Farmall 65A

For starting safety it has a neutral
switch, pto disengage switch and a clutch
disengage switch. Turn the key in the
morning and I get nothing. Have to jump
across celinoid. Run it for an hour and it
will start just fine with the key. It
seems when everything is hot from running
something is expanding and making
connection. Every time I want to trouble
shoot with test light wouldn't you know
it, now it works fine. I don't think it is
the starter because when I jump cellinoid
either hot or cold it will start. How can
I troubleshoot when it is working?

Something to try, get some spray contact cleaner, clean and blow out the safety switches. They may be full of grit and dirt.

What type solenoid does it have? A plunger type mounted on the starter, or a remote contactor type?

The remote type require very little power to energize them, but the starter mounted ones take a lot of amps to overcome the spring and pull in the starter drive. Often they fail to pull in because there is too much resistance in the wire and all the safety switches. Being it acts up cold, there could be cold gummy grease in the starter that loosens up once it's warm. Adding a relay near the starter will almost always solve the problem if it is the starter mounted type solenoid.

Still you need to catch it in the act to positively locate the problem. Try connecting the test light before even trying it, that way you will be ready to catch it.

I am just assuming this but it seems like you do not want to work on the tractor or diagnose the problem where the tractor is stored so you end up starting the tractor and moving it to location B and then all works fine. You are going to have to deliberately place the tractor in the location you want to work on it so you can access your tools etc right away from the beginning when you make the first start. This may mean the tractor will have to set outside for one night. Also newer tractors like this have a much more complex wiring system then simple old tractors that are generally discussed here. Also the wiring goes in behind panels and other parts of the tractor that simply make physically following the harness much more difficult. If you are not real knowledgeable on diagnosis of electrical problems it will be almost certain you will need a wiring diagram to be very proficient at solving your issue. The diagram may be in your operators manual but most of the times it is not. A repair manual for your tractor is what you really need, it would probably give you troubleshooting steps for your problem. I will link a source where you can download a PDF manual for $30.
Edit: In the link in the Model it will probably show ..CaseIH 234.. you will need to click the down arrow at the right in the box and scroll down about halfway to find your model. It is listed as a CaseIH Farmall 65A.
Poke here


This post was edited by used red MN on 06/18/2022 at 09:23 am.