# MF 135 gauges not working



## Chet Gardner (Jun 28, 2020)

Sorry. I haven't figure out how to make my own post yet so I'm coat tailing yours. None of my gauges or lamps on my recent mf 135 purchase work and when I attach the battery I hear a faint buzzing. If I leave it attached it will run down the battery in a heartbeat. Short somewhere maybe? The previous owner was leaving the battery disconnected until he was ready to crank it.


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## pogobill (Jan 31, 2012)

No highjack no more! 
Sure sounds like a short of some sort. Does the buzzing happen without the key, just when the battery is hooked up?


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## Chet Gardner (Jun 28, 2020)

It happens without the key for sure. Only when the battery is hooked up. I have jiggled a good bit of stuff around. Tachometer, oil pressure and temperature gauges are working now, but the fuel gauge only works for a split second when something jars it while I'm driving. The other electric meter never works. I figured out if I remove the hookups for the old headlamp switch (there was a new toggle installed below it <which doesn't work either>) the buzzing stops so I'm just leaving that detached for now. I had the generator checked out, and he rebuild it. I'm going to replace the old headlamp toggle and buy a new wiring harness because there seem to be shorts in a lot of places. Also I short circuited that new headlamp toggle with my sweaty finger while I was tightening the toggle's nut and the entire wire they had running to the battery burst into flame (that last story was just for fun.)


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## Ultradog (Feb 27, 2005)

Chet Gardner said:


> It happens without the key for sure. Only when the battery is hooked up. I have jiggled a good bit of stuff around. Tachometer, oil pressure and temperature gauges are working now, but the fuel gauge only works for a split second when something jars it while I'm driving. The other electric meter never works. I figured out if I remove the hookups for the old headlamp switch (there was a new toggle installed below it <which doesn't work either>) the buzzing stops so I'm just leaving that detached for now. I had the generator checked out, and he rebuild it. I'm going to replace the old headlamp toggle and buy a new wiring harness because there seem to be shorts in a lot of places. Also I short circuited that new headlamp toggle with my sweaty finger while I was tightening the toggle's nut and the entire wire they had running to the battery burst into flame (that last story was just for fun.)


It's real easy to think of a tractor's wiring harness as one big mass of wires. But they are not one big mass. They are several different circuits. Each circuit has it's own seperate function. Most tractors have a start circuit. They have a charging circuit. They have a lighting circuit. On a gasser they have an ignition circuit. On most tractors they will also have a circuit for the guages. 
Learn to think of that mass of wires as all seperate items.
If you don't have a multimeter get one. A cheap $15 one will suffice for most any tractor.
Then buy a repair manual that has the wiring diagram in it. Or maybe you can download one online.
Study the wiring diagram. It is like a road map. Remember to take it one circuit at a time. 
You'll find the problem if you apply yourself to the task and you'll be proud of yourself when you do.


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## Chet Gardner (Jun 28, 2020)

I like that idea. It's difficult deciding which thing actually isn't working and which thing is just a wiring problem so fresh wiring seemed like a logical place to start but I can definitely do that. Another issue I have with the current wiring is the guy who owned the tractor a couple people before me spray painted a lot of the insides chrome so it's tough to tell what wire is what color in some cases


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## The 203 (Apr 27, 2020)

Chet Gardner said:


> I like that idea. It's difficult deciding which thing actually isn't working and which thing is just a wiring problem so fresh wiring seemed like a logical place to start but I can definitely do that. Another issue I have with the current wiring is the guy who owned the tractor a couple people before me spray painted a lot of the insides chrome so it's tough to tell what wire is what color in some cases


Until you feel real secure about the wiring you may want to disconnect the battery after use. Bad wiring has burned a lot of tractors and sheds.


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