MF 290 trouble

AgriAir

Folks,
I've a problem with our MF 290. We've not used it much over the winter only periodically starting it now and then & using it for slurry. It's
proving very difficult to start at the minute.

• New heater plug gone into it,
• New starter,
• Reconditioned the alternator,
• A 'truck' heavy duty battery is in it,

It's fully charged up as we tested it by trying to charge it & it was reading fully charged.
The only thing I suspect is that it could be the two cables on the battery terminals going back to earth the tractor &
back to the starter. I will try & get new cables as they are the originals & there may be a break in the cable some where.
At present a jump start gets it going or a tow will do the same.
It will start up after a bit of work, but then the following day it's back to the same thing, not starting. Has anyone experienced
anything similiar in a MF 290 or a similiar tractor?
Appreciate any advice or suggestions.

Farmer Pudsey

What is you diesel system like you. Take the top off the lift pump and see if it is very dirty also check fuel filter. If you are putting diesel in by drums it maybe your system is dirty if it is you will need to empty and clean diesel tank replace lift pump, replace fuel filter and get injector pump reconditioned and maybe the injectors.
It sounds like your cables are ok if there was a problem the jump start would not get it started also try to charge battery and see if it starts after battery is charged. I had this problem with a 675 as the recondition alternator although seemed to be perfect was not chargeing the battery I got a new one about 110 euro.

However If not I'd look at diesed system if you want to after checking lift pump and fuel filter take off diesel tank outlet and drain out all fuel use a funnell with some clean calico cloth and let diesel into brum you may have to take tank off to get all fuel out if a lot of dirt comes out clean you sysem also if tank is off take it to someone with a steam/ hot wask cleaner and get them to blow it out and again see if there is a lot of dirt do this before you get injector pump done as it will cost about 300 euro+ maybe

pakalasa

It could be the diesel system as mentioned above. It could be a poor connection or damaged leads. Remember the earth is just as important as the live. You could be loosing compression too, maybe worn piston rings.

We always had trouble starting our old David Brown untill an electician friend got us a very heavy welding lead with proper lugs on the end. I used this from the battery to the solenoid. It made a massive difference.

snowman707

first of all we need to find out is the engine turning over and not firing ?

if so it could be a fuel issue, but I doubt it seeing as it starts on a tow

or

is it not turning or turning too slowly to start ??
if so an electric problem

items to check.. earth lead on to chassis.. and the connectors are not corroded where they attach to the cables I have seen corrosion between the cables and connectors .. ideally these should be soldered , not clamped

faulty ignition switch?

AgriAir

Cheers for that, we normally use the 5 gal drums and a filtered funnel, I don't think there is an issue with diesel as we would have problems with the other tractors. Saying that I will check the filters later & the fuel lift pump & inspect it.
Thanks again for the tips.

AgriAir

Snowman,
The engine attempts to turn & makes an attempt at starting, just then fails almost sounds like a dead battery. I went to charge it up, but found the battery was fully charged so I'm ruling out the battery. With regard to the leads, I took them off & gave them a good clean with the wire brush, left it for an hour had it setup to tow to jump start it & just tried it before the tow & it seemed to start ok. Maybe it is the leads after all, I will try the heavy duty welding leads that Pakalasa suggested & will let you know how I get on.

reilig

AgriAir wrote: »

Snowman,
The engine attempts to turn & makes an attempt at starting, just then fails almost sounds like a dead battery. I went to charge it up, but found the battery was fully charged so I'm ruling out the battery. With regard to the leads, I took them off & gave them a good clean with the wire brush, left it for an hour had it setup to tow to jump start it & just tried it before the tow & it seemed to start ok. Maybe it is the leads after all, I will try the heavy duty welding leads that Pakalasa suggested & will let you know how I get on.

Our MF168 was giving the same sort of jib just before christmas. I put it on the charger a number of times and it said that it was full. I topped it up with water and desulphated it and full charged it. But after a day it was fecked again. I swapped a battery out of another tractor and it has worked perfect since then.

I definitely wouldn't rule out the connections as pointed out above either. I found that leads rarely give a lot of bother. Most often than not, its the connections. Its very important to check where the negative lead connects to the tractor body. It often corrodes slightly and makes a poor connection.

Farmer Pudsey

AgriAir wrote: »

Cheers for that, we normally use the 5 gal drums and a filtered funnel, I don't think there is an issue with diesel as we would have problems with the other tractors. Saying that I will check the filters later & the fuel lift pump & inspect it.
Thanks again for the tips.

