Starting Tractors in Cold Weather

A hot air gun ( the kind you use to strip paint) im the air intake

A high speed starter is a great help, the smell of easi start is a smell I've never forget

I remember an uncle of mine used to laugh at people covering the engines of cars with coats. Said a waste of time unless you put something on the ground as most of the frost. comes from the ground

Maintenance is key.

If a tractor won't start and it's still above -20 then there is something wrong with it, but parking in a shed definitly can help though.

Obviously we can all get caught out by a sudden cold spell and not be aware of the issue till it's too late but if it's consistently an issue in every cold spell every year then fix it. A good battery, starter, alternator and heater plug is usually all it takes. A high speed starter will do wonders for older lazy engines.

This cold weather shouldn't knock the life out of a battery and disconnecting it will do nothing unless there is parasitic draw from the tractors electrics.(Alternators are likely culprits but not the only possibility.)

I always have batteries charged in the shed from the solar pumps, which have come in handy along with a decent set of Jump Leads, just wheel out on a sack truck jump tractor and put on charge in case of issue the next day. I also have a 240V booster but that is of limited use unless tractor is near power.

If battery lets me down once I change it.

I remember my grandfather doing this to his Micra. One morning he forgot about the coat, started up the car, and drove around town happily until the coat had fully wound itself into the timing belt. Disaster.

It helps if you can keep the tractor in a closed shed with door south facing. A few hours in the morning sun (it's usually sunny in frosty weather) will lift temperatures that bit.

Hot air gun down the air intake also helps.

I always turn engine for a few secs then wait a while and try starting again. I heard once that a small draw on battery for a while, gets it going.

Also check whatever pre-heat mechanism is on the tractor. Mine has a small Heat plug on the intake manifold. Also a screw on the injector pump to advance diesel injection.

In my experience cold weather will always test a battery. Just look at your local motor factors in December.

It should be glowing red. Sounds like the heater plug is goosed.

a coat or similar was often used to stop a warm engine absorbing dampness from the ground , back in the days of points and distributors, early edition morris minors were culprits

nothing to do with cold start

What sort of tractor?

A modern machine may have an automatic glow plug(s) that would turn on for a few seconds then turn off when ignition is switched on, you'd see a glow plug light on the dash which stays lit until the glow plug turns off.

A lot of machines especially older ones you have to hold the switch between ignition on and start for a few seconds or even have a seperate button to work the heater plug. You will only get the 12 volts in this in between position it has no definitive click position but if you can't get the 12V you can do a continuity check on the switch itself, it wouldn't be unknown for the switch to have a fault only in this position due to the high current draw.

If the heater is at the top of the air intake manifold, you can remove the hose between it and the filter and you will see it if it is working.

Simple so,

Heater plug is connected to one of the large spades on the Lucas switch, test for power there when key is turned half way between ignition on and start you need to hold the key in the half way position to work, it should only have power in that position.

Or first remove the air intake hose and watch if the heater plug is working it will be obvious within a few seconds if it's working.

on a separate note I had a 698T that was hard to start in cold weather, heater plug worked, it had 2 good heavy duty 100Ah batteries and a new Lucas starter. I put a high speed starter in it and afterwards it would start in the coldest weather first tip with no heat and one battery.

The difference between original starter and high speed is unreal nothing else short of a full engine rebuild was going to improve the old tractors starting and afterwards it started like a new machine.

I checked the Flame Heater Glow Plug on my old tractor today and after leaving it on for about a minute you could feel the outside of it getting hot. An easy way to check if it working, without having to open it up.

I have heard from an auto electrician that a high speed starter is not suitable for an tractor where there is ever the odd oil leak, diesel leak etc.

Doesnt stand up to it, any truth in it?

Have a 35x that needs engine done up , few small diesel leaks but mainly oil. Stuck a high speed starter into it 5 years ago n the jump leads haven't been out since.

I'm no auto electrician but definitely works on my yoke.

Assuming the 290 is similar to older Masseys, and needs one of the gear levers in neutral before you can start it, it's sometimes easier to turn the key with that lever in gear. This will power the heater. You just need to keep the key held in the on position and slip the gear lever into neutral when you're ready to start

Same here with the 50, high speed starter & I've a slight leak...no issue starting

Park on a slope & wouldn't leak a tablespoon in a week, big money job to split & find leak & repair, financially not worth that

Take off the wire at the plug and measure the voltage at the wire tip. It should be 12v when the key is half turned against the internal spring.

The 248 Perkins would have been one of the poorer starters however any Perkins with wear in the top end would be hard to start. Not an expensive engine to put in good order.

The 236 would start in Siberia with a watch battery

Agree, Adrian often digs at gerry on that, him knowing well the deeres turn over easier.

Perkins 4.203 probably the best of the lot in cold weather ,in Massey 65 MK2, and some of the older loaders

When there’s wear in the valves of them Perkins engines they become very bad starters. Neighbours had a 212 Perkins in a 165 which was a woeful starter. After doing the head it’d start on the first turn.