So having an older Kioti I ran into the dreaded lack of tachometer issue that plagues these tractors. I have an LB2204, but they used the same dash on the LK series tractors, so others could use my solution here.
The tach is from an LB245. Once you get it installed into the dash panel, this is plug and play for these early Kiotis. No need to have a custom cable made. The rest of the gauges are standard 2-inch ones I pulled off of eBay. The only one that didn't work is the fuel gauge because it's calibrated backwards. It actually comes up to 1/4 tank when it's empty and pegs to below E when it's full LOL. I'm going to leave it for now. I can just open the cap and see how full it is right from the driver's seat.
I hand cut the tach with a jigsaw because of the oval shape and used a 2" hole saw for the gauges. This is the perfect size for the 2" gauges. Very good fitment. If I had it to do over, I'd go with a piece of aluminum or buy some lighter gauge steel. I had this 3/16" plate lying around and wish I had just bought something lighter. It was a bear to work with. The saw blades really got a workout.
Wiring wasn't too bad but it was very time consuming. All that cutting, stripping, crimping, heat shrinking. Took some time. I cut the wires off right behind the old gauge pod and reused the pigtails so I can just unplug this whole assembly like the factory unit can do. I was even able to get all the back lights working using the factory harness so I can use them at night. 2" gauges are really bright though so I might put a resistor on them if I get ambitious at some point. The only wire I had to run separate was the oil pressure sender because the one in the kit was too big to fit into the OEM location behind the starter. I put it on the other side of the block behind the oil filter and kept the idiot light functionality since the Kubota tach has that light built in. By the way, if you can get an oil pressure switch for a '90s Honda, they're cheap and plentiful, and they have the same BSPT threads as the Kubota engines. Of course that was bad too and had to be replaced. Didn't want to spend $30 on one, so I got the $9 Honda one. Tachometer cable and the tachometer drive gear were toast too I found out. Both seemed to be in functional condition when I installed the engine. Guess they were on the edge
Question: Now that I have the tachometer working, does anyone who has either one of these tractors or an L245 know what this engine will safely rev to? This is exactly why I spent so much time getting this working, so I don't over rev it. At one point I cranked the hand throttle all the way forward and it started climbing to around 3200 RPM before I got scared and shut her down. Since it's rated for 2800, I'm a little surprised to see it rev that high. Is this normal for these engines or do I have a maladjusted governor or throttle linkage? Throttle linkage is adjusted all the way out by the way. Maybe that was done to compensate for the lack of power it had from the dead cylinder? I'm a little concerned it'll float some valves and send parts scattering if I rev it higher than that.
The tach is from an LB245. Once you get it installed into the dash panel, this is plug and play for these early Kiotis. No need to have a custom cable made. The rest of the gauges are standard 2-inch ones I pulled off of eBay. The only one that didn't work is the fuel gauge because it's calibrated backwards. It actually comes up to 1/4 tank when it's empty and pegs to below E when it's full LOL. I'm going to leave it for now. I can just open the cap and see how full it is right from the driver's seat.
I hand cut the tach with a jigsaw because of the oval shape and used a 2" hole saw for the gauges. This is the perfect size for the 2" gauges. Very good fitment. If I had it to do over, I'd go with a piece of aluminum or buy some lighter gauge steel. I had this 3/16" plate lying around and wish I had just bought something lighter. It was a bear to work with. The saw blades really got a workout.
Wiring wasn't too bad but it was very time consuming. All that cutting, stripping, crimping, heat shrinking. Took some time. I cut the wires off right behind the old gauge pod and reused the pigtails so I can just unplug this whole assembly like the factory unit can do. I was even able to get all the back lights working using the factory harness so I can use them at night. 2" gauges are really bright though so I might put a resistor on them if I get ambitious at some point. The only wire I had to run separate was the oil pressure sender because the one in the kit was too big to fit into the OEM location behind the starter. I put it on the other side of the block behind the oil filter and kept the idiot light functionality since the Kubota tach has that light built in. By the way, if you can get an oil pressure switch for a '90s Honda, they're cheap and plentiful, and they have the same BSPT threads as the Kubota engines. Of course that was bad too and had to be replaced. Didn't want to spend $30 on one, so I got the $9 Honda one. Tachometer cable and the tachometer drive gear were toast too I found out. Both seemed to be in functional condition when I installed the engine. Guess they were on the edge
Question: Now that I have the tachometer working, does anyone who has either one of these tractors or an L245 know what this engine will safely rev to? This is exactly why I spent so much time getting this working, so I don't over rev it. At one point I cranked the hand throttle all the way forward and it started climbing to around 3200 RPM before I got scared and shut her down. Since it's rated for 2800, I'm a little surprised to see it rev that high. Is this normal for these engines or do I have a maladjusted governor or throttle linkage? Throttle linkage is adjusted all the way out by the way. Maybe that was done to compensate for the lack of power it had from the dead cylinder? I'm a little concerned it'll float some valves and send parts scattering if I rev it higher than that.
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