something else cause this. I can"t think of anything else. Everything is connected.
 
The starter brushes can wear down to the point that they do not touch the commutator. When this happens, it just quits! Sometimes hitting it with a wooden or plastic mallet a good whollop on the side near the brush end will let it start a very few more times. A starter switch that is not touching the stud (under it coming from the inside) will also cause a dead motor when it is a matter of elongating the holes in the switch and moving it to make better (or any) contact with the stud.
Jim
 
I usually lay a starter on the bench and using jumper cables ground the starter and touch the negative to the terminal(negative in the case of positive ground farmall starters)..if they jump I look for other problems, like corroded terminals..if they don't jump then its rebuild time.
 
I have a old 43 H when I replaced the lead wire to the starter I did,nt hold the jam nut on the starter and the whole stud twisted, partially breaking the armature lead inside the starter it worked for a while until the small amount of internal lead fried off.
 

my Hs battery cable was rusted where it attaches to the starter. took it off and cleaned it up and it started fine
 
I just had a problem where the motor would turn very slowly. Battery was fine, cleaned the switch, still no luck. Put the starter on the bench and it wouldn't turn fast enough to throw the pinion forward.

The springs that hold the pressure on the brushes had been overheated and lost their tension.

Greg
 
Good idea Michael. I tried this while it was on the tractor though, and not even a click out of it.

I'll be anxious to see what the rebuilder says.
 
Yeah, Jim, I know all about brushes and commutators. Used to work on elevator motors in New York City with my father, who was a master electrician and one of three people in NYC who could fix them at the time.

I really should have checked the bruses and/or taken the whole thing apart, but sometimes you just don't have the time to fool around with it, so I sent it out for a rebuild. Hope it solves the problem.,

Hitting motot with a wallop, however, I do not ever recommend!

As for the ignition switch, I put in a new one, but, hey, you never know. If the rebuild doesn't solve this, I'll check it out.

I love all the responses I'm getting on this.
Good old Yankee Ingenuity out there!!!

Which is why we are such a cool nation, despite all the crooks and politicians. Go USA!
 
One possibility is a faulty starter button. Mine acts up every now and again. If it is like mine, you can twist it to get a good contact. Try testing it with a voltmeter to see if when you push it in you get current through it. Just a thought.
Jason
 
The whollop is not destructive, it just jars the brushes into temporary contact (the method has been in continuous use for BOUT 100 YEARS. Just don't break it! Good luck Jim
 
You mean since electricity was discovered?

I don't recall Nikola Tesla mentioning the whollop, but I'll take your word for it!
 
You mean since electricity was discovered?

I don't recall Nikola Tesla mentioning the whollop, but I'll take your word for it!
 
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