B2650 stopped and won’t start

[Jhawker23]

I can’t move it as it’s about 100 yards away with deep snow between.

I pulled the tank hose and had solid flow. I worked my way up to the nipple after the bleeder valve. I made a video, just need to figure out how to share. I bled it and then bled at the injectors.

Still the exact same symptoms. It will start for about 4 seconds, die, a little pause of about 5 minutes and it will start for a few seconds.

Can I blow air backwards to the tank, starting at the injector inlet?

I can drain the tank again and fill with warm fuel.

 

[Jhawker23]

Fuel at starting.

 

[gstrom99]

Fuel at starting.

I would think that should be enough fuel for the injector pump to work. After reconnecting that little hose & closing the bleeder valve, it acts the same? What's the flow, coming out at the injectors when bleeding? Just slightly open one line at a time.

 

[JWR]

This is a tough one ... Like gstrom I think that looks like enough fuel [in your video] being pumped to feed the injection pump and make it run. I assume you have enough electric cord to keep the battery charged through all this. I think refilling the tank with warm fuel is a way too much trouble and no certainty that would do anything. I'd think about putting a heavy tarp over the whole thing and running an electric heater all night under it. Another thought (if you can find one) is to install an electric engine heater in-line with the radiator hose -- the type that pulses hot coolant through the system. That would warm the entire engine, including to some extent the injection pump.

I know you have tough one and don't know what is available to you: Any place that you could get another larger tractor to drag this one into a warm place to work on it?

 

[denchen]

This is a tough one as someone also has said, But. it seems as if it's trying to run, but air is getting back to the fuel injector pump. Looking at your very first picture, I'm wondering if when it fires, air is pumped back along the injector return pipes, the air gets to the injector pump, motor stops. Wait a few minutes, the air bubbles rise up to the injectors so she starts, and again pushes the air to the injector pump. Soooo. what about taking off the short return pipe off the last injector, cranking the engine and back fill the injector return pipes, pushing out most of the air until there is a continues flow of fuel. Stop. put pipe back on. As a note, a lot of diesels have the injector return pipes go back to the fuel tank. This way, should air get in the system, the 'bubbles' are left on top of the fuel in the tank. Looking at the pipework in the first photo, your system seems to go around and around and back to the injector pump, so any air stays in the system. Good luck

 

[Jhawker23]

I would think that should be enough fuel for the injector pump to work. After reconnecting that little hose & closing the bleeder valve, it acts the same? What's the flow, coming out at the injectors when bleeding? Just slightly open one line at a time.

I don't get "a lot" of fuel out of the open injectors. It was interesting I could keep it running for about 10 seconds or more when I had the main bleed valve open. It had to be opened at a specific volume of flow. It was blasting out a heavy stream of fuel, yet it was the only way for it to start more than a sputter. So it was running on less fuel. It was super sensitive though. If my finger moved at all it would die.

Is there a reason not to bleed the fuel at the injector with the mityvac?

 

[JWR]

This is a tough one as someone also has said, But. it seems as if it's trying to run, but air is getting back to the fuel injector pump. Looking at your very first picture, I'm wondering if when it fires, air is pumped back along the injector return pipes, the air gets to the injector pump, motor stops. Wait a few minutes, the air bubbles rise up to the injectors so she starts, and again pushes the air to the injector pump. Soooo. what about taking off the short return pipe off the last injector, cranking the engine and back fill the injector return pipes, pushing out most of the air until there is a continues flow of fuel. Stop. put pipe back on. As a note, a lot of diesels have the injector return pipes go back to the fuel tank. This way, should air get in the system, the 'bubbles' are left on top of the fuel in the tank. Looking at the pipework in the first photo, your system seems to go around and around and back to the injector pump, so any air stays in the system. Good luck

Great observation. Good to try exactly what you suggest. This begs the question as to how it got that way to begin with -- probably, almost certainly, by the OP changing out filters and disconnecting things which seemed right at the time. Seems likely to me that there was gelled fuel somewhere in the plumbing to start with, which was the original problem. If so that issue is still going to exist (after all the unfortunate air in lines is flushed out) until the engine/fuel plumbing all gets warm. MAYBE the presence of 50/50 911 will preclude that repeat of the original gel issue if it got all the way to and through the injection pump.

I have still not heard what "911" is. Kerosene = #1 fuel I assume?

 

[Jhawker23]

This is a tough one ... Like gstrom I think that looks like enough fuel [in your video] being pumped to feed the injection pump and make it run. I assume you have enough electric cord to keep the battery charged through all this. I think refilling the tank with warm fuel is a way too much trouble and no certainty that would do anything. I'd think about putting a heavy tarp over the whole thing and running an electric heater all night under it. Another thought (if you can find one) is to install an electric engine heater in-line with the radiator hose -- the type that pulses hot coolant through the system. That would warm the entire engine, including to some extent the injection pump.

I know you have tough one and don't know what is available to you: Any place that you could get another larger tractor to drag this one into a warm place to work on it?

Unfortunately I don't have an enclosed area to warm it. I do have the battery on a trickle charge and increase the juice when cranking. It's also a new battery.
Let's say it's not fuel, is there any other component that could be causing this? A diesel mechanic told me to add the diesel 911 additive when this first happened. I've since drained that fuel and the new tank didn't respond any differently. I was told to use it again to eliminate any gelling. Could this additive create a problem when it never actually ran?

This all seems so weird. It stops running and after all of these fixes the symptoms haven't changed. If it's air in the line, it would've been introduced while it was running, and I've bled it so many times but no change. Could it be the starter or any other electrical component?

 

[Jhawker23]

Great observation. Good to try exactly what you suggest. This begs the question as to how it got that way to begin with -- probably, almost certainly, by the OP changing out filters and disconnecting things which seemed right at the time. Seems likely to me that there was gelled fuel somewhere in the plumbing to start with, which was the original problem. If so that issue is still going to exist (after all the unfortunate air in lines is flushed out) until the engine/fuel plumbing all gets warm. MAYBE the presence of 50/50 911 will preclude that repeat of the original gel issue if it got all the way to and through the injection pump.

I have still not heard what "911" is. Kerosene = #1 fuel I assume?

Diesel 911 - Diesel Fuel Additive

Diesel 911 is a winter emergency use product that restores the flow of diesel fuel to an engine caused by gelled fuel or frozen fuel filters.

powerservice.com

 

[JWR]

Oh, OK, so 911 is an additive. Did you really mean you achieved 50% 911 in the fluid? That is just curiosity but if I heard right, then 50% seems awfully high. Maybe too much ? Being unfamiliar with it is that what the manfr recommends? Great to know such a product exists for that specific problem.