Maybe we should have gotten a crankcase heater in the L3940!

[Grateful11]

Well it took 4 tries to get it started today and it was 36 F in the shed, glow plugs on until it goes off and crank for 10 seconds then stop and let it set for
about 30 and tried again the 4th time was the charm. I put a digital voltmeter on the starter and got 10 volts while she tried to start it. We took the battery out and had it load tested at the dealer they said it was fine, it's a 585CCA battery. They're coming over tomorrow weather permitting and are going to try and see what they can find, they're also bringing a rollback just in case. Makes me wish I had bought from the nutty Kubota dealer a 1/4 mile away, at least we could drive it to the dealer, just can't quite get along with the guy like so many others.

BTW: It turned over fast enough today that for the life of me I can't see why it didn't start the first try. Since we stopped turning it off all and not letting it idle once running, 1400-1500 rpm's while feeding higher when moving, it seems to be turning over faster but it's still having trouble starting. I got in the 6 cyl. Cummins Case IH 5140 yesterday, the high was 29, it fired right off within 2 seconds, no glow plugs, no ether. Even the IH 574 started right up Monday when they ground feed with the Grinder Mixer, that tractor is almost 40 years old and over 5000hrs.

Any possiblility of maybe some bad glow plugs or something? Dealer has already said he finds it hard to believe it could be a bad starter, I got a bad feeling about the relationship I'm getting into with this dealer and he's one of the biggest around, heck he has 2 M135's on his lot, he recently sold a Kubota tractor with rear tracks, he's high volume so he has to be doing something right. Wonder what this service call is going to cost us? They said they didn't cover travel or pickup and delivery but will cover warranty work which I knew that going in.

 

[Egon]

Oh Dear, has the fuel supply route been checked out.

What about throttle position when starting?

 

[PHILIP8N]

Oh Dear, has the fuel supply route been checked out.QUOTE]

With the additional information, that was my next thought as well. Check the fuel stop valve and fuel filter. Hose from fuel tank, etc. There is a fuel shut off valve somewhere, but I have never used it. I started my L3940 at 13F without problems yesterday. Started last winter at 0F without problems. I do not think it is one bad injector as it would fire and run on 3 cylinders. Something is keeping all the fuel from getting into the cylinders. Philip.

 

[crazyal]

Unfortunately there are times when it's best to get the dealer involved.

My Case backhoe has a small inline fuel filter, looks like an aftermarket filter you can buy from any auto parts store. There's a small rib around the outside in the center of the filter, I think it's where the two halves are joined together. It had a small leak on that seam. Not enough for fuel to come out but when stopped it would get air into the system. When hot it would start a little hard but when cold it would take either a little help (shot of either) or a good 40 seconds of cranking before you would start to see smoke coming out the exhaust.

It's long out of warranty and I'm not sure if the filter is stock but I spent a lot of time looking for the problem, would look and look then give up and do what I need to do with the BH. Finally the leak got just big enough so I could see it was wet. For a couple of bucks my problem was solved.

I think a dealer would have gotten there with maybe an hour or so worth of work. A simple pressure test or vacuum check of the line would have raised the red flag. But I can only guess how much wear I put on the starter until I solved it.

Your tractor is new and each time you try to start it you put a little wear on your starter. If the voltage is low that puts even more wear on it. Even if it cost you some money it'll probably be a break even for the added life to your starter.

 

[leonz]

Well it took 4 tries to get it started today and it was 36 F in the shed, glow plugs on until it goes off and crank for 10 seconds then stop and let it set for
about 30 and tried again the 4th time was the charm. I put a digital voltmeter on the starter and got 10 volts while she tried to start it. We took the battery out and had it load tested at the dealer they said it was fine, it's a 585CCA battery. They're coming over tomorrow weather permitting and are going to try and see what they can find, they're also bringing a rollback just in case. Makes me wish I had bought from the nutty Kubota dealer a 1/4 mile away, at least we could drive it to the dealer, just can't quite get along with the guy like so many others.

BTW: It turned over fast enough today that for the life of me I can't see why it didn't start the first try. Since we stopped turning it off all and not letting it idle once running, 1400-1500 rpm's while feeding higher when moving, it seems to be turning over faster but it's still having trouble starting. I got in the 6 cyl. Cummins Case IH 5140 yesterday, the high was 29, it fired right off within 2 seconds, no glow plugs, no ether. Even the IH 574 started right up Monday when they ground feed with the Grinder Mixer, that tractor is almost 40 years old and over 5000hrs.