Usually it is not the diesel it the bloody drums tops get dirty dirt goes into diesel when you pour it into finnell. The problem with filtered funnell's ( wire mesh type ) is when you pour fuel from drum into funnell the pressure of the fill will wash dirt through mesh. It would depend on other tractors, over years dirt build up in the tank, the tank has a bigger unused reserve on bottom of tank, it takes dirt longer to cause problem, also you other tractors may be double filtered which helps, and masseys are lazy starters anyway so any problem is amplified.

reilig

Farmer Pudsey wrote: »

Usually it is not the diesel it the bloody drums tops get dirty dirt goes into diesel when you pour it into finnell. The problem with filtered funnell's ( wire mesh type ) is when you pour fuel from drum into funnell the pressure of the fill will wash dirt through mesh. It would depend on other tractors, over years dirt build up in the tank, the tank has a bigger unused reserve on bottom of tank, it takes dirt longer to cause problem, also you other tractors may be double filtered which helps, and masseys are lazy starters anyway so any problem is amplified.

The new low sulphur diesel is a major contributor to this. It strips any dirt that may be in your tank already and sends it towards your fuel lines and filters.

In reality, if you are filtering diesel these days, you should be using at least a 10 micron filter. The day of the wire mesh funnel is gone.

Good article here: http://www.farmersjournal.ie/site/farming-New-year,-new-diesel-12354.html

masseys scrap and zetors no better

typical 290,there a very lazy starter just like the rest of the masseys.i owned an 85 290 2wd for 4 years with only 4500 genuine hours,tractor was immaculate and had a great engine but always needed heating and sometimes twice when starting in the morning.engine would just keep turning over and not fire up for ages.its sore on batteries,starters and alternators.it was this and the grip issue that forced me to sell.we always had fords and masseys,the fords were unreal easy to start.this fact is what got us away from massey and learned us to stick with fords.the 290 was sold for an 89 7610 4wd.absolutely great tractor.never looked back.it was -18 one day last year and i went and pushed in the cold start button,jumped into the tractor never heated it just turned the key,and i swear on my life the engine turned over once and fired up! ford engines always go on the first turn no matter what the weather.a friend has an immaculate 96 390T with only 2200hrs.the last day i was helping him out i went to start the tractor in the morning,it was 11-12degrees outside and i had 2 heat the tractor before she would start.it didnt impress me considering my ts115 turbo has 9200hrs and starts on the first turn without heating even in frost.

larthehar

really and truly i would rule out the diesel issue.. if it starts 1st pull then it is definitely related to the starting circuit, as suggested above.. Check the earth lead, crucial for a start. I assume when you say hard to start at the minute it was an easy starter? leads an connections anywhere really can cause a problem, ensure a good connection and it should improve!

As regards masseys being hard to start in general, I have a MF50 (straight) digger, A212 perkins, owner since new, engine never reconditioned, 1 bang every morn and she gone like a clock.. not even sure if the glow plug works!!

9935452

I have a friend with a 50hx that was becoming hard to start , very hard in the frost, the starter was reconditioned, no good, new battery no good , even with a jump she was struggling.
He bought a geared/high speed started and off she went first tip.
Problem sorted.

If you think the earth is the problem, use a jump lead and jump the negative to earth and see if it is any better

AgriAir

9935452 wrote: »

I have a friend with a 50hx that was becoming hard to start , very hard in the frost, the starter was reconditioned, no good, new battery no good , even with a jump she was struggling.
He bought a geared/high speed started and off she went first tip.
Problem sorted.

If you think the earth is the problem, use a jump lead and jump the negative to earth and see if it is any better

Folks, just to let you know I got to the root of the problem with the MF 290. The battery charger was actually the problem, I took it into an Electrical Repairs shop after it failed to charge another battery. So we ended up getting a new one that has two settings for charging, one for regular tractor batteries & the other setting is for heavier batteries. Prior to that I had changed the two cables & two terminals to ensure proper connections were being maintained when starting the tractor. Have started it on first turn of key for the past few days so it's great to have it working again. Thanks for all the help & I will certainly use some of the tips for the other tractors too.

