Question on jump starting

Tim in Montana · Dec 16, 2008

I tried to start my JD4320 this evening to plow snow. The temp was around 0 after a low of -25 last night. I have had the block heater plugged in for a few days. When I tried to start the tractor, it would barely turn over. It has two 6 volt batteries connected in series. My question is how do you connect jumper cables from a 12 volt system to the batteries on the tractor? I know you fellows will know the answer and will respond quickly.
Thanks,

Tim in Montana

Anonymous-0 · Dec 16, 2008

your tractor has a 12V system. Connect cables as if it had one 12V battery. neg to neg pos to pos. cable to ground is neg. cable to starter is pos.

Keith in Iowa · Dec 16, 2008

Find the positive cable that goes to the starter.Hook your positive jump cable to that terminal and hook your ground jump cable to the frame of the tractor. If your block heater was working and your batteries were decent your tractor should have started. Did you blow a fuse or trip a circuit breaker?

Hugh MacKay · Dec 16, 2008

Tim: Boyd is correct with the hookup. One word of advice jump starting a diesel of that size. You may have to let a car or pickup remain hooked up and running for some 30 min before cranking. Basically letting the car or pickup alternator putting charge in tractors batteries. Depending on size of battery in car or pickup, it may not add much to your tractor batteries reserve.

BushogPapa · Dec 16, 2008

Block heaters are good, but even a fully charged battery will only give 50% at 0 degrees...

Best to get a heater blanket for the batteries, too...

BrianRM · Dec 16, 2008

Would it make a difference if the positive cable was connected right on the terminal where the battery connects to the starter and the negative grounded to the frame? That is, skip the battery and hook right to the starter.

Tim in Montana · Dec 16, 2008

Thanks fellows. I'll wait until tomorrow and try hooking the positive cable to the starter and the negative to the frame using my Dodge Cummins powered pickup. As for as a fuse or circuit breaker, I don't think any harm was done, because the starter engaged and tried to turn the engine over, just really slow.

Tim in Montana

LenND · Dec 16, 2008

I've started my old case that way many times. Make sure it is out of gear nad possibly the brakes set cause accidents do happen.

Anonymous-0 · Dec 16, 2008

I hook pos to the starter terminal and neg as close to or on the starter case like one of the bolts mounting it to the engine block. I have found that the block heater is only half the equation for cold weather starting. The other half is to have a battery charger bringing up the batteries to full capacity. A good charger with a 200A booster setting will help a lot too.

Mark - IN. · Dec 16, 2008

The Dodge will do it. When I do it Positive terminal to Positive terminal, negative on the frame or engine block of what's doing the jump, negative on the battery terminal of what's being jumped. Had to jump the 4520 a couple of weeks ago, and as turned out had a loose wire at its one of its battery terminal clamps too. Came loose in time was all. Still needed jumped though. Like Hugh said, let it charge for a while first, get that electrolyte stiring around those plates. I can't tell a lie, have gone lite on the ether a few times. A shot or two, but try not to.

Mark

buickanddeere · Dec 16, 2008

Bring the batteries into the house and warm them up. Then re-install them in the tractor with electric warming blankets.
A cold battery is only good for holding doors open etc.

Anonymous-0 · Dec 16, 2008

Try pouring some not too hot water over the battery before starting.warm it up a tad.

olgentdc · Dec 16, 2008

Nice Ideas and good advice ..........,I recall many winter days over the last 35 yrs when the only thing My brother and I could start was a DC Case ,We used it for feed grindin , somtimes we Would have hand crank the Old Gent ,And it was easy enuf to fire up ,,We Would start the DC ,,, Then PULL Start anything else We Needed , Mom didnt like us pluggin in hi cost electric block heaters .. And Dad was afraid of ether , because a neighbor ethered his David Brown and claimed that ether is what broke the crankshaft in his fairly New tractor ,..,

Anonymous-0 · Dec 16, 2008

why not just put a battery charger on over night and things will be good to go?

