How to start a 8011 crystal

[pj]

??? Hi just bought a 1975 8011 crystal,I know very little about Tractors,only experience is with a ferguson T20 I used to have.
The battery goes flat after one start, is there a preheat button or some sort of decompression switch which makes it easier to turn over the engine? the alternator looks quite new, it has an isolator so not draining down, probably something basic I am not doing?
there is a button next to the start button, which can be pulled out, I guess that is a cut off switch, but only a guess, battery positive terminal gets hot quickly so I will change the connector tomorrow.
Any info appreciated?

 

[dave_peters]

To start a Crystal, depress the clutch, push in the key, don't turn it, that switches on the lights, and open the throttle lever. then press the white button. There's no engine heater , its not necessary if the tractor is in reasonable condition.
The red knob on the dash is for emergency stops only. The correct way to stop it is to close the hand throttle completely.
New Crystal owners tend to turn the key and leave the sidelights on, hence flat batterys. if it has the deluxe cab, unlikely due to its age, the light bulb must be removed from the clock or it will flatten the battery.
The little black button is for the dashboard instrument lights and the toggle type switch works the screen wash.

 

[pj]

Hi Thanks for the reply, I am getting a new battery tomorrow, if that does not help then I guess the starter motor may be suspect?
cheers Patrick

 

[dave_peters]

Should be 2 batteries, 12volt in parallell

 

[ricc]

lot of them run in the uk on one battery.... they were designed with two batteries to start in mid winter in eastern europe, which i gather is often a tad colder than what we normally get in the uk.

 

[Renze]

Our C-385 A started on one battery, but was hard to start. We first put the solenoid and the extra battery in, which would start best, but toasted the 12V motor. Then we got a 24V starter.

 

[dozer]

Hi there, your crystal should start quite easily on one 12volt battery even when very cold. As said previously they did come originally with 2 12volt batteries linked in tandem not as 24v but as 12v.But really no need for 2 as one good powerful battery is more than up to the job.I personally had a dislike to the original starter from memory i thin it was a PAL and in my opinion was really unreliable and not up to the job so i substituted it for a lucas and i've never looked back since, although i had to cut a small rectangle with the gas torch out of chassis rail to accomadate the solenoid.I hope this is of some help to you...
Dozer...

 

[dave_peters]

We ran 3 Crystals. The 2 that were new had Lucas starters from new, although one was made by Magnetti Morelli of italy and was crap and was soon changed. The other had the PAL starter which I have to say was no trouble at all except for a new set of brushes which our Zetor dealer had on the shelf.
About the batteries, I can't remember the size off hand, but at the time it was cheaper to buy 2 of the origional size than 1 of the larger size, although the extra cables needed could cause problems if they wern't kept clean . We always threaded the live cable from the r/h battery through a sleeve after a local Crystal caught fire when the wire rubbed through under the cab.