Cold starting difficulties
 

As ready as I am for moving snow, I found out today that my cub is not. She was being stubborn and not wanting to start. I finally got it with a jump from the truck.

Let me describe the conditions.

-I had not started it in about 2 or 3 weeks.
-Between those two weeks, the temps. rose from 30 degrees to 60 on Thanksgiving then on Friday dropped to a high of average 35.
-I am forced to leave the cub outside.
-It's covered by a tarp, then a lean-to awning, but exposed to wind on 3 sides. (not the best, but it's what I've got.)
-I've never had trouble starting it before.
-Batt is not that old; I don't think it's bad.
-It's got 10 30 wt oil in it.
-Exterior air temp at start up was 35, no wind.
-Starting fluid was not necessary.
-This is the first year I've used it in the winter.
-This is the first year I've ever used a cub in the winter. (I have run a Farmall H before on snow removal so I'm familiar with old engines and cold starts.)
-Once it did fire, it ran great, like it had no problems. The ammeter indicated a charge was indeed present.
-I've checked the generator last month with a voltage meter, it puts out 13/14 volts at mid to high idle.

When I was cranking it over, it was cranking sluggish, but not poorly like the battery was dead. It just didn't catch until I got the truck on it and it was able to spin faster.

What should I do? I'm concerned that it's going to be troublesome all winter and when I need it to perform it won't. I would like to avoid jumping it every time I need it. Should I put the (batt) charger on it more often? It's not even that cold out yet.


Thanks

Being in Michigan also, I have found using a higher octane fuel (90 Min) greatly improves my Cub's starting abilities.

drglinski: First, I like your 147. Second, it is a hydrostatic. There are two things you can do that I know of to help with the cold starts.

1. Put a magnetic heater on the transmission to keep the Hy-tran warm, it will really help your cranking speed, from what I've heard.

2. Store your battery inside where it is warm and put a the trickle charge on it a few hours before you intend to use it.

Outside of keeping it in a heated garage, I don't know of any way to leave it in a condition that will ensure instant starts without some method of bringing heat to the machine, or the machine to the heat.

Disclaimer: I'm just reporting from experiences of others I've read. In North Carolina, I don't need to use my Cub much in the winter, and the coldest I've had to start it is about 45 deg Fahrenheit. Everybody up North swears by the magnetic heaters on the hydro though.

Edit: Everyone but Roland Bedell, that is :) I'm sure he has his engine in tip-top tune though. Timing, plugs, condenser, air cleaner, ignition wiring and key switch --all the usual suspects need to be in good working order. But trying to get them that way at below freezing is no fun at all.

Another thing that nobody mentioned...check your GROUNDS. Make sure they are clean and tight. A poor ground will definitely not help crank over the large 14hp engine. I just went through the connections on my 169 with the blower...what a difference that makes.

yeah, the reason for the slow but strong cranking is that the hytran in the transmission is cold and more resistant to being pumped around. the magnetic heater is the best option, since the warmer oil will pump easier and thus cause less wear on everything. another option for starting help is one of those portable jumper booster packs, easier than driving another vehicle out to the tractor to get it going. IACubCadet makes a good point, it's always a good idea to check your electrical connections BEFORE the snow removal season, as it's a royal pain to troubleshoot in sub-zero windy conditions! good luck, and have fun with winter work on the 147! I'm excited to put my 125 through its paces this year. :biggrin2::ThumbsUp:

Thanks for everyone's tips and replies thus far. it is truly appreciative. I shall check the grounds, should only be one under the generator and one at the top of the voltage regulator, correct?

I suspected the rear end was slowing it down. This was something I could always by-pass with the Farmall- when it got real bad I'd just shove the clutch in, let it warm up, and then release the clutch. Sometimes it was so cold that the rear end grease/oil would stall the engine, even after a minute or two of engine warm up.

where can i get one of the heaters my 782 cranks a long time to start when its cold

This option is only good for the cast iron rear ends. Won't work on Aluminum Rears.

Along these lines, if the Hydro Fluid is old, not the right fluid, or contaminated with a lot of water, this will make the hydro unit rotate hard.

My 100 i used one winter to plow snow. It had a hard time starting, i put a battery charger every time i had to use it.

Heating the oil in the rear is a good idea but the pump and filter are still full of cold oil. Back in my plowing snow with my hard starting 1210 days I finally gave up and bought an insulated overseas shipping container and put a small electric heater in it. I’d just turn it on a few hours before I needed to start the tractor. I also replaced the battery cables with welding cable with the ground connected right to the starter.