own some John Deere green again

[trouttrooper]

Well it's at least considered a "tractor" . Friend of mine gave me his JD 210 lawn tractor with mower deck, blade, and tiller attachments. He upgraded and this one had quit running right. He knew I liked tinkering with stuff, and I can never pass up a free deal. :thumbsup:

So I've been spending a few minutes here and there doing some basic cleaning and figuring the electrical system and :skep: :rolleyes5: :WTF: I know he didn't do it, but whoever owned this thing before should be drawn and quartered. Clumps of solder connecting multiple sections of wire together wrapped in a mile of electrical tape, two wires each with female end connectors taped together, wires soldered to parts that should have used the slip over blade connections. Wires cut and taped over that should be going to something. It's a miracle the darn thing ever ran at all. No wonder I can't get any spark :rolleyes5:

Aw heck. He knew I loved fixing this stuff.

 

[btfarm]

Allow Me to be FIRST!-

:nopics:





:hihi:

 

[schiker]

Yeah, something about old equipment you see years of shade tree fixes. Good luck. It's fun to fix stuff correctly but sometimes hard to figure when to stop digging into previous fixes and just let it work.

 

[bison]

Yeah,need pics!

 

[trouttrooper]

sorry. Try to get some soon.

 

[trouttrooper]

My youngest having fun the day we got it home






Didn't take any pictures of what it looked like at first, but here's an example of some of the soldering I was dealing with.


Instead of using the blade connectors, they wrapped these around the posts of the rectifier and put huge globs of solder on them then wound a shitload of electrical tape


The two purple wires with female connectors were taped together. Haven't figured out exactly why yet.

 

[bison]

I have two 112's one's a 1972 and the other a 74,both geardrive and electr lift.Pretty similar to yours.
Good tractors. i got one i use allready since 96. Paid $50

I think the purple wires on yours are for the PTO safety switch.(supposed to prevent start with pto engaged)

 

[trouttrooper]

I think the purple wires on yours are for the PTO safety switch.(supposed to prevent start with pto engaged)

Ya know I was wondering if that wasn't the case. Noticed a switch with 2 male blade connectors associated with the PTO shaft on the underside of the dash that had nothing going to it. I bet you solved that mystery for me....thanks!!

This tractor came with the optional hydraulic lift. That's going to be nice.

 

[Crankme69]

Nice tractor!

 

[btfarm]

Noticed a switch with 2 male blade connectors associated with the PTO shaft on the underside of the dash that had nothing going to it.

That sounds more like the neutral safety switch on a hydro tractor and IIRC, the 2 wires that go to it are purple. The switch is cheap and, for that matter, a jumper with 2 female spades is easy to make .

 

[trouttrooper]

for that matter, a jumper with 2 female spades is easy to make .

um ya :hihi:

Confirmed last night that it was the "PTO off when starting" wires. I had intentions last night of reconnecting the switch, but the switch was damaged a little and getting it to work right wasn't going to happen.

Got it to start up and run last night so at least got that part working. Still not putting out a charge so I need to test some parts with the meter. Didn't do it last night since it was close to 1am when I realized I should probably go to bed.

 

[jrkrace]

You'll have fun with it. I've got a '78 316K that is totally indestructible. The parts are cheap as well...

 

[gy67]

I am a BIG TIME JD harden tractor fan. I've been restoring them for alomost 10 years. I've owned 65,67,72 110's, 73 112, 69, 72, 73 140 H3, 70 140 H1, 70 120, 78 316, 66 Model 60 and 73 model 70. Still own the 69 & 72 140 and 70 120. They're almost like family. Never jumped into the 200 series John Deere LGT's yet but that day will come. You'll love yours I'm sure. These things are indestructile and still have most if not all part still available from mother Deere.

 

[trouttrooper]

Well who knows what the exact problem was for the charging system.

1. Replaced battery, it was over 7 years old
2. Replaced positive side battery cable, major corrosion
3. Replaced ignition switch, had no key and my friend had been using a screwdriver. Doubt that had anything to do with not charging the battery, it just bugged me to no end.
4. Removed rectifier, starter solenoid, ground strap and thoroughly cleaned all connections.

Put everything back together and whaddya know. Working like it's suppose to. Also picked up a variator speed handle off ebay for a reasonable price, the one on the tractor was broken. Started having some trouble running but ended up being crap getting in and plugging up the carb, probably from sitting for so long. A couple cycles of running and cleaning out the carb bowl took care of the problem.

I did manage to pull a Kevin Costner in Dances with Wolves this afternoon. Like most guys I have multiple projects going on at the same time. My garage is pretty small so the wooden structure I'm building is kinda surrounding the tractor. In the process of putting the new battery cable on I needed a different size wrench so I turned around, stood up, and got some good momentum going into the first step before running right into a horizontal 2x4 that was just a hair above forehead level. I sat on the ground for probably 2-3 minutes waiting for that initial intense pain to go away. My friggen head still hurts to touch it. :nonod:

 

[bison]

Well who knows what the exact problem was for the charging system.

1. Replaced battery, it was over 7 years old
2. Replaced positive side battery cable, major corrosion
3. Replaced ignition switch, had no key and my friend had been using a screwdriver. Doubt that had anything to do with not charging the battery, it just bugged me to no end.
4. Removed rectifier, starter solenoid, ground strap and thoroughly cleaned all connections.

Put everything back together and whaddya know. Working like it's suppose to. Also picked up a variator speed handle off ebay for a reasonable price, the one on the tractor was broken. Started having some trouble running but ended up being crap getting in and plugging up the carb, probably from sitting for so long. A couple cycles of running and cleaning out the carb bowl took care of the problem.

I did manage to pull a Kevin Costner in Dances with Wolves this afternoon. Like most guys I have multiple projects going on at the same time. My garage is pretty small so the wooden structure I'm building is kinda surrounding the tractor. In the process of putting the new battery cable on I needed a different size wrench so I turned around, stood up, and got some good momentum going into the first step before running right into a horizontal 2x4 that was just a hair above forehead level. I sat on the ground for probably 2-3 minutes waiting for that initial intense pain to go away. My friggen head still hurts to touch it. :nonod:

These head stoppers are fun...ain't they?.

Good job on the tractor though.(these ign switches last only so long)