I Killed My Tractor :(

MontyJ

Deeply Rooted
Joined
Oct 26, 2012
Messages
1,815
Reaction score
527
Points
197
Location
West Virginia
Glad to hear you got it back Bay. Sorry to hear the problem was caused by ignorance. Why do people do that? A little solder and a piece of heat shrink tubing would have prevented the whole mess.

I found similar stupidity down at the new place the other day. The previous owners used to have a motor home on the property. Over where it used to sit I found a piece of romex sticking up out of the ground with electrical tape wrapped around it. The wire itself was buried in the ground, no conduit. Plain, white romex, direct buried in the ground! To top it off, I toned it back to the electrical panel and found it still connected to a breaker, and the breaker in the ON position! That motor home was gone for a couple of years before they moved out, meaning those hot wires were sticking up like that for a while, and they had little kids running around down there.
 

baymule

Garden Master
Joined
Mar 20, 2011
Messages
18,810
Reaction score
36,949
Points
457
Location
Trinity County Texas
@valleyranch yes. One thousand three hundred fifteen green smackaroos!
The wiring harness was toast, $633 relay switch $215, 5 shop hours $425 and we got a wheel, tire and got it mounted on trailer. I don't know how to do these things. So, ya gotta pay up.

@MontyJ that's crazy. Electricity is another one of those things I don't know about AND have a healthy respect for. We will eventually have some outside wiring done and will have it done by licensed electricians. A friend already offered to do it for us but I politely turned him down.
 

seedcorn

Garden Master
Joined
Jun 21, 2008
Messages
9,651
Reaction score
9,979
Points
397
Location
NE IN
5 hours shop time would be $600 here. Here usually figure labor bill is whatever parts total is.
 

baymule

Garden Master
Joined
Mar 20, 2011
Messages
18,810
Reaction score
36,949
Points
457
Location
Trinity County Texas
Shop hour is $85 at the place we patronize. The Kubota dealership in Tyler is not a very good place to do business.
 

MontyJ

Deeply Rooted
Joined
Oct 26, 2012
Messages
1,815
Reaction score
527
Points
197
Location
West Virginia
That sounds about right for labor rates. It's the same here. Replacing the entire harness is worth the money for labor. There is no way that was any fun.

Good call on having a licensed electrician do your electric work. Your insurance company would freak out if something were to go wrong later down the road. I do my own electrical work, but then again, I'm licensed ;). I did call a friend over yesterday to discuss a new service entrance for the place. I would have done it myself, but he has the trencher I thought I might need because of the existing cable. Fortunately, he's good friends with the inspector so we can leave it as is. All I have to do is replace the meter base and outside disconnect.
 
Top