4300 won't start

[grafpatrick]

Hello-
My JD 4300 won't start. The story- a friend ran it out of fuel, added fuel and it started Ok but would lose RPM's a bit. He put away in the shed under its own power. I went to try it and got just a flash of dash lights, one click then nothing- no dash lights, no headlights, no crank or click, etc. Checked battery 13.4 volts with good read on load test, cleaned and wiggled ignition switch connections, pulled all fuses and relays, good connections at alternator and starter. At this point I had very faint dash lights. Pulled fuse box board and wiggled all the wires, they seemed OK, still not much power. Just for completeness, I cleaned and retightened the battery terminals. Now I got bright dash lights and the engine cranks great, fires right up just like always and all is well until the moment I reinstall the fuse panel and the engine dies. I pull it back out, wiggle wires, etc. Still have plenty of juice to the dash/headlights, etc and the engine cranks merrily but won't start. Is there some switch, fuse or relay that might be bad or do you guys think this might be a fuel problem? Timing suggests some electrical issue, but I cannot seem to figure it out.

John Churchill
Sanibel, FL

 

[Tom4310]

If it ran out of fuel, the system needs to be bled of any air. It is an easy fix and I would start there first. Diesels are not like gas engines and must be bled of any air in the system. Check your owners manual for the proper way to bleed your tractor.

 

[RoyJackson]

That fuel system should be self bleeding. Still check out the fuel filter.
It sounds like you have a short in your electrical system. I'd check the interlock switches first, but I think you'll find a short in your fuse box.

 

[jd110]

Since the problem seems to have happened after moving the fuse panel, I would check the thermistor on the back of the panel. It is a small orange square that is tied into the harness behind the fuse panel. The thermistor controls the fuel shut-off solenoid and a loose connection or bad thermistor can cause cranking without starting. Can you hear a click at the fuel injection pump when you try to start it? If you do, then I would suspect air in the fuel lines.

 

[dbdartman]

The thermister is about the size of your finger nail, & looks like this:

 

[grafpatrick]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I had thought that the fuel system must be self-bleeding since it restarted after being run out of fuel.

Seat interlock switch is OK. What other ones are there?

I looked at the thermistor, seemed OK, wiggled it, no apparent difference. Is there some way to check or bypass it?

Also I do get a little brief flickering of the dash lights when I wiggle the wires at the ignition switch. Do not know if any loose connections there would make it crank but not start.

Drained and refilled the fuel filter bowl. No clicking at the fuel injection pump that I can tell.

 

[bscapes]

The 4300 is a self bleeding fuel system. It sounds like you have a electrical issu in the terminal block area. I know from my my past thermister issue I replaced a couple starter solenoids before I found the thermister was bad. Your tractor will not start if the fuel solinoid does not open and it is controled by the thermister. Good luck this may be a JD dealer question.

 

[Brimstone10x]

Do you have a click from the fuel shut off solenoid every time you turn the key from off to run?? you should. This thing with the dash lites is weird. double check the ground connection at the block right side . Key switch could be suspect as you mention wiggeling the wires at the switch making a differance. Let us know.

 

[dbdartman]

I went through the same issues with my 4400, & as bscapes did, also replaced the solenoid before getting to the thermister, which was the problem. It's only a $3 piece, & since there's no way to look at it to determine it's condition, you should replace it anyway. If it hasn't failed yet, it WILL!

If you want to test that it's a fuel shut-off problem, just pull the shut-off solenoid off the back of the fuel pump & hit the key. The engine should start normally. To shut it off, just push the lever inside the fuel pump with your finger & hold it down until the engine stops.

One thing to look for before getting into the pump is under the tractor. I had a problem last summer with mine not starting after running it for a few hours then making a head break. Turned out a plug under the tractor must have snagged on something & come unplugged. It started right up after plugging it back in, then I used a zip-tie to keep it together.

Another post to read: http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/parts-repairs/88130-john-deere-4400-hard-start.html

 

[jfuller5]

I have the same issue but i am unable to locate the thermistor. Did some model come with out this part and it needs to be installed. I hav a 2004 4410 and pulled fuse box but dont see the thermistor anywher, i stripped back harness but cant find its location. Where doe it need to be installed if it is not there? Thanks JF

 

[Brimstone10x]

It wasnt used on the ten series. they changed to better system.

 

[grafpatrick]

PROBLEM SOLVED!

Thanks to everyone for the assistance.

I pulled the solenoid and it did not work. I was going to pull the connector from the harness to test the wiring and could not get it off, so I then was going to poke the probe thru the sheath to test it. Before starting that I turned the key and CLACK! now it works...

Must be possessed by electrical gremlins. I once parked it next to an English car, probably caught a little bit of Lucas disease.

 

[Semi75]

This is just a message to say thanks to those of you that posted since I had similar woes w/ my 4300. This is I would not have figured out by myself and the parts guys at JD didn't know about this either. I was surprised the fuel shut off solenoid would show it was getting power with a problem before the solenoid in the circuit and I would have ended up paying $140 for a new solenoid for no reason.

I wasn't hearing the click that I normally did after turning the key before hitting the starter. After looking here I started with the most economical fix, the thermister. The trouble was I did not have any butt connectors on hand to tie in the thermister so tried using electrical tape as a quick fix, obviously it did not work.

The test light showed the solenoid getting power so I assumed it was a bad fuel shut off solenoid. I took it off, she fired up. After folling instructions from another thread I ended up pushing in the piston on the solenoid squirting oil out the hole and cleaning it off and I then put the solenoid back on to make sure that wasn't the fix. It was a no go. I took the solenoid back off and checked the resistance, 25 ohms so it should be working. I then addressed my sloppy thermistor replacement which was a royal pain in the arse, put the solenoid back in place and we've been in business since.

Thanks for all the help, evidentially this has been a problem for quite a few people but neither JD parts guys were steering me in the right direction before checking here.