I'm having trouble with the monitor on my round baler. The light won't come on when the tying arm moves to tie a bale. I traced the problem to a bad micro-switch that works off the movement of the tying arm. When I bought a new micro-switch, I found that it has three posts on it. They are marked NC, NO and G. What do these mean? I'm confused about how to put the wires on the switch.
The G is for ground; the NC post represents normally closed, which means in its normal position the arm on the switch is pushed next to the switch by something on the baler, such as the tying arm.
The NO post represents normally open. This means in its normal position the arm on the switch is away from the switch and is waiting for something to depress it to make something happen on the monitor, such as the oversize bale switch. Make sense?
My grandson accidentally dropped a dog fennel stem about 27 inches long into the fuel tank of my 4230 John Deere tractor. The fuel gauge does not work, and he was trying to check the fuel level. Will this do any harm? If so, what can I do about it?
Any foreign object in the fuel tank is not a good thing. I suggest you wait until the fuel level is lower than the sending unit on the side of the tank (behind the right-side screen). Then, after removing the sending unit, reach in the hole (without losing any diesel) with a piece of wire and bring the stem close to the hole where you can clip it and remove it.
Now that you have the sending unit removed, let's see if we can easily fix your fuel gauge. Turn on the ignition key, and while watching the fuel gauge on the dash, have your grandson ground the single wire that goes to the center of the sending unit.
If the gauge quickly moves to full or empty when the wire is grounded, then your fuel gauge will usually work if you replace the sending unit. If the fuel gauge doesn't respond when the sending unit wire is grounded, you probably want to contact the shop.
When I hook up my trailer to my pickup, the turn signals flash very fast. Why do they do that? What can I do to keep them from flashing so fast?
The reason your turn signals are flashing so fast is that your trailer has added another bulb to your turn-signal circuit. This lowers the resistance in that circuit, which means more amps are now flowing through the circuit. Your turn signal flasher relies on a certain amount of amps to make it heat and cool, which opens and closes the circuit, making your turn signals flash.
Replacing the two-bulb flasher with a three-bulb flasher will slow down your flashing speed. However, after you unplug your trailer, your truck flashers could flash slower than they did with the two-bulb flasher. You have a choice, but no complete solution.
When I hit the starter button on my 800 Ford tractor, my starter runs (hums), but nothing else happens. The engine won't crank over. What should I do? I know my battery is up.
You need to remove the starter and see what is going on with the starter drive on the end of the starter. One pin holds it in place on the shaft. The starter drive is either sticking or broken. You can replace it without changing out the starter.
My Ford diesel tractor likes to take its vacation during the spring and summer—just about the time hay season rolls around. It starts fine during the cold months, but won't start when the weather warms up. I've changed all the wires and relays that have anything to do with the electric solenoid in the injector pump. I changed the ignition switch, and I've even had the shut-off solenoid changed in the pump. It still does the same thing. The voltage in the battery is 12.2 to 12.4 volts, which should be OK for a 12-volt battery. When I “hot wire” the solenoid on the pump directly from the battery, the tractor will start just fine, no matter how hot the weather. I can't find anyone who can figure this out.
I'll give it a shot. First of all, your battery should have 12.6 volts or so of potential voltage in it when the engine is not running. Since you have only 12.2 to 12.4 volts, you could have a battery, alternator or regulator problem. When you get that repaired, your problem may go away. When the weather warms, electrons have a harder time going through hot wire, which could explain why it won't start during the summer. If it won't start after you get your battery at 12.6 volts, I would suggest that you replace (or have it checked with an ohm meter) the wire from the ignition switch to the solenoid on the injector pump. This wire could have high resistance in it, which could prohibit it from carrying the necessary amps to open the solenoid switch on the injector pump.
The knots where I tie the balls of twine together on my round baler hang up in the twine tension plates when they try to pass through them, causing the twine to break. I like a lot of tension on my twine because it makes for a better bale. Is there a certain kind of knot I can use that will easily pass through the tension plates? I use plastic twine.
The best knot to use when tying plastic twine together is the sheet bend knot. Since I was never in the Navy, it took me a few minutes to master tying this knot. However, it was time well spent. This knot will normally pass through tension plates without a problem. If it hangs up, you'll have to loosen the tension on your plates. See the illustration for help with tying the sheet bend knot.
Steve's Extra
In a previous article, I wrote about batteries losing their charge when placed on concrete for a period of time. I received several ideas on this one; it seems that battery cases in the older days were made of rubber, which would allow a battery to lose its charge when placed directly on concrete. However, newer batteries have plastic cases, which will not allow a battery to lose its charge.