[AT] Tractor Lightning Strike?

Wed Jul 14 22:00:20 PDT 2021

Wind hitting the fan blades on the flywheel?

From: Dean VP 
Sent: Wednesday, July 14, 2021 9:10 PM
To: 'Antique Tractor Email Discussion Group' 
Subject: Re: [AT] Tractor Lightning Strike?

There are stories of tractors starting on their own (supposedly Non-lightening related) when parked in gear on a slope. Two friends of mine and I were hauling several garden tractors from an antique tractor show in Cottonwood, AZ to Apache Junction and along the way we stopped at a Rest Stop not too far down 17 and discovered one of the Garden Tractor engines had started running by itself. We all three verified they ALL had been shut down upon loading and being tied down. The engine was very happy just idling away. .  Have not figured that one out to this day. And BTW none of us had been drinking. No lightning strikes either that we are aware of.   We did believe that it was possible the ignition switch may have been left on.  But how did it start? IF it was in gear causing it to start due to starting and stopping of the trailer why did it come out of gear after it started? It was not in gear when we found it with the engine idling. We also determined that the tie downs were tight as can be.  One of our little mysteries we talk about occasionally usually requiring us to make more shim stock.

Dean VP

Snohomish, WA 98290

"Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery."

..Winston Churchill...

From: AT <at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com> On Behalf Of Spencer Yost
Sent: Tuesday, July 13, 2021 9:14 PM
To: Antique Tractor Email Discussion Group <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
Subject: Re: [AT] Tractor Lightning Strike?

Lightning struck my shop while I was in the office in the house next to the shop.  I had just finished the shop and nothing was in it except a halogen light stand and some tools and materials as I was finishing up some small details ; preparing to move everything in.

It did two things. First was, it tripped a GFCI receptacle in the shop  You would expect that right?  Except  it was the courtesy GFCI receptacle on the halogen light stand (not part of the building circuit) and that stand was NOT  plugged in at all. Figured that out the next day when I tried to plug in a drill to the light stand.  The next thing it did was to turn on my flatbed scanner - like I had hit the button on the front to take a scan.  It took a very nice scan of an empty bed. By the way it was so close to me all I heard was a concussion, not really a thunder clap and all I saw was blue light around me.   Pretty spooky.

If anyone wants proof, I will take a picture of the burn mark where the strike must’ve hit the peak of the roof and ran in on a flood light to ground.  It left a burn mark on the vinyl soffit as it traveled from the gutter across the soffit to the flood light.   It is there to this day.   It’s also the only flood light whose base has rusted.  

So yes - inductive current was generated in two devices in the only lightning strike I was involved it.  So that’s a real thing.

Spencer

Sent from my iPhone

  On Jul 13, 2021, at 7:30 PM, Steve Offiler <soffiler at gmail.com> wrote:

  Thx Cecil, and Jim B as well... pointing out that lightning can induce current in solenoids.  I was going with more of a melted insulation/shorting hypothesis, but I’m equally inclined to believe the induction hypothesis.  

  SO

  Sent from my iPhone

    On Jul 13, 2021, at 6:03 PM, Cecil Bearden <crbearden at copper.net> wrote:

    Lightning struck a light pole near my Arctic 366 ATV and stuck the winch relay pulling the cable so tight on the drum it had to be cut out, and ran the battery down and 2 weeks later the battery had to be replaced it was only 3 months old..   Lightning will do strange things...

    Cecil

    On 7/13/2021 9:48 AM, Carl Szabelski wrote:

      If it was a lightning strike, there should be some evidence of lightning hitting the tractor. The starter wire should also show a short that allowed the starter to engage. Also, if the starter was engaged due to a short, I would imagine that it was engaged all the time the engine was running and is possibly burned out from being engaged for so long. 

      I had the H take off on me once when I tried to do a start and realized that the battery was dead. I connected the jumper cables before before putting it in neutral and as soon as I made the last connection, off it went. Had to jump on while it started heading for the pond. Turns out that I left the kill switch off from the previous start attempt and the starter switch had also stuck in the closed position from the previous start attempt. So when I made the last jumper cable connection, the starter kicked in and off it went. Didn’t realize the starter switch was stuck in the on position until I made the next jumper cable connection, this time in neutral with the kill switch on, and heard the starter engage and run. So it is possible for a tractor to take off if it’s in gear with the kill switch off, and the starter is somehow engaged. 

      Carl

      On Tuesday, July 13, 2021, Stephen Offiler <soffiler at gmail.com> wrote:

        I'm not sure who can see this, but I hope it is available to the general public, whether you have a Facebook account or not... 

        https://www.facebook.com/soffiler/posts/10225960016456420

        Not MY tractor.  It's on my Facebook page because I'm sharing it.  You can read commentary from the owner, Lapsley Orchard, and you can also see what I came up with.  I am really curious to hear input from ATIS members.

        Steve O.

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