A different puzzle today.

A small farm, and I have a small tractor. I could do with something bigger, stronger, with a cabin so I don't have to suit up when spraying. But that's what I've got.

In general its good enough. But to get it going it needs the sun on the engine block for two hours, and a fully charged battery. And usually a jump start as well. I made a serious mistake a couple of winters ago, when I parked it facing away from the sun. I could not get it warmed up enough to start for weeks.

Now is the time to be planting trees. The ground is soft and the posthole digger can punch through the mining spoil. Up until last week I've been busy, with paid work. But that finished, and its time to dust the tractor off.

Except, it wouldn't start.

I am not talented with things electric and electronic. I can read instructions and follow them, but if problem solving travels past someone's explicit instructions I am not the guy.

Having said that, I think there are three things going on with my tractor.

Its not charging itself properly. Might need a new alternator.

It seems to be shorting out when starting. I found a loose red wire, with a fitted connection end, poking out from under the central plate that covers the floor. What was it meant to be connected to?

I have hear the starter motor solenoid click. Maybe needs that replaced.

It has a lot more extra electrical faults….the dashboard lights don't work, like the low oil light. The horn and lights don't work. I don't need them, but it indicates a problem.

So, time to get someone to have a look at it.

But, of course, to take it into the auto-electrician I need to get it onto a trailer. And it won’t start. See my problem?

Last time I used it I was digging holes, so the posthole digger was still attached. I had intended to keep doing that. It's a tall implement, must weight more than 250kg. When I need to detach the posthole digger I drill it into the ground. That stabilizes it, and I can unhitch it safely.

With no running tractor I had to secure it above ground, balancing on the point if the auger. I ended up running a trucking strap up to the shed roof joists, and another one pulling it tight on a horizontal line. With a fair bit of swearing and lost skin I detached it and its balancing there waiting to be called into action again.

There's about 180kg of counter-weight attached to the front to stop it tipping over when pulling implements through the ground. The weights come in discrete 27kg units, 6 of them. Might as well take them off and reduce the amount of weight I need to winch.

Getting it off at the other end would involve two people, I was thinking. One to winch it off, the other to steer it down the ramps. And best to put it on backwards, so I can roll it off facing forward and steer it.

But getting it on was a one person job. I use three winches, and can steer it up the ramp that way, using the left, right, centre winches to correct the travel path. The three lines also give me a safety net…if one of them broke, for example I’d still have two excess capacity lines holding it in place.

But its slow going. I have to winch a bit, move to the next line which is now a bit slack, make that the tight one and keep that process going. Takes me a couple of hours.

Once the tractor is on the trailer its easier. I can actually roll it forward a little by pushing it, strap it all down and off we go.

At the electrician's I suggested I park it out the back, but I needed an anchor point to winch it off. And the yard was full, no room for a big trailer to turn.

"Bring it off out the front", they said.

"It'll take me a couple of minutes to untie it. Let me do that and I'll come and get you to help me unload it."

There's a look I am used to seeing when I say something a local wouldn't say. He just ignored me and came out with me. He wasn't impressed with how I had strapped it on. Too many ties. We got the straps off and were optioning the best way of getting it off, then the other electrician came out.

"C'mon! We've got stuff to do. What's the holdup!?"

There was a guy on a ladder. They hijacked him, and got ready to push it off. My job was to sit on the tractor and steer it down the ramps. I said, " I feel bad, you guys are doing the hard bit!"

He laughed. "Mate, there's no way you'd get me up there on that thing!"

Down we sailed, and I left with the tractor parked in the street.

I went round the corner with the trailer to another place and got a weld repair done. It took an hour, and when I left I drove past the auto-electricians. The tractor was still out the front, but now had a massive battery sitting next to it and cables attached, and some sort of diagnostic unit.

Work has started!