ck20s dies after 20 minutes; restarts and works fine for hours after

[DroppedAxle]

Hi,

so I've put about 20 hours on a 2007 ck20s that I bought used with about 440 hours earlier this spring. This has happened twice: the tractor just dies as if it were shutoff by ignition key after about 15-20 minutes of use. When cranked, it then starts right up again and continues to work just fine for as long as I need it (hours). The first time this happened it had been idling at about 1500 rpm for about 5 minutes. The second time (today) I was using the BH at 2500 rpm.

If this were my lawn tractor I'd be looking for a clogged vent hole in my gas cap/tank... Any ideas on what this might be? (Seems fuel related; tank was nearly full both times.)

Thanks!

DA

 

[ritcheyvs]

If it just stopped, with no warning or preceding loss of engine power, I suspect the stop solenoid lost power for some reason. On your model (I think) the stop solenoid must have continuous power applied for the engine to start or run. Possibly there is an intermittent problem with the key switch or possibly an "iffy" wire or connector or fuse. You can throw parts at it now but you won't be able to be sure it's fixed until the problem gets so bad it's repeatable. My advice would be to do nothing for now but observe. You might be able to confirm the stop solenoid diagnosis by "feeling" the injection pump rack position via the manual stop lever on the engine. You should be able to feel if the stop solenoid is forcing the rack to the full off (aft) position.

 

[texasjohn]

I agree completely. I would add that you might start it then wiggle all wires you can find and see if something causes it to suddenly die. Otherwise, gotta wait until it is more repeatable. I had the same problem a couple of times then it became a solid problem...turned out to be an electrical connection to the stop solenoid...I simply unconnected and blew out the dirt, reconnected. All good for 2 years now.

If it just stopped, with no warning or preceding loss of engine power, I suspect the stop solenoid lost power for some reason. On your model (I think) the stop solenoid must have continuous power applied for the engine to start or run. Possibly there is an intermittent problem with the key switch or possibly an "iffy" wire or connector or fuse. You can throw parts at it now but you won't be able to be sure it's fixed until the problem gets so bad it's repeatable. My advice would be to do nothing for now but observe. You might be able to confirm the stop solenoid diagnosis by "feeling" the injection pump rack position via the manual stop lever on the engine. You should be able to feel if the stop solenoid is forcing the rack to the full off (aft) position.

 

[DroppedAxle]

Yep, it just stops and sounds just like a "key off" - no sputtering, straining, etc. before hand.

Thanks for the suggestions guys.

 

[SSdoxie]

Dropped Axle, It took me a few hours after first reading your problem to recall this. but thanks to Scott and Texasjohn's replies this dawned on me. When Bobcat first took on the Daedong (Kioti) line they encountered problem on the CT120 (CK20) with no start (engine would crank but fuel wouldn't turn on although fuel solenoid would click on), engine would start but shut off quickly or run a few minutes the shutdown, sometimes after restarting would run fine - This sound familiar? What was found and final repair was 2 part. 1st part - a new, different solenoid with longer travel and a new lever at injection pump was added to give the solenoid added force. This helped in about 80% of the tractors. The remaining ones, mostly those exposed to weather, humidity, and other potential corrosion environments still had issues. The final repair was: Remove the fuel shut off lever cover and lever on the injection, clean any corrosion and apply coat of anti-seize to lever shaft. shaft start to corrode and solenoid cannot pull far enough in to maintain a solid hold position then any vibration can cause it to release. Here is picture of the drawing from a repair procedure.


Considering your location, humid salty air could be getting in on that shaft.

 

[ritcheyvs]

I think his 2007 model has the newer configuration with an oil-fill port on the IP cover and a different manual stop linkage. I think this image represents the stop-lever setup on his tractor:

Later Stop Linkage

 

[SSdoxie]

I think his 2007 model has the newer configuration with an oil-fill port on the IP cover and a different manual stop linkage. I think this image represents the stop-lever setup on his tractor:

Later Stop Linkage

That change didn't happen on Bobcat until 2008 when this size went to 22 hp and changed to Final Tier 4.

 

[DroppedAxle]

Thanks guys.

I'll start by jiggling some wires and locating the fuel shutoff solenoid. If that doesn't find anything obvious, I'll wait until it becomes more of a problem (and hopefully more obvious as to the cause).

 

[ritcheyvs]

That change didn't happen on Bobcat until 2008 when this size went to 22 hp and changed to Final Tier 4.

Interesting. My 2006 DK45S (aka DK451) has the "new" configuration. The changeover for 45 hp Kiotis must have been during the 2006 model year. My service manual only shows the older version.

 

[Ranchofla]

Thanks guys.

I'll start by jiggling some wires and locating the fuel shutoff solenoid. If that doesn't find anything obvious, I'll wait until it becomes more of a problem (and hopefully more obvious as to the cause).

My CK20HST has done this to me a few times, I jiggled the key a bit and it continued to run and did not repeat for months. It has happened since but the same jiggle fixed it each time. I have not had time to dig deeper due to other projects that take priority.

Rancho