1020 will not crank

[AllWaysBreakinSomething]

I no longer have an easy way to move the presents that the horses leave lying around and don't know exactly the issue with the 1020 tractor .

Basically my 1020 3 cylinder diesel will not crank. Turns over seems to hit on one cylinder (would not swear to it). What I have checked:

Cleaned water seperator
Checked fuel flow at injector (seems really slow, how much should I see?)
Glow plugs all have voltage going to them during heating
Glow plugs when disconnected all have low ohm reading (2-3 ohms I think)

The starter may be turning too slow not sure. How do I check the starter?
Any data on checking the Stator and Armature resistance (ohms)?

My last resort was to test a little Ether but seems to choke it from turning over. (Another reason I suspect starter)

I would just go buy one and try but whoa!! the price is like nuts.

 

[scott_vt]

Afternoon AWBS,
Just curious whats the status of your battery ? Do you have a battery tester ?

 

[AllWaysBreakinSomething]

I tried charging the existing one and tried the battery out of my F350. Same speed turning over. It's fast enough to keep the engine turning over without stopping. Not sure if it's fast enough to start.

 

[scott_vt]

Did you purge all the air from the system after cleaning seperator and checking injector lines ?

BTW Have you checxked the oil level in your injector pump ?

 

[AllWaysBreakinSomething]

I thought of purging the air and did this by loosening each nut at the injector and turning the engine over until I saw a low amount of diesel come out around the compression fitting.

Now the oil in the injector pump I have not checked. I will also check that as well. Any other idea's. Why would Ether not get it to at least jump start for a second. I really don't like doing this but helps rule out what is wrong.

 

[lambs]

Hey Always, a few ideas for you.

I wouldn't advise using ether under any conditions. If it's like my 1010, the glowplugs will be lit under cranking. Injecting ether at that point is a really bad idea from what I've read in my service manual. You could end up replacing all glow plugs at that point.

When you bleed the lines, make sure there are no air bubbles coming out. You need to bleed them until there is no air at all in the system. I don't recall whether you indicated you had done any work on the fuel system before it stopped starting. If so, air may be the issue.

You might want to try replacing all the diesel with fresh fuel, then bleeding again. You may have bad fuel.

I think slow cranking could definitely be the problem. Although in my experience, slow cranking is a function of trying to start in cold weather, in which case a cold engine block is a problem too. I keep a battery tender on my 1010. About $18 at WalMart. My battery is rated at 495 CCA, and in my opinion it's nowhere near enough. You probably need more than that.

In warm weather (I'm in Raleigh), I need about 15 seconds of glow to preheat, then I open the throttle halfway and crank it up. I've read posts on the CTOA communities that indicated they crank Jinma tractors with the throttle shut off to build up oil pressure, then open the throttle and crank again. That does not work well with my 1010, particularly when it's cold. It slows the cranking even more and just uses even more battery power.

I checked my glowplugs with a battery charger. They didn't glow at all for about 10 seconds, then got very hot very fast. I think it takes a few seconds for the resistance to build up to the point that they glow. The learning here is that you get little heat for the first 10 seconds. After that, I think you get somewhere between 1800 and 2000 degrees F. I can tell you more about how I did this if you wish, but I made really sure I wasn't touching them when I applied current..

You should be able to pull the starter and have it checked at a reputable shop that can rebuild it if necessary.

You may be able to eliminate the starter as a problem by pull starting the tractor in a very low gear. This is dangerous of course. I don't think I'd try it unless you have the manual transmission.

Good luck.

 

[2310 guy]

First you want to load test the battery and starter draw test on the starter. Also check the connects so they are tight and cleans.

Don't use ether.

 

[AllWaysBreakinSomething]

Thanks for the info. I'm glad I only tried the Ether once then.

Also I have been trying to turn over the tractor with the battery charged and my F350 connected with really good jumper cables. Doesn't change anything.

I did add some new fuel just before it stopped cranking but I put some of the same fuel in my MF165 with no problem. I started suspecting the fuel system after the cranking problem. Is it better to unscrew the compression fitting at the injector all the way when bleeding and then tighten? I have to almost totally unscrew to see any injector fuel. I assume there is very very little flow there as that is what I see.

My MF1020 is always a slow cranker. My MF165 cranks immediately regardless of how cold. I wish it was the same system. I have to give mid throttle and 15-30 seconds of glow plug has been my experience. Anything less than 10 seconds was a waste of battery power for me as well.

I can try pull starting as I have the manual transmission. I'll let you know how it goes. I'll have to get some help on this one. I assume 1st gear midrange is the appropriate gear?

 

[lambs]

When I bled the 1010, gravity did the job and I didn't need to bleed at the injectors, so I'm not sure what you would see on your 1020. I think I bled it from the top of the fuel filter housing somewhere after changing the filter. I doubt there would be much fuel flow from the injectors unless you were trying to crank the engine. I would think the fuel at that point would be under less pressure from the tank.

I've never tried to pull start mine, but I'd use a low gear and use the 165 to pull it. Make sure you aren't over revving the 1020. I'd think 1500 to 2000 rpm should be about right. Since you wouldn't be cranking with the starter, you won't have any glowplug, so you might want to give it 30 seconds or so before you start pulling it. If it's a nice warm day, they're probably not necessary.

Even if you added fresh fuel, you could have water in your tank that's preventing it from starting. If your tank wasn't filled during the winter, condensation inside the tank can build up. You might want to think about draining the entire fuel system, cleaning out the sediment bowl, changing the filter, and bleeding it again. But if it pull starts and runs, this would be a moot point. Let us know what you find out.

 

[AllWaysBreakinSomething]

OK Heres an update and thanks for the info.

I tried to pull start but this didn't work so well. Mostly just dragged the tires. I tried several gears but just couldn't get the engine to turn over enough. I also tried heating the glow plugs before engaging clutch. Even tried pavement.

I went back to the fuel system. I noticed what you mentioned "lambs". The fuel is gravity fed to the input of the injector pump. I turned over the motor a few times with the injector lines disconnected at the injector. One of them has no flow. The others are really really slow. I don't know anything about injector pumps so I don't know if this is normal. I just know they don't pump much fuel at a time.

I still don't think the motor is turning over as fast as it use to but this could be because it's not hitting on any cylinder.

Could the injector itself be bad enough not to crank. How do I check those?