Doug in Illinois · Dec 16, 2008

It won"t help you any for this go around, but one of my friends who used to be an over the road trucker had quick couplers between the cooling system of his pickup and the big rig. Block heaters help, but don"t get the engine clear up to operating temp. After 30 minutes or so of circulating warm water thru the cold engine it fired up easy. The other thing he had also done was welding cables for jumper cables with welding plug ins on both vehicles, he would also plug them in at the same time to make sure batteries on the semi were clear up and to give a little extra kick when he did crank it over. When away from home the semi never got shut off long enough to cool clear down no matter how cold it was. DOUG

Hugh MacKay · Dec 17, 2008

Tim: The Cummins will also have large cranking capacity, however I'd still give it a few minutes on charge. My earlier posting was based on one little 12 volt battery giving the boost.

I see your getting a lot of advice to remove the batteries and warm them. Forget that one, by the time you get them out, installed and hooked up, they will be cold again. The electric battery blanket is will be about as useless as you using a human electric blanket, beside the tractor, and in your birthday suit.

Putting a charge into those batteries whether it be a charger or another vehicle, will warm the batteries faster and better than all the warmers from here to hell.

I once started a tractor with 4' of 12 gauge wire, and a test light. Without driving some distance it was all I had. I just hooked it up same as jump cables, let it charge for half hour, removed the wires and started the tractor.

Hugh MacKay · Dec 17, 2008

Mark: That little charge, even for a few minutes is worth it's weight in gold.

One morning about 15 years ago, I had a 6.2 diesel and -40 temp. After some trying I discovered my block heater supply cord had a broken wire and was only working some of the time. By this time my batteries were down.My first neighbor came with a small pickup with a battery size of a matchbox. I could not get it through his skull that his little battery was not going to start my diesel. Finally he got angry and went home, told me to stick my old diesel where the sun don't shine. He also tried to tell me my starter was weak.

I called another guy, he came hooked up the cables, we went to the house for 45 min. Came back and 6.2 fired right up.

buickanddeere · Dec 17, 2008

Your Mom intended well but didn't understand the numbers. She was costing money with the extra wear and increased fuel consumption of cold engines. Extra wear on the starter, generator/alternator and batterys too.
A 750W hetaer on for 3-4 hrs doesn't cost beans.

guido · Dec 17, 2008

Hello Tim in Montana.
Your diesel pick-up batteries are more than adequate to jump start the unit.
As another post said your first connection is positive to positive on the 2 batteries,the pick-up and the tractor.
The next connection is the negative of the good batterie/s. Make sure the other end of the negative cable is not touching anything on the dead battery vehicle.
Your last connection is at the engine block of the dead battery vehicle. It is not necessary to go to the starter motor at all for any connection.
With the cables connected run the engine at fast idle on the booster vehicle for 5 min. to get some charge into the battery first. While trying to start the vehicle it would help having someone running the booster vehicle engine at fast idle to get a better and stronger voltage boost.
Reverse the procedure to disconnect the cables.
Good Luck..............Guido.

Tim in Montana · Dec 17, 2008

The temp warmed up alittle here last night, at 5:00 this morning it was 20 deg. and as remained there all day. I connected my charger to the batteries for about a half hour this morning, before trying to start the engine. With the block heater still connected it spun over a few times and cranked like it was 80 deg. Amazing what 20 deg lower temp makes. Thanks for all the advise.

Tim in Montana

Mark - IN. · Dec 17, 2008

Hugh, I absolutely agree. Bring that electrolyte to life. I did the same a couple of weeks ago. Was putting up lights on a tree out front, let the pickup run for about an hour while I was doing it, and she turned right over and fired. Doesn't tax the charging system on either nearly as much that way.

Mark

woolie · Dec 17, 2008

The thing about boosting with newer vehicles is the electronics and computers involved. If the boosting vehicle is running when the boosted vehicle starts,the charging systems tend to fight with each other possibly causing voltage spikes which may damage one or the other systems or possibly both.

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