Bad news big repair

   / Bad news big repair #241  
Wow what a fast-paced thread. Lotta ego in the chat LOL.

Lots of good suggestions but I think I vastly prefer the "shove a burning newspaper up the intake" idea, haha. More realistically, a 12V intake grid-heater could probably be snuck into place in front of the intake manifold somewhere. Wire up your own relay and switch for it, run for 30 seconds before attempting to start. Might not be as good as glow plugs, but it would help a lot. Good enough for 12 and 24 valve Cummins 5.9s in zero degree weather.
 
   / Bad news big repair #244  
Funny thing about all these suggestion and posts, there is absolutely no diagnostic results that ECU is failed..... It could be many things besides bad ECU, bad relay, bad GP indicator, loose wire, blown fuse.... Until the is a full diagnosis of circuit from ECU output to GP nothing will be resolved.... I just don't understand willing ness to drop $6k for maybe a $6 fix....
 
   / Bad news big repair #245  
More realistically, a 12V intake grid-heater could probably be snuck into place in front of the intake manifold somewhere. Wire up your own relay and switch for it, run for 30 seconds before attempting to start.
My JD 650 has that type start assist, when I bought it, I asked a neighbor about the start aid,, as he had the same tractor,,
His reply was "What start aid??"
It seems the Yanmar engine, in over 30 years of use, never needed any start assist, no matter how cold.
My JD 4105, also a Yanmar engine, is the same way, with the same grid heater,, hit the key, it starts,,

On the other hand, I have two neighbors with Kubota's,, both use the glow plugs to start, in the middle of summer,,,,
 
   / Bad news big repair #246  
Depends a bit on compression ratio and whether they have pre-chamber ignition.

But IMO, from an engine design standpoint, the only reason not to have glow plugs is cost savings. There is no downside to smoother, quicker engine starting in cold weather. Some engines might not really need it, but it wouldn't hurt. Virginia doesn't get very cold, either.... try in sub-zero and you'll appreciate all the help you can get. :)
 
   / Bad news big repair #247  
AHHHH....Cabin fever makes things "interesting".

Looks like the Kubota block heater is 400W.

This should power it for about an hour:


You could add a solar charger, but I would just charge it in the garage and bring the unit out when needed. Unit is small and easy to carry. No gas to worry about. Plus, in an emergency you can use it in the house without fumes. The only downside is waiting 30 minutes for the block heater to do its thing. That would irritate me, but I do not have a lot of patience. YMMV

Hopefully the corroded plug is the culprit.
 
   / Bad news big repair #248  
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   / Bad news big repair #249  
Thats what I’m doing now, but at 25* the Kubota 6.1L gets real angry.
I know this may be a crap shoot, but I purchased a 'Reman/Upgrade PCM/ECU for my 2003 Ranger pickup from this company, "Flagship 1". They are professional and responsive and the PCM is great. I know....The Ranger is a truck and the Kubota is a tractor, but it might be worth a call just to see what they would say about your ECU. Perhaps they might even be able to repair the glitch in the circuit board. My Ranger PCM cost $170 from Flagship + $12 shipping. If they can help you, it is a far cry from $6000. I will give you their link and their phone number is in bold numbers on the front of their website. I did not see tractors listed, but given your predicament it might be worth a call. What could a phone call hurt? Good luck.

PCM/ECU REPAIR AND UPGRADE
 
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   / Bad news big repair #250  
Funny thing about all these suggestion and posts, there is absolutely no diagnostic results that ECU is failed..... It could be many things besides bad ECU, bad relay, bad GP indicator, loose wire, blown fuse.... Until the is a full diagnosis of circuit from ECU output to GP nothing will be resolved.... I just don't understand willing ness to drop $6k for maybe a $6 fix....
Exactly. People in this thread got so focused on replacing the ECU but as far as we know, the "replace $6000 ECU" solution came from someone at Kubota, and let's face it, that's their preferred "fix" for sure, which may or may not fix the issue.

Basic diagnostics could save a lot of money in this case. I've asked before if the ECU was sending power to the control side of the relays but had no response. Could be a simple 10 or $20 relay, or a bad plug, or a bad wire somewhere. A lot cheaper than a $6000 ECU.

I'm all for fixing the OEM stuff and have a second solution (separate switch and relay) if the vehicle is really needed. I had a glow plug issue on a 1994 Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero a couple years ago. I could simply wire the GP separately and forget the OEM system. However, I went ahead and traced the issue which turns out it was a bad capacitor on the glow plug control unit.
 
 
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