Farmall 400 Starter Solenoid

IAtractorKid · Oct 11, 2013

Hey guys! How can I test my starter solenoid? Went to start my 400 the other day and it cranked over a little slow, I ran it for a while to charge the battery up and did not think any more about it. Went to start today and "click". Pulled the truck over and put the jumper cables on for a while and still got nothing but a single "click". Battery is on the trickle charger now just to make sure it is fully charged. I will be replacing the starter switch Saturday as it is a little finicky with the postition of the key and am hoping I can test the solenoid while Im there. Battery is 3yrs old but its a cheap farm store battery, cables are new, starter was rebuilt in "98 so has some age to it; all wiring is new. Thanks for the help!

gene bender · Oct 11, 2013

Are you sure the starter isnt ,ocked thaqt would be the first thing i would try. What do you mean cheap batteries just different prices depending on the brand. Did you know down the road from you they are the only ones making 6v batts. My cousin delivers new cases for them and thats what they told him.

El Toro · Oct 11, 2013

Use a hydrometer and check the specific gravity in that battery after it has been charged. Should be the 1.275 range and all cell readings close together. If one reads 1.100 or near that replace the battery. Hal
PS: Clean all battery cable connections and battery terminals until shiny. That includes where your battery is grounded.

Zachary Hoyt · Oct 11, 2013

Try pulling the starter out a bit and see if it is locked on the ring gear.
Zach

mkirsch · Oct 11, 2013

99% of the time, "click" is telling you that you have a bad connection somewhere.

Connections can look "fine" or "not too bad" but still be the cause of your problem.

Lights will work because they don't draw a tiny fraction of what the starter does.

rustyfarmall · Oct 11, 2013

I'll go with Mkirsch on this one. Check ALL the connections. Clean, bright, and tight is what you want.

Bud Kaiser · Oct 11, 2013

Check and see if you have 12V at the lug that goes to the starter,if so check ground.You might try using a jumped cable from ground on battery to starter housing. I tried all of this and I had a stuck brush and broken spring on mine.

Owen Aaland · Oct 11, 2013

To check the solenoid put a voltmeter across the two large terminals and engage the starter. You should not have more than about .2 volts drop across the terminals.

Farmall 400 Starter Solenoid

IAtractorKid

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gene bender

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El Toro

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Zachary Hoyt

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mkirsch

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rustyfarmall

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Bud Kaiser

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Owen Aaland

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