Cat 416C Dead Electrical

[pottsy]

I was just using the machine, stopped to shut a garage door with the unit running, turned around and it died. Electrical failure of some description. Batteries are fine, I tried moving relays around in case one went bad out of the blue.. checked for loose wires etc. at the key switch... nothing. Only the small switch lights for the various controls light up, no headlights, no starter, nothing.
Any ideas? It is a miserable bit of winter weather to be trying to find a loose ground or something. It's so odd since it was running one minute, dead the next.

Thanks.

 

[Lee-online]

clean the frame ground. The bolt in front of the battery box where the main ground cable bolts to the frame.

 

[pottsy]

clean the frame ground. The bolt in front of the battery box where the main ground cable bolts to the frame.

Think it could have suddenly lost contact perhaps? I will check that out. I recall now somebody once mentioned that as a trouble spot.

 

[Lee-online]

I don't recall it ever shutting off a running machine but they do cause starting/no power problems. especially when wet or damp.
Also check the fuses just in case.

 

[willie59]

I don't know the 416C, but many many Cat's use a master circuit breaker. It may have one and somethings tripped it. Aside from that, get out the test light and start checking power and ground starting from the battery.

 

[pottsy]

Ok, pulled out the bolt, cleaned the threads, wire brushed the area, put a new washer and screwed it back in. No dice. If I have the lights switched on the interior lights go on and off as the bolt is out back in but nothing else. I wonder if some other contact is bad. It is acting like it does when I pull the 6 relays from the steering column area for theft protection. All fuses appear ok. Son of a gun this is bad timing.

 

[pottsy]

Well son of a gun!

Turns out I am not the first owner to put in a hidden kill switch. After all this time I must have bumped it when getting my stuff out to put in my garage.

I guess I secretly felt like tearing the wiring apart. :Banghead

 

[macon01]

We have a 416 cit that was doing this. Sometimes a fuse would blow in the steering column and a couple times it wouldn't and just be dead anyway. Found a loose connection under the fuse block to be the problem. Hope this helps

 

[Iceflyer]

Turns out I am not the first owner to put in a hidden kill switch. After all this time I must have bumped it when getting my stuff out to put in my garage.

I guess I secretly felt like tearing the wiring apart. :Banghead

:tong Good it wasn´t too complicated. So everything works fine now?

 

[pottsy]

I know, resurrecting a dead thread but I felt I was leaving some folks in the lurch.

Yes, all was good to go again back then.

I have since killed the tranny... But that is another story.