The Fordson Tractor Pages Forum

hi
my heater button is letting about 6 volts though it , the two contacts on the back
i've stripped it down the back plate is clean/dry but connected to a battery in series volt meter reads 5.5 - 6.5 volts ??? button released ( back plate fully off )

were should i be buying new parts ? local lucas supplyer never seen one b4 ,
the ignition switch i recently bought from A........ was poor quality , but the lucas man seemed to think thats how things are now ???

read a post on here about the button and rubber cover recently but i cant find it .

removed heater glows red . dont think its worked fitted to tractor for some time , but always been able to start and use her with out it
only found these problems trying to fit the new ing. switch .

tom

Tom,
Have you checked the resistance of your heater switch when open & closed? You'll need to remove it from the dash first. Of course, when open (button released) it should be infinity Ohms (ie open circuit); when closed (button pressed) it should be zero. So long as your switch passes these simple tests it should be OK.

A couple of yrs ago there was a prob with the usual suppliers with shoddy switches in which one of the terminals on the back was shorted with the back plate, so I sent mine back and waited over 6months till they got a new batch of servicable ones. There's a post about it here somewhere.

Ref ignition switches: Yes the switches on early Dextas with integral light/ignition key were/are a constant source of trouble since the rain runs in and corrodes the switch. That's what happened on our Dex over 30 yrs ago.

Later Dexs/Supers, from ~1962 have separate light switch with the key switch moved to the RH side of the lower dash. So thats what I've done; got a 2nd hand original Super D light-only switch for the hole lower left of dash. But I got a Hobbs/Honeywell key switch, which fits great in the Super D position. This is a much better engineered switch c/w rubber cover. A bonus is that it has a coded key unlike the standard tractor keys which are all the same - how secure is that!!

There's a thread about the switch here: http://www.fordsontractorpages.nl/phpbb3/viewtopic.php?

Duplicate post deleted.

thanks for advice ben
my s dexta has the light switch / seperate ing. key near the starter lever , same key barrel ect. as a ted -20

were did u buy you're button from ?

Tom,
Have you checked the resistance of your heater switch when open & closed? You'll need to remove it from the dash first. Of course, when open (button released) it should be infinity Ohms (ie open circuit); when closed (button pressed) it should be zero. So long as your switch passes these simple tests it should be OK.

A couple of yrs ago there was a prob with the usual suppliers with shoddy switches in which one of the terminals on the back was shorted with the back plate, so I sent mine back and waited over 6months till they got a new batch of servicable ones. There's a post about it here somewhere.

Ref ignition switches: Yes the switches on early Dextas with integral light/ignition key were/are a constant source of trouble since the rain runs in and corrodes the switch. That's what happened on our Dex over 30 yrs ago.

Later Dexs/Supers, from ~1962 have separate light switch with the key switch moved to the RH side of the lower dash. So thats what I've done; got a 2nd hand original Super D light-only switch for the hole lower left of dash. But I got a Hobbs/Honeywell key switch, which fits great in the Super D position. This is a much better engineered switch c/w rubber cover. A bonus is that it has a coded key unlike the standard tractor keys which are all the same - how secure is that!!

There's a thread about the switch here: http://www.fordsontractorpages.nl/phpbb ... 22&p=10197

Edit: I got my heater switch from Southern Counties. However, I believe there is only one manufacturer, so prob doesn't make much difference where you get it - just test it before you install it. Remember that for most of these repro parts, we are the Quality Control Dept!

left the back plate in the warm near the wood stove , re tested on the 12 v battery , it was showing 1 un a bit v across the poles ,
re assembled and heater is glowing after 6 seconds ish so i might just bung it back on ?
had the tractor for years never needed the heater yet , but also never needed the tractor on a cold day

I also had the same issues with my heater switch. I took it apart and the contacts were not only undersized for the current needed, but burnt. A new switch over here in Ohio was 38 bucks plus shipping. The picture below shows how I fitted a heavy duty starter switch from Advance Auto. These are 5 bucks and good for 20 amps. From the outside you cant see the difference.




Thanks for a great forum. This is actually my first post, more to come.....

dave