My tractor broke down...again!

I took the battery (the 'premium' wal-mart special) that was new about 4 weeks ago to Advanced Auto and they found that the battery had been drained and they charged it for me, and I popped the battery in and tightened - no lights, no cranking.

So I check the mess of wiring I had - I tried the usual solution of jiggling the wires nothing. I checked all the wires to see if they were tight - nothing. The guy at the auto store suggested that my problem is the generator, which I had rebuilt last year and has as many hours as the rebuild on my tractor (13).

When it does run, I once saw the voltage gauge running at -20, which is why I suspect the generator has something to do with the battery being low.

However, with the exception of the guage light harness, all the electrical components are literally brand new...starter/solenoid, both wiring harnesses (generator to voltage regulator) and Ignition to Starter/Voltage Regulator) The mechanics used whatever wiring from the flashers and rear work light and front lights to the light switch. (I'm hoping I make sense)

Then there is the issue I had twice last week - the engine started to surge on me when I was disking, it couldn't maintain power and I had to have the choke all the way out and the throttle put a little back to get back to my house.

I wasn't lugging the tractor as the disk was only going in two inches...and it started up like normal and worked fine after that.

I'm at my wits end with this thing. (I think the surging has to do with sediment (rust) in the gas tank and when I go home again Sunday I am going to check the carburator filter to see if there is anything clogging it.)

Like what I said before in other posts about this tractor, when it runs, it runs really, really, well which is why I am perplexed as to what is going on.

On a side note, the guy at the auto parts store suggested I convert it to run off an alternator. Would that fix my problem?

Thanks,

Christos

You mention a Walmart battery - that would lead me to believe it's a 12v.

You mention a generator on the gas tractor - which would lead me to believe you have a 6v old fashioned generator (12v generators didn't come out until diesel engines).

So - are you trying to charge a 12v battery with a 6v generator/ regulator????? ? It is rare for that to ever work without modifications.

Just a thought, in addition to the others.

The surging is eith sediment in the carb, or a weak battery not getting charged & the engine can't fire at higher rpm on the weak flash.

--->Paul

I'm glad most of you were blunt and not sugar coating your thoughts. However, the reasoning behind why I am doing this myself as opposed to having someone else doing it for me is a little complex.

I have to learn how to fix it - they're arn't too many people in my part of Central Ohio that know how to fix a Massey-Ferguson and I had more people refuse and laugh at me when I asked them if they would fix (specifically about the Continental Engine) than the guys that said yes.

And the primary reason, I can't afford to have the tractor hauled to the mechanic's shop (@ $80 a pop each way and thats for 24 miles). If I can't get it to run after taking apart the spaggetti, I'm going to go bite the bullet and have it sent to the shop or at least talk to the gentleman who farms my land for us and see if one of his mechanics can't help me out.

The reason why I am losing my patience is because my Mom threatned me the last time with the scrapper's torch, and I worked my butt off at work to try and pay for the majority of the repairs.

And thats the way it is. Thank you all for your help, I'm looking forward to my days off to try and fix and nip this problem in the bud.

Christos

Your problems seem to be in the main feed from the battery to the starter motor or in the earth return to the battery connection, and in the charge circuit.
Unless you are very unlucky, most of the faults will converge on one point in the circuit which is common to both starting and charging sections.
If you are unable, for any reason, to get it sorted yourself, get it fixed by an expert before more damage occurs.

It seems to me that poor servicing previously is likely to have caused minor problems to build up into a really big problem now. If each problem is diagnosed and fixed properly so that it does not re-occur, then any electrical or running problems on an old tractor like yours are relatively simple to diagnose and fix.

You said "acts like it not getting any juice".
If it acts like it, it probably isn"t getting any; check it out so you are certain by checking voltage drops across components or connectors as appropriate, then you will know for certain what and where the problem is - ie you will be able to fix it!

Your surging problem could be sediment but could be a blocked vent in the cap or a vapour-locked fuel line. If on checking the carb filter you find it clogged, the problem is before the filter - the filter is working as designed. If it is not clogged, it does not mean there is no problem upstream. Possibility problem could be electrical, but not enough information/diagnosis to be 100% sure of anything.

If your usual solution is to "jiggle a wire", it is not surprising problems are mounting up. Diagnosis may include "jiggling" but this does not fix it! Checking voltage drops with a voltmeter is a much more scientific method of fault-finding and will give proper results if done in the correct order (if two or more connections are "dodgy", jiggling will only indicate a "fix" when all are making good connections.

Electrics on these old tractors is basically simple. No complications of computer connections and tranducers shutting down parts or all of the systems. Just simple. Starter circuit. Charge circuit. Lighting circuit. Ignition circuit. I think that is about all there is.

The Alternator fix? The answer is NO! Well not unless all your issues are with the dynamo and voltage regulator. That may simply need a sensible diagnosis to find the fault, then fix it.
Your issues are patently not simply with the charge circuit - a fully(?) charged battery would start and run the tractor until it became discharged!

My advice. Get an expert to fix it properly. Sorry if that is too blunt, but there it is. If you are driven to your wits end by these little issues, get them fixed by someone who will not be at their wits end - an expert who has the diagnosis tools available and can use them efficiently.
Regards, RAB

I"ve had problems with a fuel gauge to run down a battery. I"ve had a bad voltmeter no allow one to charge. Bad battery cable connections will do it sometimes.

And the problems with the engine"s performance COULD be related to the dead electrical system. Gas tractors don"t like to keep running when there"s not enough "spark".

You need to get a wiring diagram and go through every wire, making sure it"s wired to spec. THEN start checking individual componants.

converting to one of those 1 wire Delco alternators worked for me

check out the archives on the massey page for plenty of good info

Here is a picture of the left side of my tractor that shows all the major electrical components - maybe you all can see whats screwing up my tractor.

I also replaced the ignition last week - I still had to jiggle the wires to start it once, other than that it started up fine and decided to not work when I tried to start up the tractor to raise my bush-hog to fix it.

Christos

Even bad boys are just as good as they can be