John Deere 170 won't start

[reynoldston]

One of the very first thing you will need is a wiring diagram. Without it you are just guessing, its the road map for electrical repair. There are just too many makes and models with different color wires to work without a wiring diagram. I have been doing it for years and its the very first thing I start with. You might also want to isolate the engine and chassis so you will know if it is or isn't the module or coil. I have seen the coils go bad on that model Kawasaki engine. Replaced three of them this pass summer.

 

[delenca]

Problem fixed!!

Father-in-law came over with a battery recharger and all his automotive knowledge, experience and had the problem fixed in 5 minutes.

Basically, 2 problems:
1) Main problems: Battery terminals too corroded. I hadn't isolated this problem b/c of:
2) The clutch/brake safety switch was slightly off. It took a few jiggling/pushes on the clutch pedal to release the safety switch.
At that point we could sometimes crank engine using the battery charger but with obvious arc + sparks.

At that point, I took apart the + lead from my battery and cleaned it out with a toothbrush and baking soda. Got rid of all the gunk and put it back.

Charged the battery for good measure for a couple of hours using the loaner charger and then tried again: perfect start without hesitation.

Lucky it was such a simple problem. Wish I'd followed the advice I saw somewhere to look at the corrosion 1st but the clutch safety switch tricked me.

It is possible that a new clutch/brake safety switch lies in my near future sometime but for now the tractor is back in working order.

Thanks to everyone - I've learned a lot about my tractor even though I still don't have a good circuit diagram and/or repair manual!!

Cheers,
-Alex

 

[SeniorCitizen]

The baking soda neutralized the acid that was present but it only cleaned enough to start a few times. The dark gray color we see on the battery posts is hard lead oxide and it needs to be cleaned off until the lead shines silver. Normal steel brushes won't do it but there are battery brushes made for that purpose that will. When the battery brush isn't available emery tape / sand paper will fill that void for both the battery posts and the cable end terminals of copper. I'm never without a sharp pocket knife ( I don't fly ) and use it more often than any of the above.

 

[jakeamondo]

The loose wire is included in the harness for an optional oil pressure sensor. ignore it