John Deere LX885 - eating starters

[jlesinski]

Hello,

I have a John Deere LX885 and it seems to be burning out starters very quickly. I have gone through several in the past year and they are a pain to change out. I have tried a couple cheap amazon ones and also a remanufactured John Deere starter. The John Deere reman blew to solenoid after maybe 20 starts. The cheap one lasted maybe a dozen starts and both the solenoid and the starter are shot.

I put a new solenoid on the John Deere and it started maybe 6 times and seems to be dead again. I still have to pull it out. Each time I went to start it, it seemed to get weaker and now it does nothing.

This unit has a remote solenoid in it. There are:

0 volts at the remote solenoid and starter solenoid when off.

11.94 volts at the remote
Solenoid hot side.

11.06 volts coming out of the remote solenoid when cranking to the start solenoid.

14.7 volts from the battery to the hot side of the starter when idled all the way up (alternator working)

It does not seem to be leaking voltage to the starter or solenoid while running or with key off.

Does anyone have any thoughts or suggestions about what else I can test here? I have another starter here which is brand new. I am thinking about putting a cut off switch in to the starter solenoid to make sure it isn't leaking power to it at some point. Also, it does not sound like the bendix is getting hung up on the flywheel. I barely let it run these last 6 times.

I appreciate your help! This is driving me a bit nuts.

Thanks,
Jim

 

[mrbb]

Are you sure its a JD and not a New Holand?
any how, not sure if this helps or not, but I Have a 1999 New Holland LX 865 ( the model below the Lx885) that the starter went on it, a few yrs back,
I like you, started with aftermarket starters, went thru 3 different company's/branded ones and all failed in very short time period(maybe 20 starts each)

I then ate the added costs of an OEM starter and its been fine ever since!
I was told by the NH dealer the OEM starter has a lower gear in it than many aftermarket ones'(don't know if this is true or not, but what I was told by a 30+ yr service guy at the NH dealer, seemed honest)
and this skid steer was NEVER a easy starting machine in cold weather, in winter or just temps below 40 degree, it always made a starter work HARD to turn it over(still does)
but this starter is now 4+ yrs old and holding up!
on a side note, I also had a similar issue with Alternators on this machine as well, , when the OEM died, I went aftermarket, and had lots of issues with not charging properly, tried a second aftermarket one, same deal, , paid twice as much for an OEM one and things worked fine ever since
SO< the lX 865 I have seems to be very picky on electrical replacement parts for ?? reason/
I also, keep this machine in a building, on a battery tender, have a battery disconnect switch I keep OFF when not in use, and have a both a heated battery blanket and battery pad for use in temps below 32 degree's, to help it start in cold temps,a s again, its never been good at starting in cold temps
I honestly think the starter needs an even lower gear ratio that is has, and that is why some struggle maybe more than others and have short life spans!

I contacted a few starter company;s, asking if they could make on or two and I'd buy keep as a spare, reason I asked them, i I know some other company;s offer lower geared starters as options, like Bobcat and so on)
however none were willing to make me any!

I just feel some diesel motors are harder starters than others, all the more so in cold temps! this model series and ones like it seems to be one

 

[jlesinski]

Sorry! It is a John Deere 8875 but yes it is the same chassis as the New Holland LX885. There is a local New Holland dealer near me and I have gotten a couple things there in the past for it.