Houston, I think we've solved the problem......

 7:41 am - Saturday - October 9th - Coupeville, WA - 47° F, 83% humidity, wind 10 mph out of the east by southeast.....cloudy today with a forecast high of 58° F.  On this date in 2018 TLE and I entered our 48th state in the Newell.....Delaware....we stayed at a local Elks Lodge for a few days......↴

I finished writing and editing yesterday's blog post around 9:30 am just as TLE announced breakfast was ready.  Instead of publishing the post, I got up, set up my coffee table, and sat down to a wonderful bacon and eggs breakfast, fulling intending to, but never returning to my blog.  It wasn't until my brother-in-law, Glenn, sent a message to TLE and I asking where "today's" post was around 5 pm that I realized I had not published it.....lol.  In case you missed it, it is now up for your reading pleasure.

After breakfast I headed down the hill to run the test on the ignition system on the JD (John Deere) I wrote about in yesterday's post.  I made up a long 'jumper' wire to run from the battery to the solenoid in the injection pump to see if I could activate it directly.  Sure enough as I touched the terminal on top of the pump with the metallic end of the jumber I heard that audible 'CLICK' one should hear when power is applied.  I next moved the battery end of the 'jumper' to the terminal on the ignition switch which should supply power to the solenoid when the key it turned to the 'ON' position, then turned the key, but there was no audible 'CLICK'.  We then tested the actual trigger wire running from that ignition post to the solenoid and heard the audible 'CLICK'.  So now, what do we know?  We seem to know that no electrical signal is being send via the ignition switch when the key is turned to the 'ON' position, so that would seem to indicate there is an issue with the ignition switch.  To confirm our suspicions we called a local the same heavy equipment place which rebuilt the injection pump to see if their technician agreed with our diagnosis.  After answering quite a few questions he ruled out a fuel line issue, and agreed this was an electrical issue, and that we were most likely right.  Have we solved the problem?  Until we can install the new fuel filter/water separator assembly and run fuel through the system we will have to wait for that answer (pictures of everything forthcoming).

In the mean time TLE and  I will drive into Mt. Vernon to pick up the new fuel filter assembly Saturday morning, and then Bob and I will install it upon our return.  Bob went ahead and ordered a new ignition switch, but it will not be here until Monday, however, we can bypass the ignition in the mean time to test our theory before then.  We are so close to getting the John Deere operational after 18 months of sitting silently down the hill from the house.

It was still early in the day when Bob and I concluded our tests, and the sun had finally made an appearance, so I decided no time like the present to fire up the commercial steam/pressure washer and clean my radiator.  While I was at it I pressure washed the generator bay, as well as the underside of the engine, and transmission....it's gotten a little grimy under there over the years to say the least.  By the time I finished putting everything away it was after 4 pm, and I was one tired puppy.  I left the engine bay doors open so everything would dry out as I need to apply a fresh coat of gray Rustoleum to the floors in each bay after a year in Seal Rock, OR.

And so, we have been gone from SRRVC for a week now, but it actually seems much long....I don't know why.  We've got about 5 days left here in Coupeville, and a lot yet to accomplish, but I am now extremely optimistic all of our goals will be achieved with time to spare.

Thanks for stopping by!

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