Oil & Fuel Do you believe red oil pressure light

[mdietz39]

I have a Jinma 384 with only 30 hours on it, mostly scraping snow off our 3.4 mile driveway and some weed control. In the last two weeks a strange thing has happened.

After running the tractor for 10 to 15 minutes the red oil icon light will start to flicker and after a minute or two will come on hard. However the oil pressure gauge does not waver. It rises to .25 - .26 when I start the tractor and stays right there. I have checked the dip stick and there is plenty of oil and the oil is clean. The tractor does not overheat. I can stop the tractor when the red light comes on, wait ten minutes, and restart the tractor. Then again after 10 - 15 minutes the red light comes on.

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated. I brought the tractor from Texas here to central New Mexico and have no local dealer to contact. If anybody knows of an "expert" on the Jinma in the Albuquerque area I would also appreciate that information.

Thank you for your time and attention.
Mike
mdietz@wildblue.net

 

[RonMar]

When in doubt check it out... Remove the pressure switch that powers that idiot light and screw in a mechanical gauge. When doing this, crank the engine over a little and let a little oil flow out the pipe that the switch is connected to, just to confirm that the pipe is not clogged.

Run it under the same conditions and note the pressure on the test gauge. Some of the pressure switches have an adjustable setpoint, and yours may just be set too high(too close to normal operating pressure) and as you warm the beast up and the oil thins out, the slight pressure drop associated with this is letting the pressure switch turn on the light. You shut down, the oil thickens a little as it cools, and the light goes off untill it heats up again. This of course will happen faster as the weather warms up. The mechanical will also confirm that your installed electric gauge is indicating correctly. If your gauge is reading correctly, you can re-install the switch and see if it can be adjusted. I like mine set halfway between the summer hot idle oil pressure and zero. If yours is not adjustable, replace the switch. 30 hours? Are you still under warranty? If so your dealer should send you one if you can't adjust yours...

What oil are you running in it(hopefully not still the original chinese fluids)? Straight weight oils exhibit this pressure drop with temp, a little more noticeably than multi-viscosity oils in my experience.

Good Luck

 

[mdietz39]

Thank you Ron.
As to the oil in it, the dealer said he replaced ALL the Chinese fluids so I believe it is a domestic oil of some kind. However as to the warranty and getting stuff from him, he is 700 miles from here and tends to ignore my questions. I have emailed him twice on this with no response. That is one reason I asked about somebody closer to Albuquerque.

What you are describing as to the weather/temperature makes a lot of sense. The red light never came on during the winter but now that the temperature is approaching 80-85 it is happening.

In any case I will pick up a pressure gauge and try your diagnostic just to be sure.

Again thank you.
Mike

 

[3RRL]

Mike,
I can't help much with the red light situation, but I can with the Jinma expert. There is a guy who lives in Edgewood just outside Albuquerque. His name is Larry and is a frequent poster here. His screen name gugliols. Look him up and send him a PM. He also post on this board Chinese Tractor World under the same user name. He is quite knowledgeable with the Jinma 384.

 

[Egon]

I'd suggest an oil/filter change and then do a proper check of the pressure with your own gauge.

 

[greg_g]

Yup. Even though oil pressure senders are not infallible, I think in this case I'd suspect the oil first. It's not outside of reason that you have oil in there that was formulated for gasoline engines.

Since the current oil is of unknown pedigree, I'd drain/flush/refill with an oil that is marked for use in diesel engines. Not that you have to take my word for it, but I think Shell Rotella T 15W40 ranks among the best.

//greg//

 

[Red55]

Mike is your machine a 384 or 284? 30 hours and a new machine I agree with the oil & filter change. It will be due in another 20 hours anyway. Cheap insurance if you ask me. Just make sure it's diesel rate (CD) I personally don't believe in flushing an engine -Ed

 

[GuglioLS]

.........If anybody knows of an "expert" on the Jinma in the Albuquerque area I would also appreciate that information.
Mike......

Hi Mike,
So your in Torrance County?! I got your Email and your in Torreon? That is like 1/2 hour from me. I'm also in Torrance county on S. 14 (hwy 337 and 217)about 5 miles from the Ponderosa Bar. How close is the "Trigo" fire to you? Man the smoke is bad here, I think the entire Manzano mountains are going to burn to the ground.
While I am no self proclaimed expert I do have a Jinma 354 and may be able to help. The Red "Idiot" light switch and the pressure sensor are contained in the same unit. It's a round metal canister with two wires coming out of it and could be mounted on either the left or right side of the engine. My suspicion is the "idiot" switch part of it is going south with temperature. I have a spare switch if you would like to try it out. The suggestion to install a mechanical oil pressure Gauge is a good one and would remove all doubt that the real oil pressure is OK. If your not 100% sure any of the OEM oils have been changed, as stated it would be a real good idea to do so now.

You got a trailer to haul it over to my place? I've got tools and a place to work on it. Otherwise give me a call and maybe we could make arrangements to meet at your place to have a look at it.

Larry

Edit - update - There is a two week old forest fire in the area where Mike and I live - Trigo Fire Flares, Causes Evacuations - Albuquerque News Story - KOAT Albuquerque Due to high winds and prolonged drought (no rain or snow in 4 months) It's getting worse.

"The town of Torreon is on standby and high alert for a possible voluntary evacuation. Residents in Torreon, Tajique and Manzano should be prepared to evacuate if the danger increases".

Mike lives in Torreon.

Larry

 

[3RRL]

OOPS,
He is quite knowledgeable with the Jinma 384.
I meant to write 354 instead of 384 ... my bad.
At least I was right about Larry being Jinma knowledgeable, and he is also a fire expert.

 

[GuglioLS]

The town and surrounding area where Mike lives have been evacuated. I hope he, his family, pets, property and tractor will be OK.

Latest news:
"Trigo Fire Jumps Containment Line; Torreon, Other Areas Evacuated "

Here are some pics of the smoke I took several hours ago just before sun set. They were all take from the back of my property looking south toward where Mike lives:




It's much worse in real life.We may not here from Mike for several days or never again? God speed Mike, our prayers are with you.

Larry