B3030 HSDC - NO START

BizDoc · Sep 20, 2013

What is a tractor for, if not GRIEF!

Every year I get a no start. What a pain.

This time I mowed for a couple hours and when parking I shut the engine off prior to pulling my PTO lever to disengage. No big deal, that happens periodically, atleast I thought no big deal. I went back to start mowing again, two days later, and..............No Start. I've had the PTO selection lever cause grief before, it was frozen/stuck in place, and the shop told me to soak it in WD40 and it would loosen up. Skeptical but I did it and sure enough it worked. Now, however the lever moves, but it seems a bit out of position, the rear PTO position, the furthest to the back, is misaligned with the PTO engage bracket that holds it in place, all linkage is straight and unbent. I have to force the lever back and pull on the engage lever to get it in place. Doesn't seem right. I did however soak all the linkage in WD40, whole can, again in case this was an issue, but no avail, as of yet. I pulled the tractor forward and backward with my Ranger, hoping it would free something up. No go. Unplugged and re-plugged the seat safety switch, no go. Pushed and pulled every lever and pedal in the unit. Nothing. I use a MMM and the linkage appears a bit misaligned at each position, maybe an issue, maybe not. As such, I'm out of ideas and thought I'd seek counsel from others who may have already solved this puzzle. Your input is appreciated.

number two · Sep 20, 2013

BizDoc,you have the worst luck of any B3030HSDC owner out here.I just grabbed my WSM real quick since it's late and there safety switches on both PTO levers.Since your front to rear PTO lever seems to be out of alignment,I'd look at that safety switch first.Good Luck!

Tx Jim · Sep 21, 2013

I would suggest using a real penetrating oil such as PB blaster or Kroil instead of a water dispersing(WD40) on the pto control lever.

displacedPA · Sep 21, 2013

Tx Jim said:
I would suggest using a real penetrating oil such as PB blaster or Kroil instead of a water dispersing(WD40) on the pto control lever.

Kroil oil is my the best problem solver!!!! I use it at work everyday and at home. It will amaze your friends.....

BizDoc · Sep 21, 2013

number two said:
BizDoc,you have the worst luck of any B3030HSDC owner out here.I just grabbed my WSM real quick since it's late and there safety switches on both PTO levers.Since your front to rear PTO lever seems to be out of alignment,I'd look at that safety switch first.Good Luck!

I have had an extraordinary amount of issues with this tractor. I had a New Holland prior, and only changed to kubota because I wanted a cab. That New Holland never gave me this kind of trouble.

I tried more wd40 and let it sit overnight but to no avail. I'll have to get some kroll to keep on hand, thank you. So it will be off to the dealer this week, when I can find time, to discuss the PTO lever and perhaps a new safety switch. Thank you all for the responses.

number two · Sep 21, 2013

BizDoc,don't throw in the towel yet!You can disconnect the shutdown actuator at the fuel pump so your engine will run,then jump 12 volt power to the small starter solenoid terminal to crank up the engine.Reconnect the shutdown wire to stop the engine.
At least you can use the tractor or load it up for a trip to the repair facility.Hang in there!

BizDoc · Sep 27, 2013

UPDATE-RESOLUTION:

Spoke with service manager and mechanic. All felt it was a safety switch, which of course is under the seat and interior panels. So I removed the seat and interior panels and found the switches, so now what. Went to dealer and explained I found the switches and now need to know how to determine if a switch is bad, since at this point there are no less than 5 switches that could be the culprit, two on seat, two for the PTO and one for the HST pedal. The Service Manager was great. He sent a mechanic home with me, thereby avoiding the pickup and delivery charge of $140.00. Just charged me the shop rate for the time the mechanic was away. I learned quite a bit by watching the trouble shooting. Now I know how to test and short a safety switch. The mechanic shorted every switch, blowing and replacing fuses as we went. We could get the solenoid to click but not transfer to the starter, then after an hour of shorting switches, the mechanic checked the wires on the starter, and one of them was loose. Go figure, it was tight when I parked it and shut it off, which I guess was kept in contact by the vibration, but then with no vibration was not in contact. So in the end it was an expensive loose wire, but I did learn quite a bit about, removing the seat and internal panels, where and what the safety switches are, and how to short them should they go bad in the future for testing. Just another case of trying to fix based on the symptom, which in this case was shutting off the engine while the PTO was engaged, everyone felt it would be a safety switch, but everyone overlooked the easy stuff loose wire on the starter. That's so common when troubleshooting.

Thank you all for your online help.