Tell me about your farm workhorses...ATVs, 4 wheelers, tractors, side by sides, etc.

[Mini Horses]

So I'm not mechanic either but, doing more of it! When my mower refused to start, after being fine all day, I asked DS to look at it. Some fiddling and mumbling got no improvement. He left it. I needed it! Went on line to find route from key to start!. Then followed lines from key switch to wherever they went. There it was!!! A little plug not plugged....instant success. In a hard to get to location but, fixed.

"Follow the money".....wires.

 

[Beekissed]

It could very well be that or as simple as the connection or a bad spot in the wiring. But the motor isn't that much and a part that goes out eventually anyway.


I have a 96' diesel that has a bad terminal connection and it makes me that a simple connection to one of the batteries keeps it from charging when running or starting later. Even with a charger or jumper cables hooked up. The 1 hot wire with the T needed to connect both batteries is $300 and I didn't want to just rig up something.
So it's still down.

One wire????? $300???? I think I'd rig up something at those prices...tear into the old wire to see how it's comprised inside the insulation and see if you can duplicate it somehow.

I'll know more about the wiring down there when I tear into mine, but I figured the same thing as you...the part isn't expensive, I'm in there anyway, so why not just replace that booger? It's a 20 yr old machine, so if that hasn't been replaced before now, it's due.

 

[Beekissed]

So I'm not mechanic either but, doing more of it! When my mower refused to start, after being fine all day, I asked DS to look at it. Some fiddling and mumbling got no improvement. He left it. I needed it! Went on line to find route from key to start!. Then followed lines from key switch to wherever they went. There it was!!! A little plug not plugged....instant success. In a hard to get to location but, fixed.

"Follow the money".....wires.

You sound like me!! Had the same issue, same response from my fixit guy, so I started checking out the wiring...I had already replaced the battery, the spark plug, and the starter this year, so I knew it had to be wiring, though last year we paid a crooked mower place to fix the exact problem and they said they put in a new wiring harness.

Yeah...where they were supposed to put a 25 amp fuse behind the switch, they had spliced in a pigtail and put a 20 amp in the fuse socket where the 25 was supposed to go and a 5 amp in the pigtail. The 20 amp was fried/melted. Took those out and put the proper 25 amp fuse in and it fired right up, been running gangbusters ever since.

 

[Alaskan]

Okay all you ATV aficionados(@Alaskan)....got a problem with my Honda Foreman 450 ES, 2001 model. It is sporadically not starting via the ES and I just hear a click from the solenoid when I press the button on the starter. But....sometimes it fires up just fine, first time.

So, checked the battery charge and it's fine...pulls 12.7 amps when not in use and 15 amps when running. I charged the battery anyway but it didn't take more than a few seconds to show it fully charged. Then I replaced the solenoid...that was an easy repair. Still, same thing....just that lonely click at the solenoid most of the time, but at odd times I can go out and try it and it will fire right up.

This symptom happened all in one day....wasn't having trouble with it at all until that one day, wasn't doing anything different with it, but just refused to start after I had been using it throughout the day, off and on. Then later I tried it and it started and that gave me hope...and it would continue to start fine the next few times I tried it. Then, it wouldn't.

I'm absolutely no good with electrical issues and am not particularly mechanically inclined, so if you know what it is or could be, please let me know in laymen terms or just tell me how to fix it, please?

There is a loose connector someplace....


I would make sure all wires from battery to starter are good, and make sure the grounds are good.

 

[Beekissed]

There is a loose connector someplace....


I would make sure all wires from battery to starter are good, and make sure the grounds are good.

Thank you! When I tear into it to put the new starter motor in there I'll check all wires and grounds to make sure all are still in good working order and fastened down tightly.

The ones I can easily access are all nice and tightly screwed down, as that was the first thing I checked. Thank you, @Alaskan, @CLSranch and @Mini Horses !

All you folks are such a treasure store of wisdom!

 

[Margali]

Do you have a multi-meter? You should be able to do a continuity check on each wire to see if it is broken. If one is broken, you can splice it and maybe fix the issue.

 

[Beekissed]

Do you have a multi-meter? You should be able to do a continuity check on each wire to see if it is broken. If one is broken, you can splice it and maybe fix the issue.

I don't but in all my searching on YT to troubleshoot, I came to the conclusion that I would have to get one.

 

[Beekissed]

Got my starter motor in the mail! Hope to dig into things this weekend and get that put on. Also going to replace wheel bearings on the right rear...been making a terrible squeaking/squeeling noise back there when it gets hot.

 

[Beekissed]

Eli, my miracle mechanic(you have to understand, as a single mother/person, I've not had the advantages of having a handy husband hanging around, fixing mechanical things for me all these years, so this is indeed a miracle to me!), put that starter motor on in about 10 min. or less...most of which was just finding our 10 mm socket~would have taken me a good hour or so, I'm sure. Starts right up!!!!

He also replaced some bearings in the right rear axle and no more squeaking/squealing there. YAY!!! Steve is back to being my favorite mode of farm transportation. Yes, my 4WR has been named Steve by my 7 yr old grandgirl, the name having a private joke meaning to us both.

Anyone else have names for their machinery? Folks used to do so, but not sure if they do that still.

 

[Margali]

Anyone else have names for their machinery? Folks used to do so, but not sure if they do that still.

Our pickup is Hugo and my Hyundai is Heidi.