will v
Member
I wanted to post about a problem I have been chasing down for almost the last three years on my JD 445 Garden Tractor. I have finally found a resolution and along the way I have seen that many 445 owners have asked the same questions I had asked. What I never found was someone saying yes, this is your answer and how diagnosis it and to fix it. Well, I think I have figured out the diagnostic's you need to perform to isolate the problem. Read on
During the summer of 2007 I started to experience a hesitation/stall issue after running the tractor for 15-20 with the mower pto engaged (This problem did not happen under any situation except for the mower pto engaged). The 445 has the injector light on the dash that is supposed to flash a code if you have a sensor fail. But I wasn't getting a sensor light. The motor would sputter, lose power, sometimes die, sometimes stumble and if I lowered the throttle it would catch itself and continue to run. At the time, it wasn't that severe and would not happen each time I ran the tractor.
In 2008, I purchased two new coils (hoping that I was getting heat soak issues in the coils). This didn't help and I was getting the same problem. Though now it was happening just about every time I ran the tractor but still no sensor light. At this point it got down right annoying to run the thing but I got through the year and decided I would deal with it the next summer.
Enter 2009, midway through the summer I was still having the same problem. Then on top of this I had a head gasket let go on the left cylinder. In the process the heat spiked quick and it actually cracked the cylinder bore. Tractor had 590 hours at this point and at this point I wasn't sure if the problem was interrelated or what I was actually hoping it was related and now I would have it fixed. Well I found a used crankcase (along with rods, piston, crank, cam) for a very reasonable 200 bucks and was able to rebuild the motor. My heads survived, and I was actually able to use the original crank, rods, pistons, etc. Got everything slapped together in late October and ran the tractor (thinking it was fixed) all winter plowing snow dam thing ran great and I thought what I had experienced was somehow related to a slowly giving up head gasket.
Well, now we are in 2010, I think everything is fine and I put the mower back on. Umm, No dam thing started its same antics. Now, I was either fixing this thing or going to drive it off a cliff. Here is what I did to trouble shoot it. First I googled the heck out of the problem and finally found the injector code light definitions. Here they are:
The injection system failure indicator serves as an injection system diagnostic tool. When there is a problem with one of the fuel injection sensors, the indicator will blink. This light has two signals, a long blink (-) and a short blink (.) Use the following to diagnose the indicator blinking:
.-.. Air Temperature Sensor problem.
.-... Water Temperature Sensor problem.
.- -. Air Pressure Sensor problem (Manifold Air Pressure Sensor MAP).
.- -.. Key switch was turned on too quickly.
I also read that on the 445 air and fuel are directed by the Air Temp, Water Temp, and MAP. But the computer will react a bit different to a failure of each of those sensors. If a failure in the Air or Water Sensor is detected, the computer will just fall back on default setting and the engine will run fine meaning you probably won稚 notice a difference in performance. The MAP Sensor, however is a different animal and is the single most important sensor on this FUELIE motor.
Here is what I did.
On a cold motor I unplugged the Air and Water sensors and the motor ran fine (I kept the MAP sensor plugged in). I did get the codes above for each sensor flashing so I knew my computer was recognizing the situation ok. Then I started to mow with the sensors unplugged. 15 minutes later THE PROBLEM STARTED. Ok, so now I know I probably have a MAP issue because I know the following. I am getting the fuel pump primed/pressure on startup. I am getting the motor to run perfectly fine with the Air and Temp sensor unplugged. Only thing left is the MAP sensor. I am 99% sure this is my problem at this point but remember, now and with the previous years I still never had an injector failure light that indicated the MAP sensor
I let the motor cool and plugged the Air and Temp sensors back in but UNPLUGGED the MAP. The motor would idle any advancement of throttle and it stalled out. This is what you would expect because the MAP sensor is determining the AIR and fuel based on vacuum in the manifold. At idle it is constant and sensor isn稚 doing much at this point. Any change and no sensor = dyeing out engine.
So now I know/think at 99% that it is my MAP so I ordered up a new one to the tune of $247.00 (the most expensive sensor on anything but the diesel garden tractors) and thought to myself that 1% question in my mind and Murphy's Law better not get me.
On Saturday I installed the sensor and mowed with it. Results 200% better, No stalling, No hesitating, No bogging, and overall the motor just ran at 100% for over 1.5hours of mowing.
Keep in mind that I ever had a MAP sensor code flash so this lead me to believe that wasn't the problem for the years it was happening. I think the sensors are going bad in such a way that they are heating up and some sort of resistance is occurring that is causing it to temporarily cut out and this is causing the computer to go nuts trying to figure out the amount of air/fuel (I think the cutting out sensor is showing no vacuum which is then cutting all fuel to the motor). But the fact that it is only cutting out for seconds or fraction of a second lead the computer to not recognize the failure at all and no code is set.
