Yanmar 1500D Start Problem/Thermo Start Problem

[gweishaar]

I recently purchased my Yanmar 1500D. It ran fine. I left the lights on and ran down the battery. I put the battery back in and reversed the polarity (The cables were installed with negative-red and positive-black). I fried the wire to the voltage regulator. I replaced the regulator, all the wiring and the fuse block. (The old wiring and fuse block were in terrible shape). In the process, the fuel line was leaking so I replaced it with clear plastic line.

Now the engine spins great when the starter is actuated and smoke comes out of the exhaust pipe but it will not start.

It has been about 45 deg. recently here (VA) with temps dropping at night into the 30´s.

Any thoughts on the cause of non starting problems would be appreciated? Should I bleed the system? (There is no evidence of air in the filter or line).

There is a thermo start on the engine. No circuit diagram in the manual I have (It says tthermo start circuit omitted). There are no instructions in the manual other than to press the momentary button for 10seconds. (I have this circuit wired with a 20 amp fuse)

There is a small funnel on top of the engine with a removable snap cap. The electric lead from the thermo start switch goes to a point in the small piping just below the small funnel. It seems that this funnel may be a place to pour fuel. If this is the case, how much fuel do you pour in? How long do you press the momentary switch that connects the circuit to the fuse block? Any suggestions/ideas will be appreciated.

 

[kenmac]

Since it only needs compression & fuel to start. I would start with the fuel 1 st. Mabe crack fuel line to injector & turn it over. My thermo start is a little different than yours. But fill the little cup up with fuel . If I'am not mistaken, the wire is only afor a small amount of heat to warm the fuel as it goes into the chamber

 

[gweishaar]

Thanks Kenmac. I will give it a try when the weather breaks and I get some daylight.

 

[dirty Doug]

If you are getting little puffs of smoke ,you are getting close .
Bleed the fuel lines at the injectors ,completely unthread them both at the same time. Use the compression release. the engine will turn over faster and it will be less strain on starter. when you see drops coming out thats good . Hook it back up and try to start ,use lots of throttle, and be ready to back it down when it fires . If it doesn't start but is stumbling , then bleed again .
I have had to bleed my 1500 several times after changing the fuel filter.
With the mild weather you have , you shouldnt even need your Thermo Start.
Doug

 

[reb]

If the solution is bleeding, you can do it without disconnecting anything. There are two 10mm hex heads with philips head patterns in the line between the filter and the fuel pump. Just loosen the first until no bubbles come out, then repeat with the second. It should start on the first try.

 

[gweishaar]

Thanks for the replies and advice. I'm working dawn to dark and I will bleed the lines this Saturday when i have some daylight. Hopefully it will fire up. I will post an update on my progress then.

 

[gweishaar]

Good news. The tractor is purring. I bled the lines as per advice but I was not taking the fittings loose at the injector. I was opening the two bleed valves on top of the injectors. I found a movie on u-tube that shows the fittings being disconnected. I kept bleeding the injector pump bleed fitting and loosening the fittings where they go into the injector. I did this 5 or 6 times, it still wouldn't start. I had no bubbles at the injector and fuel was coming out the disconnected fittings (2 on the 1500D).

It did not seem the starter was turning fast enough. It did OK when I used the decompression lever but when trying to turn it over with compression it bogged down. I kept charging the battery and still not enough speed. I pulled the battery out of my 67 Camaro and fully charged it. I put this in the tractor and the starter still did not seem to turn fast enough when the engine was in compression.

I happened to put my hand on the battery terminal after trying to start it and it was hot to the touch. From this I figured there may be too much resistance in the line. I pulled the terminals off and abraded them and then decided to look at the part of the terminal that made the connection with the copper wire that runs to the starter. The underside of the clamp was badly rusted and the copper wire was corroded badly. I took all the connections to the starter loose and cleaned and greased them. I put everything back and hit the switch and it started right up.

Thanks to everyone for all the advice.

My next mission is to convert the headlights over to take a #1157 bulb so I don't have to order a bulb from Texas every time I need one. I have drilled the connector off of one headlight socket and found a holder for the 1157 bulb that almost fits (Hole that I drilled is too big). I have made the hole in a disc from an old computer hard drive (it is really shinny and made of steel) a little larger so the bulb holder snaps in. I will pop rivet this to the headlights.