Robert in W. Mi

Hey Guys, I hope you can give me some idea's of where to look for with this problem. I'm not great with auto wireing, but i do have some understanding of it. This truck has always started and run perfectly, i've never had even one problem with starting or anything like this happen before...

Anyway, i was pulling my tractor to my tire guy, when the engine just quit, like someone shut it off. I coasted to the side of the road, and there's no power to the starter, or radio. I had to walk home...

It has a good batt, cables are clean, all lights are fine, and when you turn the key to "start"... nothing, no dimming of the lights or anything.

When i opened the hood, i thought i could smell the faint smell of wireing? Like maybe a fusable link??? All the reg. fuses are fine, and nothing looks burnt or out of place...

I don't even know where the fusable links are, (if that's what it is?) or what one to look for, so any help you can give me would be great!

Robert

RollinCoalSmoke

Did you use a test light to check to see if you had power to the starter? Is there power to the fuel solenoid? The fusible links are on the inner fender well next to the relays. They look like wire with a bulge or knot in them. The way I test them is to use a test light with the key on and probe on either side of them. If it were mine and this is just me-if I had power to the fuel solenoid i'd jump across the starter to get it home--but since it quit you probably don't have power to it--take a jumper wire and go to the solenoid from the battery then jump across the starter and take her home. Your probably not far from home since your pulling the tractor. But use CAUTION if you put a jumper on the fuel solenoid and make sure you don't smell wire burning. This is what i'd do and I don't do what most normal folks do--so use your on judgement. Then when you get home where you can safely work on it instead of beside a road or hiway. Good luck and sorry to hear of your bad luck.

Robert in W. Mi

Well, i walked home and got another tractor... I had my neighbor steer the pu, and i pulled everything home...

I'll have to try to find those links and see what they look like...

Thanks,

Robert

wannadiesel

Yeah, sounds like you burnt a fusible link. Try to figure out what fried it before you replace it.

There's a splice in the engine harness hiding back up behind the fuel filter area. All the dark blue wires split off from there and it's just wrapped with tape. It gets fuel dripped on it, the tape unravels, and the splice hits the block frying the fuse link. That's my theory anyway...

kc8ksg

I had a similar problem the other day, went out to the truck to move it in the driveway, started it moved it, shut it off and as I got out I thought I smelt burnt wire, then I realized that I didn't hear the normal ring of the radar detector when I started the truck. So I reached in and turned the key and nothing, no power at all if it had to do with the key, no accessories or starting or even dash lights. After alot of testing it turned out my ignition switch went bad, apparently it had one start left in it and I used it moving the truck 10ft. Well whatever went bad in the ignition switch caused a dead short which caused a wire to burn in two which luckily wasn't as hard to find or as bad as it could have been. Where the one smaller cable comes off the battery then splits into three smaller wires is where if burnt in two, but I still don't know why the fuseable link didn't go instead. Luckily the PO thought the ignition switch was bad because the truck wouldn't shut off sometimes so he bought a new one just never installed it, that turned out to be just dirt on the shut down plunger and I have had a new ignition switch riding in my toolbx for 4 years!
I was kind of mad at first that walking out to the truck to move it, turned into a two hour project, but then thought of the upside that it could have happend at 4am on the way to work where there is no cell signal.

Anyway, sorry for the long post, that was my experience maybe it could shed a little light on your problem.

Chris