Sami23

Hi Guys,
looking for bit of advice on my MF290 glow plug. I'm doing up the tractor at the moment and checking all the wiring as I go along. When I checked the 'live' wire from the ignition switch to the glow plug with a multimeter for continuity it was fine. (basically I was checking to make sure it was not earthed along the way)
I then just happened to put one end of multimeter on the positive terminal of the glow plug and other end to ground which showed a connection.
My question is if the live wire to the plug is going directly to ground how is the plug working or this the way its supposed to be ?
I thought the live wire would be going into the element only ?

jomoloney

Sami23 wrote: »

Hi Guys,
looking for bit of advice on my MF290 glow plug. I'm doing up the tractor at the moment and checking all the wiring as I go along. When I checked the 'live' wire from the ignition switch to the glow plug with a multimeter for continuity it was fine. (basically I was checking to make sure it was not earthed along the way)
I then just happened to put one end of multimeter on the positive terminal of the glow plug and other end to ground which showed a connection.
My question is if the live wire to the plug is going directly to ground how is the plug working or this the way its supposed to be ?
I thought the live wire would be going into the element only ?

there should be a resistance reading

what were you checking ohms or volts?

yellow50HX

9935452 wrote: »

I have a friend with a 50hx that was becoming hard to start , very hard in the frost, the starter was reconditioned, no good, new battery no good , even with a jump she was struggling.
He bought a geared/high speed started and off she went first tip.
Problem sorted.

If you think the earth is the problem, use a jump lead and jump the negative to earth and see if it is any better

We had the ame problem over tha last few years we our 50 hx, had to leave it out in the yard so that we could drive the car up to start it. Was chatting to neighbour who suggested getting a new high speed starter as the Lucas are just ****e and not really strong enough for turning the trouqe converter. Bought an iseka (thinks that's how it's spelt). Huge difference starts 1st time, every time now.

Sami23

I wasn't checking really checking voltage or ohms. I was just checking some wires to make sure they were not earthed due to bare wire etc.

My question is how exactly is the glow plug wired ?
Is it just one live wire and earthed thhrough the thread ?
Its just my live wire seems to be going to ground

Sami23

Hi again, can anyone tell me what the 3 warning symbols in the middle of this picture are for ?
I presume the far left symbol is ignition and obviously the far right is headlight.
Thanks

case956tom

Sami23 wrote: »

Hi again, can anyone tell me what the 3 warning symbols in the middle of this picture are for ?
I presume the far left symbol is ignition and obviously the far right is headlight.
Thanks

far left is the battery charge light, next is engine oil pressure,next is hyd filter,the next one is air filter.

Sami23

case956tom wrote: »

far left is the battery charge light, next is engine oil pressure,next is hyd filter,the next one is air filter.

Thanks for that case956tom.
You wouldn't happen to know where the hyd filter and air filter switches/sensors would be located on a MF290. I have the wires coming to them from the dash but can't locate the switches/sensors ?

Would they look like the temp sensor and oil pressure switches ?

case956tom

Sami23 wrote: »

Thanks for that case956tom.
You wouldn't happen to know where the hyd filter and air filter switches/sensors would be located on a MF290. I have the wires coming to them from the dash but can't locate the switches/sensors ?

Would they look like the temp sensor and oil pressure switches ?

the air filter switch should be on the air filter housing next to where the pipe goes into the engine air intake it will be the only switch on the air filter housing,the hyd filter switch is just behind the lh lift arm just where it comes out of the lift cover, both switches should be similar to the eng oil pressure switch.both switches will have only one wire attached.

Sami23

Thanks Casetom, I'll have a look for them this evening.

Sami23

AgriAir, I sent you a PM, hopefully you got it

AgriAir

Sami,
PM sent. Only getting back to you now on it.:D
AgriAir.

Sami23

AgriAir wrote: »

Sami,
PM sent. Only getting back to you now on it.:D
AgriAir.

Got it, Thanks

greendragon3

hi all , my father in law just bought an 87' massey ferguson 290 4 wheel drive ,
we were just giving her a once over the other day when i noticed that the PTO keeps spinning ,
it wont knock off at a no matter which way the lever is ,

is thee a hydraulic pack that goes in them ??

is it any harm to leave it like this ?

is a big job to replace ??

thanks in advance

ford 5600

greendragon3 wrote: »

hi all , my father in law just bought an 87' massey ferguson 290 4 wheel drive ,
we were just giving her a once over the other day when i noticed that the PTO keeps spinning ,
it wont knock off at a no matter which way the lever is ,

is thee a hydraulic pack that goes in them ??

is it any harm to leave it like this ?

is a big job to replace ??

thanks in advance

Yes it has a hyd power pack. No, it wont do it harm turning all the time, but maybe yourself if you get too near it, plus, awkward to use the tractor for a lot of jobs. Know a man did it himself, and parts cost him 1200 euro.