Weird Problem tonight

[Mark3101]

New 3320 cab. 59" snowblower on it. 10 hours so far. We had a good snowstorm the past couple of days. Used tractor on Friday no problem. Worked great. Used it again on Sunday a couple of times and also, no problem. Probably ran it about 6 hours over those two days.

Tonight, I took it out to finish cleaning up from the storm. It started and ran fine for about 5 minutes, then suddenly, the tach went to 650-700 RPM and the lights dimmed, the heater fan slowed down...but the engine stayed at 2600 RPM. ehydro came to a stop when this happened. As I sat there for about 30 seconds, engine sounded fine and did not slow down. Then the tach started to climb, the lights got bright and the fan sped up. Then the ehydro also worked fine. Started to work again and it happened within a minute or two just as above.

This went on for the rest of the time I was working...about an hour. I pulled into the garage and checked the battery voltage. It was 12.95 with the tractor off. Battery & Alternator cables are all tight and clean.

If I run without any electrical load (no lights or fan) then it seems to last longer between fits. I can get it to stall almost at will by turning on all the work lights or put the fan on high.

I get no idiot light for the charging system, nor do I get any error codes on the dash display. I am going to call the dealer tomorrow morning. I am thinking alternator, but why no light or code?

Anyone have any ideas?? Thanks!

 

[irwin]

I had a similar symptom on a van, it was a loose connection at the alternator. The heavy power wire secured with a nut... check connections.

Oh ya' welcome to TBN, and good luck.

 

[PILOON]

Irwin is most probably correct.

Diezel engines mostly have mechanical injector pumps and as such do not require electricity to run so sounds like loose connection (or bad ground).

 

[RogerH]

Check your belt tension also. The tachometer speed is picked up from the alternator signal so a tach speed lower than actual engine speed points to belt slippage. That also would explain the dim lights and slowing fan. My guess is that the belt is a bit loose and when it gets wet from the flying snow it slips.

 

[Bird]

Check your belt tension also. The tachometer speed is picked up from the alternator signal so a tach speed lower than actual engine speed points to belt slippage. That also would explain the dim lights and slowing fan. My guess is that the belt is a bit loose and when it gets wet from the flying snow it slips.

All good answers, but this one get my vote. Well, my guess anyway.

 

[dirtworksequip]

Mark,There was a recent thread. It seems to be the same problem under similar circumstances. Do a search for "Intermittent stalling" or "turbotime" and that should find the thread for you.

Sincerely, Dirt

 

[Mark3101]

Check your belt tension also. The tachometer speed is picked up from the alternator signal so a tach speed lower than actual engine speed points to belt slippage. That also would explain the dim lights and slowing fan. My guess is that the belt is a bit loose and when it gets wet from the flying snow it slips.

My dealer is coming tomorrow with a new alternator. He thinks that is most likey the problem. I *think* the belt tension is ok and it looks alright to me. I have checked the connections at the battery and alternator and they are tight.

I guess we will see what the dealer finds out. Thanks for the information.

 

[Bird]

My first showroom new car was a 1962 Austin Healy Sprite and while it was still in warranty, my tachometer developed an odd habit. It showed correctly at idle, then as I accelerated, it came up to about 1500 and just hung there, and when the engine speed got up to about 2500, the tach would suddenly jump to catch up. So I took it the dealer and they pulled the tachometer out of the dash and installed a new one. It did the same thing. Then they tightened the fan belt and that fixed it. Naturally the tach was driven off the back of the alternator.

 

[irwin]

Getting the bugs worked out of a machine...better done while it's still under warranty Good luck

 

[megotatractor]

This happened with my 2210 the first winter I used it. The belt had broken in during the summer and became loose and the slightest bit of snow caused the fan to slow though I have no voltage guage on it. I tightened the belt myself and never had to adjust it since.