M59 Help: Dealer Wants $6K to Replace the Wiring Harness

[mllud]

Take a good look at those fuse holders. I have a NHlx865 that had random electrical glitches that I chased for years. On day my knuckle brushed across the 6 gang fuse holder and I heard a solenoid rattle. I wiggled the fuses, and 3 fuses were loose in the socket. I bent the clips to tighten them back up but upon inspection the fuse holder was a piece of junk. Crimped connections on non-stripped wires with small spikes into the wire. The clips aren't spring steel.
Those gang type fuse holders can be replaced with better fuse holders with screw connections and a plastic cover for not much money.
I installed a 10-gang fuse holder and has a few spare openings for future options. No more gremlins!
I didn't suspect my fuse holder for problems and should have. They are not well made like a lot of the connections on modern wiring harnesses. Why they skimp on wiring harnesses is beyond common sense.

His won't find your short circuit but just a place to look at your connections.

 

[Roadworthy]

Look the wiring itself over carefully. Mice may chew or eat the insulation off the wires allowing them to short to ground in hard to get to locations.

 

[walnutman]

You can pick up some resettable auto fuses on Amazon. But the test light method is the way to go.

 

[Redlined0002]

Kubota M59 was made 2008-2015. It doesn't have a ECM. Your problems are probably under the instrument cluster in the dash. That is where the fuses both have a common denominator. Probably have wires chewed thru by a mice or squirrels

 

[YanmarFever]

Florida is the capital of wire chewing mice. They chewed the wires on my dodge ram quite a few years ago, 3 times I had to repair them.
I bought a bottle of spearmint oil and I poured some on a rag tied underneath the truck. It seemed to work because they haven't been back in a few years.
They love to eat the coating on the wires, they are made from a soy based material.

 

[Aquabird]

I think like 2 of the latter posters, where mice chewing could be causing 1 or 2 wires to touch a grounded surface. Wires rubbing together or rubbing on something could wear off insulation and allow them to either short together or ground out.

 

[rScotty]

I have an M59 and would be glad to help. The M59 is a classic - one of the best things IMHO that Kubota ever built.

But how in the world are you going to find anything as dodgy as an electrical problem when the tractor is that dirty? Get 'er cleaned up and you stand a chance. Seriously cleaned up.
If you are blowing fuses then that is your best clue. That is telling you where the problem is.

One side of the fuse connects to the battery and the other side goes to whatever circuits that fuse is protecting. Somewhere in whatever is being protected is where the problem is. You know it has to be either a bad component (which will probably show signs of overheating)......, or more likely just an abraded wire periodically shorting to the frame. This is basically eyeball work, not skull sweat. Mechanics hate tracing wires, but that is what you have to do to each wire and to each connection.

Yes, a poor or corroded connection can definitely cause enough resistance to blow a fuse, so suspect connections as well as abraded wire.

Using a 12 volt taillight instead of a fuse is a great idea. It limits the current and won't burn out.

Yes, the M59 does have a primitive computer, but they are pretty bulletproof. Besides, it it ran OK for an hour like you said, the computer - and the stuff under the right side "dashboard" display are not the problem. They are well protected and the only thing hat goes wrong there is when water has been getting into the key switch. But if it sometimes starts and works OK, that side dash is OI

My guess is the problem will be obvious once you clean it up.
The big clue is the #7 fuse 5 amp fuse and everything downstream of it. There aren't many things. on #7, so start there. Think simple.

Yes, mine makes a loud "clack" when the ignition key is turned to the first position CW. I thought that was the glow plug relay, but it might be the fuel relay. More likely as i listen to the clack, I think it is both happening at the same time.

You don't need a high dollar Kubota mechanic, you need a teenaged electronic geek with a VOM, a lightbulb, a brush with soap & power washer, a long-handled inspection mirror.... who can read a schematic and has a relentless attitude. Physical flexibility counts when tracing wires.

rScotty

 

[sunandsand]

Agree - clean it up real good first and get a voltmeter, follow the wires. Think of it as plumbing - somewhere the water is leaking out - the insulation is damaged - and that blows the fuse.

Hardest part is tracing the wires. The schematic is drawn so it makes sense as to the electrical layout but finding the corresponding parts on the tractor is another story. The wires are color coded, white with a red tracer (stripe) for instance so they are easy(er) to follow. Each circuit will have its own color as well. Grounds are usually black or brown, hot is red.

Look for chafed insulation - wires too close to something that moves. Look for burnt/melted spots on the insulation (which is why you need to clean it up before you try to troubleshoot it). Look carefully, I've seen failed light bulb sockets (plastic insulation inside is melted) which blew a fuse whenever the brakes were applied. Examine every piece of the problem circuit, sometimes these electrical gremlins are subtle.

A couple of hours cussing sure beats a $6K wiring harness - and if it is a bulb socket (for instance) you'll still have the problem but be $6K poorer.

Nice thing about electrics is they aren't heavy, greasy, or under high hydraulic pressure. I don't know anyone who has ever been hurt because a fuse fell on their foot . . .

(Years ago I used to teach this stuff in a vocational school. We took the halt, the sick and the lame and tried to make motorcycle mechanics out of them - with varying degrees of success.)

Take a deep breath and relax. This is head work, not grunt/groan/lift/ouch/damn work. Go slow, you'll figure it out!

Best Regards,
Mike/Florida

 

[grsthegreat]

How the he** can a wiring harness cost that much. Mice ate mine somewheres…could not locate problem. I didnt feel like removing all the loom and tape, so i replaced harness. Kioti only charged me $295 for entire harness, and it took about 3 hours to install it.

I kept the old harness always meaning to trace and repair it…..someday.

 

[dnw64]

How the he** can a wiring harness cost that much. Mice ate mine somewheres…could not locate problem. I didnt feel like removing all the loom and tape, so i replaced harness. Kioti only charged me $295 for entire harness, and it took about 3 hours to install it.

Well, first off, the OP opined that the dealer was getting sick of working on his tractor, so likely the price was inflated.

Secondly, $295 sounds woefully inadequate for a wiring harness on a tractor that was built in this century. An 8N, OK.

Similarly, I can promise you that even if a factory trainer Kubota tech could replace it (mind all the grime that is in the pics) in 3 hours, ain't no way that is the published labor cost (no doubt in part because of the anticipated grime).

Nevertheless, $6k is over the top. Most likely due to my original point.