314-H no longer blowing fuses

[HankB 16]

At least I think and hope this is fixed. My 314-H was blowing the 15A fuse which resulted in no headlights and also disabled the diagnostic panel on the dash. When I went to replace the battery earlier this year, I could see that the main harness behind the dash had dropped down between a panel and the steering column where a washer on the steering column could rub against it. I'm pretty sure it rubbed through the insulation and resulted in an intermittent short. I pulled it out of the crevice and secured it with zip ties so it won't go there again. I haven't used the tractor much this winter (got our first snow fall worthy of starting it up today - almost an inch!) But the fix seems to be good.

I just thought I'd share because it might be a common problem with some of the 300/400/500 series tractors. (Mine is a '97 314-H)

[Sparky-(Admin) 19,756]

I bet that was it. Its nice to find the problem as some electrical issues seem to come and go (gremlins!) and can be difficult to narrow down when they are intermittant.

Mike................

[Save Old Iron 1,564]

Hank,

be aware the wound in the insulation will allow moisture to enter into the copper strands of the wiring.

Corrosion of the copper strands will follow and additional problems will be present in the future.

The wire should be replaced or repaired to prevent further corrosion of the copper strands under the insulation.

[HankB 16]

The wire should be replaced or repaired to prevent further corrosion of the copper strands under the insulation.

Thanks for the tip. I'll look into that when the weather warms.