Any possiblility of maybe some bad glow plugs or something? Dealer has already said he finds it hard to believe it could be a bad starter, I got a bad feeling about the relationship I'm getting into with this dealer and he's one of the biggest around, heck he has 2 M135's on his lot, he recently sold a Kubota tractor with rear tracks, he's high volume so he has to be doing something right. Wonder what this service call is going to cost us? They said they didn't cover travel or pickup and delivery but will cover warranty work which I knew that going in.

first
I am more inclined to think the injection pump is starved and the inlet fuel line and or screen in the base of the tank is plugged; Is the inlet screen in place at the filler neck of the tank if not......................


second

Forgive the question from far away, but when was the last time the air filters were changed and were both the outer and safety element changed?

I have had engines that were so bad with paper elements the the minute you put the old filter back in the engine keeled over and stopped dead.


My other question is if you have metric wrenches to break the banjo bolt fuel connection at the injection pump inlet to assure it is pulling fuel?

 

[KWentling]

It would seem as though the battery and charging system is good. I too would doubt that the starter is an issue, but you never know. The comment that it started on the 4th try would point to a possible loss of prime. I wonder if this tractor has an electric fuel pump or mechanical? If its an electric pump, I would expect that the pump would have time to push the air out by the time the glow plug cycle ends, but if mechanical, it wouldn't pump until the starter turns the engine over and would take some time. Maybe as much as the 4th try?
It will be interesting to see what the dealer finds.

Kim

 

[Grateful11]

I'll admit we haven't done a thing to the fuel filter yet but the primary air filter has been pulled twice and cleaned and the secondary has been inspected and put back in. There was very little dust on the primary each time, this tractor doesn't see field service, too small for that in her operation. We have 91.3 hours on it now with cows in 3 different locations we're now putting 30 minutes per day on it. All our fuel comes from a 500 gallon tank with a GoldenRod filter on it.

BTW: I doubt the dealer is going to show today the interstate between us and them is shut down on one side due to an overturned Semi and the other side has a wrecked FedEx truck due to snow and ice.

When you guys say your L series tractors are starting at say 0 to 20 degrees, are they starting with one glow plug session and on the first try or what?

 

[leonz]

So you never have never changed the air filters and threw the old ones out????????!!!!!!!!

When you get a minute you should remove the inner and outer filters and see if it fires. The inner and outer elements are not ment to be cleaned and reused!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!, and if your dealer says they are I will personally tell him to S&*t in his Kubota hat.

Is any of the exhaust smoke black?

you can have a plugged air filters in any location so thats not an issue.

Does this tractor have a precleaner stack or only the dual elelement system?

IS the screen in the filler neck still there?


The injection pump is a fuel pump and does not require a second pump.

If the fuel line was bad it would still try to fire even though it was collapsed as some fuel would get there.

You definitely need Racor fuel filter water separator with a fuel heating element in the sediment bowl for that Kubota after the tractors fuel tank.

 

[PHILIP8N]

When you guys say your L series tractors are starting at say 0 to 20 degrees, are they starting with one glow plug session and on the first try or what?

I started last winter at 0F and two days ago at 13F, actual temps, not wind chill. Cycle glow plugs one time, crank, and fires RIGHT off. Knocks and smokes for 15 seconds, but that is normal. I idle at 800-900 rpm for 2 minutes then increase to 1200 rpm (to charge battery, battery does not charge at 800 rpm) until coolant gauge reads 2 bars, then off to work. Philip.

 

[JoeL4330]

Sounds like it was originally a combination of factors ...low battery because of operating regimen of starts/stops/low-idle and the present problem, which sounds like either fuel, or the glow plugs.

After it starts (on the 4th try) is there initial serious exhaust smoke? If not, then my thought is it was under-fueled on the first 3 tries. Consider going through the fuel bleeding process ...crack lines and see if you get fuel on the first try, second, third ...if no fuel at initial try, sounds like it's losing prime and just re-tightening all fuel connections might help. On some machines, air bubbles can be the devil to get rid of and they always gravitate back up to the high points (i.e., injectors) overnight.

Incidentally, on some of my diesel eqpt, the glow plug light is timer-controlled, but not the glow plugs, themselves ...you can glow longer than the light would suggest, and that might be beneficial.

Anxious to find out what the mechanics find.