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Please Help! Push Button Start will not engage.

R

RTR

Well-known Member
Hey guys I’m working on this 140 Farmall that has a push button 12 volt system and I can’t get it to do anything but make a small quick tap noise. The connections are tight and new at the battery. Battery is new. Took the starter off and it spun when 12 volts applied. I grounded the battery at one of the starter bolts. I also tested the push button switch with a multimeter on continuity.

Please help me
 

I will also say that the starter push button gets warm when battery is hooked up
 
Heat generally means too much voltage through button or bad connection on switch. Have you tried jumping across solenoid? You can jump with smaller wire from start position on solenoid to hot wire. if tractor starts then push button is bad, if not probably the solenoid. Do you have to turn key on to use starter button? if so is there voltage at button when key is on? You could also chck for voltage at starter wire on solenoid when button is pushed. Of course be sure tractor is out of gear when doing any of the testing
 
(quoted from post at 01:12:02 04/15/19) Heat generally means too much voltage through button or bad connection on switch. Have you tried jumping across solenoid? You can jump with smaller wire from start position on solenoid to hot wire. if tractor starts then push button is bad, if not probably the solenoid. Do you have to turn key on to use starter button? if so is there voltage at button when key is on? You could also chck for voltage at starter wire on solenoid when button is pushed. Of course be sure tractor is out of gear when doing any of the testing
Click to expand...

There is no solenoid. Just a toggle on off and big heavy push button that bridges the gap between positive starter cable.
 
Your switch is bad. I have made new
insulators from a plastic soda bottle cap.
Contacts are large and you can sand / file
them.
 
Run your voltage test again, this time with the starter connected.

From the starter stud to case ground you should get at least 9 volts with the starter button pressed.

If you get very low voltage, the power is not making it to the starter. Start moving your test point back toward the battery. Check on the battery side of the starter switch while holding the switch down. If good voltage there, the switch is not making good contact. It may just need cleaning.

Be careful! It could start cranking during the test!
 
Contacts on the push button switch are probably corroded and not letting power through. You could test to see if the switch is bad by running a bypass wire and touching it to the
starter.
 
Put tractor in High gear, with switch off rock tractor starter is stuck in ring gear. If you can't rock it enough. Loosen the bolts till it will wiggle enough, you hear it pop loose then tighten back up. Most likely problem. Will work again till it sticks. If it gets to doing it to often you may need to change the drive gear in the starter.
 
(quoted from post at 07:17:01 04/15/19) Put tractor in High gear, with switch off rock tractor starter is stuck in ring gear. If you can't rock it enough. Loosen the bolts till it will wiggle enough, you hear it pop loose then tighten back up. Most likely problem. Will work again till it sticks. If it gets to doing it to often you may need to change the drive gear in the starter.
Click to expand...
X2, I need to change drive gear on the H
 
(quoted from post at 16:17:01 04/15/19) Put tractor in High gear, with switch off rock tractor starter is stuck in ring gear. If you can't rock it enough. Loosen the bolts till it will wiggle enough, you hear it pop loose then tighten back up. Most likely problem. Will work again till it sticks. If it gets to doing it to often you may need to change the drive gear in the starter.
Click to expand...
that isn’t it. I removed the starter and bench tested it. I’m thinking that big push button is bad. I’ve never seen them go bad but it seems like that is what it is.
 
I've got a 1967 Cub with a bad push button.

The buttons were the best thing they had at the time but were never really all that good at starter switches. They tend to burn the contacts because you simply can't punch the button quick enough to prevent arcing.
 
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