Well at least the plowing was done...

[WheelHorseSteve 48]

To my surprise I woke up to a nice solid 2-3" of heavy/wet snow. I was excited to get the horse out to play and it performed great... until I was about 95% done with the driveway and she shut off on me. First instinct... did I run out of gas? Nope. Tried to restart and nothing... didn't even crank or click... silent.

So I pulled out a jumpstarter device (basically a battery with jumpstarter cables and a nice meter). The battery was full... it wasn't the battery. Used that device to directly fire the starter and it cranked... but did not catch at all (and yes, the key was turned on). If it actually caught I'd be suspicious of the solenoid... but now I'm suspicious of the keyswitch. What do you guys think? Could a failed keyswitch cause this symptom? I was thinking a bad ground but again, it cranks...

:help:

[Wheel-N-It 2,967]

Yes it could be the key switch. I think they tend to be somewhat problematic. Pull the plug off the back and clean up the contacts. I had to do that this year to my 312.

Van

[WheelHorseSteve 48]

Yes it could be the key switch. I think they tend to be somewhat problematic. Pull the plug off the back and clean up the contacts. I had to do that this year to my 312.

Van

The other thing that comes to mind is all that safety stuff (seat, PTO, etc.). It's all bypassed on this tractor... so any of those hacks could be culprits too I suppose...

Anyone know the part # for the keyswitch? (1976 C-160 Auto)

[Ken B 3,116]

Check to see that the power to the amp meter hasn't come undone.

[WheelHorseSteve 48]

Check to see that the power to the amp meter hasn't come undone.

Good advice, Ken! I'll definitely check that!

[WheelHorseSteve 48]

Check to see that the power to the amp meter hasn't come undone.

Good advice, Ken! I'll definitely check that!

Well, that is exactly what it was... one of the leads on the Ammeter came loose. Did you own this tractor before or what? :)

[smoreau 658]

I had that happen last summer on my C160 while cutting grass. I had to replace the connectors to keep them on.