[AT] shop time (Now Kill Switch)

David Rotigel rotigel at me.com
Sun Feb 1 17:20:20 PST 2015


Is there a problem with stolen tractors at shows? If not, would not simply taking the key out work just as well?
	Dave

On Feb 1, 2015, at 11:23 AM, charlie hill <charliehill at embarqmail.com> wrote:

> If you've ever been around a personal water craft (jet ski) or a
> lot of different types of motor sports vehicles you've no doubt
> seen a little orange or red lanyard hooked to the drivers shirt.
> At the other end of that lanyard is a spring loaded kill switch
> that is held open by a plastic clip.  When the clip is removed
> it grounds out the ignition kill wire.  It might be a good idea
> for all of us to put one of those on our tractors that are going
> to shows.  Put the spring loaded kill switch in a hidden location
> and remove the plastic clip when the tractor is on display.
> Those switches are relatively cheap and can be found at boat supply
> stores and probably at Walmart.
> 
> yep I decided to check.  here it is: 
> http://www.walmart.com/ip/Boat-Kill-Switch-Keys-Lanyard/37514258
> 
> Charlie
> 
> -----Original Message----- 
> From: Indiana Robinson
> Sent: Sunday, February 01, 2015 10:52 AM
> To: Antique tractor email discussion group
> Subject: Re: [AT] shop time
> 
> On Sun, Feb 1, 2015 at 9:39 AM, <jtchall at nc.rr.com> wrote:
> 
>> With more to do than time to do it in, I've had to draw the line at
>> waiting for warmer weather to begin winter maintenance. I get dad to cut
>> the heat on in the shop about mid afternoon so it is comfortable enough to
>> get some work done before supper. It took all week but managed to get the
>> master cylinder and brake equalizer rebuilt on his IH 454. As for now they
>> appear to be working, had a little more trouble than we anticipated 
>> getting
>> them bled properly.
>> 
>> Saturday it was time to pull the Farmall M in the shop, it had quit
>> charging. Since it has a magneto, no big deal as long as you didn't cut it
>> off with a weak battery. I can hand crank it, but the mechanism to do so 
>> is
>> generally too gunked up to turn free.  The field had already been grounded
>> years ago to make it charge. Checked for broke wires, no problems there,
>> time to look at the generator. I had a buddy stop by and we pulled the 
>> band
>> off that covers the brushes. Polished that section of armature real 
>> careful
>> with fine sandpaper on a stick with it running. Pushed on a couple of the
>> brushes and it charged for a split second. Pulled the generator and took 
>> it
>> apart. It was a very greasy mess to say the least. I guess the majority of
>> it was the residue form the brushes. Cleaned all that up, greased the
>> bearing, checked conditions of wires etc. The brushes are worn very bad.
>> Put it back together anyway. Had to free up the adjustable pulley so we
>> could tighten the generator belt. Put it back on the tractor, still not
>> charging. Grounded the field again, still not charging. Noticed one of the
>> brushes was so worn it  it was not making contact. Loosened the screw and
>> slid it away from the tensioner a bit, jackpot, its charging. I'll pick up
>> a set of brushes this week and hopefully call this problem fixed. Going to
>> leave the field grounded, been that way for a long time. Looks like I can
>> change the brushes with the generator on the tractor. Also have a new
>> off/on switch coming for it. Seems everybody wants $50 for one. My
>> grandmother bought this tractor new so I don't want to disrespect it by
>> sticking on a $5 switch from a parts house. The starter and generator and
>> magneto all came on the tractor, of course all have been rebuilt, but 
>> never
>> exchanged. This tractor hadn't been cranked for 2-3 months and cranked 
>> very
>> easily in 35 deg weather with the 6 volt system barely spinning it over.
>> 
>> John Hall
>> _______________________________________________
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>> 
> 
> 
> 
> I have always kind of disliked that many of my tractors do not use even a
> simple key to start them. At tractor shows I usually pulled the rotor out
> of the distributor to avoid possible accidents. I've seen it happen several
> times over many years.
> One year at our county fair a kid playing fired up a brand new Farmall Cub
> and it did a pretty impressive job of plowing a furrow clear across the
> asphalt drive before someone could catch up with it and shut it down. It
> could have been a lot worse...
> I've not priced them in a long time and the price might trigger seizures
> but I have considered buying some of those key switches with the lid that
> they used on the number series IHC tractors. My 400 LP had one as did the
> 300 Utility. That would give the protection of a key and still look
> "reasonably" appropriate.
> I did a good job (on purpose) of teaching son Scott that you "NEVER" stand
> directly in front of or behind a tractor being sold at an auction sale. I'm
> not sure that even with my shoes off and my pants unzipped that I could
> count up the number of times that I have seen someone jump up on a tractor
> to fire it up and start it in gear. I've thankfully never seen anyone
> seriously hurt but some serious close calls. I have seen a couple of guys
> knocked down. The most scary was a guy that started one from the ground and
> if another guy on the other side hadn't hit the switch he would have been
> toast. I've also seen guys start stick-shift trucks in gear at sales too.
> The N Fords were ahead of the pack with the starter interlock. My TO-20
> Ferguson has the starter built into the gear shift lever positions at the
> "S" at the top right. You have to lift the lever a bit to get to the right
> side for S and reverse.
> The only problem with the safety interlocks is that you still MUST maintain
> the habit of shaking hands with the gear shift lever because the next one
> you start may not have the safety interlock. Out of 17 (not all running) my
> MF-165, the two 8N's, the Ferguson TO-20 have interlocks. None of the
> others do. My Deere 4020 did but I sold it when I retired. Son Scott's
> Oliver 1755 did but he sold it when I retired. He now has a MF-175 and of
> course it has an interlock.
> People get weird at auctions. I have seen guys swing pitch forks around in
> a crowd like they were standing alone in the middle of a 20 acre field.
> Just nuts...
> -------------------------------
> Somewhere I have a list I made not long ago of what tractors and garden
> tractors I have and and whether they are running, need minor work or are
> basket case project tractors. That was probably a good idea except I have
> lost the list... I should make a list of where I keep my lists...
> :-)
> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> -- 
> 
> Francis Robinson
> aka "farmer"
> Central Indiana USA
> robinson46176 at gmail.com
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> 
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