# John Deere 212 Electric Lift Motor



## smithery404 (15 d ago)

John Deere electric lift motor # AM33929 for electric lift on a JD 212 garden ntractor.
Motor is not available anymore.
Does anyone know of a replacement motor that will work?


----------



## pogobill (Jan 31, 2012)

Welcome to the forum. Can't find a replacement, but have you thought about taking the motor to an Auto/Marine electric business and see if you can get the motor rebuilt? Even a shop that rebuilds starters and or generators for vehicles?


----------



## EdF (Sep 15, 2014)

I agree with pogobill, try to find a shop that rebuilds electric motors. I found the attached wiring schematic on the internet. There is a fuse in the solenoid ground wire that may be blown. Check it out. If its not there, look for s fuse elsewhere. Are you getting electric power to the motor?


----------



## FredM (Nov 18, 2015)

Sorry EdF for kidnapping your schematic, but I had to add another suggestion for smithery404 to check.

Where the red markers are located shows 4 contact points for each solenoid, if these have arced up by any chance, then it is possible that current wont flow in the bad circuit, have you checked the motor by applying battery voltage to the red and yellow cable, try positive to one and negative to the other to see if the motor will run, and reverse the battery connections to the cables for the motor to run the opposite way, should the motor run both ways, then the solenoids will need to be checked.

You only need one faulty solenoid to not work and the lift system wont work period.


----------



## smithery404 (15 d ago)

My problem is the magnet in the case broke. So rewind is not an option.


----------



## nabatau24 (14 d ago)

Oh yes! Early 1-- series are tough little tractors too! I have a '69 140 that my dad and I restored together, and an '81 317. Both are great. If you have a choice, go for the 300 series. Dual rear brakes make a big difference on hilly yards, and the hydraulic hookups can be pretty handy. Work was a bit slow last year, so my dad and I built a front loader for the 317. When you can put something like that on something that size... I love 'em.


----------



## FredM (Nov 18, 2015)

smithery404 said:


> My problem is the magnet in the case broke. So rewind is not an option.


That explains the problem then!!.


----------



## sixbales (May 18, 2011)

AM33929 - ELECTRIC MOTOR fits John Deere | AFTERMARKET.SUPPLY


----------



## Bob Driver (Nov 1, 2017)

The newest the JD212 could be is a 1987. That lift cylinder Sixbales found is $550. The technology they had in 1987 is not nearly what it is today. Before I'd pay that kind of money for the OEM lift cylinder, I'd look at rigging/installing, as a replacement, a modern linear actuator like guys use when they're building robots. You can buy a 1,300lbs linear for less than $90. I've converted several zero-turns over to electric deck lifts for customers using them, they work great, and it's a pretty simple install. You just have to know the length you need and install the end mountings brackets that will fit.....

1,300Lbs Linear Actuator $87

Here's a You Tube video on how to wire in a simple spring-loaded, 3-positiong rocker switch and eliminate that hokey 37 year old relay set up.....

Linear Actuator Wiring with Just a 3-position rocker switch


----------



## Vigo (Oct 8, 2021)

I second everything said above. Just keep in mind most of the simple motor reversing switches you can find are only rated for 20-30a on the high end, and some are much less, so make sure the switch you buy isn’t seriously underrated for the job. The duty cycle here is short so the switch doesn’t need to be rated for the actual peak amps of the actuator, but make sure its not rated for 5 or 10 amps either! It’s important for it to be a momentary switch (ie spring loaded return-to-center/off) to prevent you from accidentally leaving it running and making bad things happen.

If you find or already have a switch that you just HAVE to use because of the look/style etc but that is very underrated for the job, another handy search term is ‘winch relay’ which is essentially a motor reversing relay which can be controlled by a very small current/switch. Ive bought one for $16 on amazon before, so they can be pretty cheap.


----------



## Bob Driver (Nov 1, 2017)

Vigo said:


> I second everything said above. Just keep in mind most of the simple motor reversing switches you can find are only rated for 20-30a on the high end, and some are much less, so make sure the switch you buy isn’t seriously underrated for the job. The duty cycle here is short so the switch doesn’t need to be rated for the actual peak amps of the actuator, but make sure its not rated for 5 or 10 amps either! It’s important for it to be a momentary switch (ie spring loaded return-to-center/off) to prevent you from accidentally leaving it running and making bad things happen.
> 
> If you find or already have a switch that you just HAVE to use because of the look/style etc but that is very underrated for the job, another handy search term is ‘winch relay’ which is essentially a motor reversing relay which can be controlled by a very small current/switch. Ive bought one for $16 on amazon before, so they can be pretty cheap.


*‘winch relay’ *

Probably should have made it clearer as to the wiring, but this is what I use with a 3-way rocker switch.... It's simple to wire and cheap. It would get rid of those two giant relays JD designed into the circuit when Reagan was President. It's only rated at 75A, but it works well with the actual duty cycle of a lift actuator on a mower deck..... 3-4 seconds

Linear Actutator Relay $15


----------



## Vigo (Oct 8, 2021)

Yeah, that’s the type of relay i was talking about. I think the term winch relay is just because large eectric linear actuators are a much more recent thing to become ubiquitous than winches, but either way it’s the same relay and does the same thing. 

You only need a 3-terminal switch to actuate that relay, but if you want to use a switch directy to reverse a motor it needs 6 terminals, although some of them end up jumped to each other so you sometimes see them sold with terminals bridged already and only 4 terminals left to hook to. I think ‘motor reversing switch’ will bring some up.


----------

