BX2230 Running Issue

[megaboz]

Billy,

Did you finally figure out your issue. I have a BX1850 that seems to have the same symptoms. I bought it used from a dealer so have no idea what the previous owner has done to it.

The tractor seem to run great and has great power but after about an hour so so it will start to drop rpms almost like I'm closing the trottle and sometimes it completely stall. As far as I can tell it's not overheating or anything and I'm not getting any click from the fuel stop which I assume means it's not a safety shut off short circuit or anything.

If I notice the drop in rpms quick enough I can usually just disengage PTO clutch and stop moving and it will sit there and idle around 900-1000 rpms for a few seconds and finally picks up again. Once it starts doing this, it then seems to do it very often. If I let the tractor sit for a bit it seems to work again for awhile (seems to depend on how long I let it sit) and then the symptoms start again. If I let it sit overnight then I can start mowing again for an hour or so until the symptoms repeat all over again.

I don't think your issue is anywhere near the same. The OP machines shuts down when using the throttle pedal, otherwise it runs fine.

My theory is that you may have a heat issue or a clogging issue.

I say heat because it could be getting got enough for a rubber fuel line to maybe colaspe on it'self. The fact that it seems to cool down and run better also leads me to believe it is some way related to heat.

On the clogging issue, It could be possible that the tank is not venting correctly, something in the bottom of the tank, or an obstruction in the fuel line.

Depending on how soft the fuel line is, it might be worth replacing anyway just to be sure, while a pain to replace it just might be worth the effort depending on the age of the machine.

 

[mak1976]

This may also sound a bit crazy but my gas gauge seems very erractic. It seems to fluxuate a good bit when moving up and down very slight grade in my yard. Is this normal I wonder? What also seems strange is it might just be my imagination but the problems seem to happen on more one an uphill slopes. I'm not talking about a steep enough grade that it would put that much more of a strain on the engine...Just seems weird.

Really hard to diagnose since it really only seems to start happening after mowing for an hour or more.

Fuel line collasping is interesting. It's a 2006 and I only have 160 hours on the tractor. Is it possible for a fuel line to exibit this at this early stage. Anyway easy way to check this without just replacing the lines first?

 

[Billy_S]

UPDATE

The dealer finally thinks he has solved the problem. Supposed to bring the tractor back to me today so we will see. May take a bit as the issue was so intermittent. Anyway, he concluded that the problem was the safety switch on the seat was not adjusted properly. That certainly could be it. Again, we will see.

I am most anxious to get this resolved as I now have the tractor for sale.

 

[mak1976]

Cool, I hope it's the safety switch.


I don't think mine is the safety switch since I don't get that "click" that happens when the safety switch cuts in and kills fuel to the engine.

Keep us updated...

 

[megaboz]

This may also sound a bit crazy but my gas gauge seems very erractic. It seems to fluxuate a good bit when moving up and down very slight grade in my yard. Is this normal I wonder? What also seems strange is it might just be my imagination but the problems seem to happen on more one an uphill slopes. I'm not talking about a steep enough grade that it would put that much more of a strain on the engine...Just seems weird.

Really hard to diagnose since it really only seems to start happening after mowing for an hour or more.

Fuel line collasping is interesting. It's a 2006 and I only have 160 hours on the tractor. Is it possible for a fuel line to exibit this at this early stage. Anyway easy way to check this without just replacing the lines first?

Well vapor lock or bad fuel line is hard to figure out, I would check that the fuel cap is venting first. Try unscrewing it when it starts to act up. and see if there was a vacum in the tank... I know my BX is starting to develop venting issues. Some day it is all I can do to get the lid off.

 

[Grandad4]

Just one other possibility I didn't see mentioned before in this thread. Be sure you have replaced both fuel filters on the BX. There's a second one you have to stand on your head to reach from underneath. If you only replace the obvious one, the engine will eventually show similar symptoms to what people have described in this thread... intermittent stall/engine cuts out for a few seconds due to fuel starvation caused by the clogged second filter.

Maybe most everyone else already knows about this, but I had to learn about it the hard way, so it's probably worth mentioning.

 

[mak1976]

I don't think it's vapor lock or anything. I check the gas gap and it appears to be funtioning and the problem doesn't seem to go away when I try to run the tractor with the cap off.

I just removed the gas line to the first fuel filter (one under the tractor closest to the gas tank before the little pump). The filter looks kinda of dirty but the obvious thing I noticed is a very very thin stream of dsl is flowing though my gas line. I don't know how much flow I'm suppose to get but my fuel line is atleast pencil thick and the stream of dsl seems only slightly better then a fast drip. I would say it might take 10-15 minutes to fill up an 8oz cup. Should my fuel line be moving more fluid then this?

 

[Grandad4]

Replacing the dirty filter cured the sputtering on my 2230... it was at about 400 hours, as I recall. When I pulled the fuel line off the filter, it gave me a nice face full of diesel fuel... had to clamp it off with vise grips or there would have been a good puddle of diesel, so it should have pretty good flow. If you don't have a similar flow from the tank, it does suggest a blockage in the line to the tank or in the tank itself.

Considering yours is only 160 hours, but you bought it used, one might guess the previous owner wasn't too careful about what got into the tank. If it were my machine, I'd be thinking about what else saw that same dirty fuel... fuel pump, injectors, etc. Maybe someone with more diesel knowledge than me would have a suggestion on that.

Also, the BX fuel gauges are famously imprecise. No way can you use them for anything more than a general indication of how full the tank might be. If you look at the convoluted shape of the tank, it would probably be very difficult to design a really accurate gauge system for it, so I figure that the funky fuel gauge is the compromise engineers made to have a space efficient fuel tank. After you've used the machine a while, though, you get to know how to read the gauge to tell when you need to add fuel.

 

[VALENT]

Most definitely. I am sure you have narrowed down your problem considerably.

 

[megaboz]

160 hours or not, it still could be dirty fuel. I buy fuel from one station all the time, the on road diesel is always clean, the off-road, not so much.

Also, I leave my cans sitting outside and have a couple of times just about filled the tank with the dirt that had splashed on the side of the tank.

So, 160 hours can be old. Also, scum can grow on diesel if it has sat a long time without being used.

The fuel coming from the tank should give you a bath when you take off the filter, if not then it is dirty.

One way you can check the fuel flow to see if there is something lying on the opening is to shoot some air up into the hose and see if the flow improves.