Well, that sums up the experience and I am back to loving my machine that will hopefully last a long time to come.
Hopefully those searching for this answer will find this helpful, if you have any questions post em up here.
MAP sensor part # = M117803
During the summer of 2007 I started to experience a hesitation/stall issue after running the tractor for 15-20 with the mower pto engaged (This problem did not happen under any situation except for the mower pto engaged). The 445 has the injector light on the dash that is supposed to flash a code if you have a sensor fail. But I wasn't getting a sensor light. The motor would sputter, lose power, sometimes die, sometimes stumble and if I lowered the throttle it would catch itself and continue to run. At the time, it wasn't that severe and would not happen each time I ran the tractor.
In 2008, I purchased two new coils (hoping that I was getting heat soak issues in the coils). This didn't help and I was getting the same problem. Though now it was happening just about every time I ran the tractor but still no sensor light. At this point it got down right annoying to run the thing but I got through the year and decided I would deal with it the next summer.
Enter 2009, midway through the summer I was still having the same problem. Then on top of this I had a head gasket let go on the left cylinder. In the process the heat spiked quick and it actually cracked the cylinder bore. Tractor had 590 hours at this point and at this point I wasn't sure if the problem was interrelated or what I was actually hoping it was related and now I would have it fixed. Well I found a used crankcase (along with rods, piston, crank, cam) for a very reasonable 200 bucks and was able to rebuild the motor. My heads survived, and I was actually able to use the original crank, rods, pistons, etc. Got everything slapped together in late October and ran the tractor (thinking it was fixed) all winter plowing snow dam thing ran great and I thought what I had experienced was somehow related to a slowly giving up head gasket.
Well, now we are in 2010, I think everything is fine and I put the mower back on. Umm, No dam thing started its same antics. Now, I was either fixing this thing or going to drive it off a cliff. Here is what I did to trouble shoot it. First I googled the heck out of the problem and finally found the injector code light definitions. Here they are:
The injection system failure indicator serves as an injection system diagnostic tool. When there is a problem with one of the fuel injection sensors, the indicator will blink. This light has two signals, a long blink (-) and a short blink (.) Use the following to diagnose the indicator blinking:
.-.. Air Temperature Sensor problem.
.-... Water Temperature Sensor problem.
.- -. Air Pressure Sensor problem (Manifold Air Pressure Sensor MAP).
.- -.. Key switch was turned on too quickly.
I also read that on the 445 air and fuel are directed by the Air Temp, Water Temp, and MAP. But the computer will react a bit different to a failure of each of those sensors. If a failure in the Air or Water Sensor is detected, the computer will just fall back on default setting and the engine will run fine meaning you probably won稚 notice a difference in performance. The MAP Sensor, however is a different animal and is the single most important sensor on this FUELIE motor.
Here is what I did.
On a cold motor I unplugged the Air and Water sensors and the motor ran fine (I kept the MAP sensor plugged in). I did get the codes above for each sensor flashing so I knew my computer was recognizing the situation ok. Then I started to mow with the sensors unplugged. 15 minutes later THE PROBLEM STARTED. Ok, so now I know I probably have a MAP issue because I know the following. I am getting the fuel pump primed/pressure on startup. I am getting the motor to run perfectly fine with the Air and Temp sensor unplugged. Only thing left is the MAP sensor. I am 99% sure this is my problem at this point but remember, now and with the previous years I still never had an injector failure light that indicated the MAP sensor
I let the motor cool and plugged the Air and Temp sensors back in but UNPLUGGED the MAP. The motor would idle any advancement of throttle and it stalled out. This is what you would expect because the MAP sensor is determining the AIR and fuel based on vacuum in the manifold. At idle it is constant and sensor isn稚 doing much at this point. Any change and no sensor = dyeing out engine.
So now I know/think at 99% that it is my MAP so I ordered up a new one to the tune of $247.00 (the most expensive sensor on anything but the diesel garden tractors) and thought to myself that 1% question in my mind and Murphy's Law better not get me.
On Saturday I installed the sensor and mowed with it. Results 200% better, No stalling, No hesitating, No bogging, and overall the motor just ran at 100% for over 1.5hours of mowing.
Keep in mind that I ever had a MAP sensor code flash so this lead me to believe that wasn't the problem for the years it was happening. I think the sensors are going bad in such a way that they are heating up and some sort of resistance is occurring that is causing it to temporarily cut out and this is causing the computer to go nuts trying to figure out the amount of air/fuel (I think the cutting out sensor is showing no vacuum which is then cutting all fuel to the motor). But the fact that it is only cutting out for seconds or fraction of a second lead the computer to not recognize the failure at all and no code is set.
Well, that sums up the experience and I am back to loving my machine that will hopefully last a long time to come.
Hopefully those searching for this answer will find this helpful, if you have any questions post em up here.
MAP sensor part # = M117803
Last edited: