DK40help please

   / DK40help please #1  

chuck172

Platinum Member
Joined
Aug 2, 2006
Messages
846
Location
N.E, Pa.
Tractor
Kioti DK40SEH, Ford 4500TLB, Ford 8n
My two year old dk40se won't start. Always ran great, just now it refuses to start. Cranks good. Dealer says he suspects the fuel solenoid. We're gonna get snowed on tonight. What can I check?
 
   / DK40help please #2  
My two year old dk40se won't start. Always ran great, just now it refuses to start. Cranks good. Dealer says he suspects the fuel solenoid. We're gonna get snowed on tonight. What can I check?

Start at the battery and work out. Check voltage, check your cables especially the grounds. Do you here a click when you first turn the key?
 
   / DK40help please
  • Thread Starter
#3  
I CAN HEAR AND ACTUALLY FEEL TE RELAY ON THE RIGHT CLICK
 
   / DK40help please
  • Thread Starter
#4  
sorry for the bad typing, hand problem
 
   / DK40help please #5  
So you know the fuel shut off solenoid is working. Does the machine turn over at all? And are you sure you're in neutral?
 
   / DK40help please #6  
My two year old dk40se won't start. Always ran great, just now it refuses to start. Cranks good. Dealer says he suspects the fuel solenoid. We're gonna get snowed on tonight. What can I check?

The OP said it cranks good.
 
   / DK40help please
  • Thread Starter
#7  
the tractor is cranking. I hear and can feel the relay clicking. Is there a way to check the solenoid?
 
   / DK40help please #8  
Can you loosen an injector a bit and see if fuel comes out. Did you check for water in the sediment bowl?
 
   / DK40help please #9  
The brute-force test for stop solenoid is to unbolt it from the front of the engine block and then see if it starts. If it does start you'll need to use the manual stop lever to stop the engine. Also, if it does start the problem may not be the actual solenoid' it could be the relay or key switch. But before you unbolt anything, try some other tests.

So first, turn the key switch to ON; you should hear the distinct "clack" of the stop solenoid retracting (much louder than any relay). Then crank the engine briefly. Then listen as you turn the key to OFF and you should hear the stop solenoid extend, again with a distinct "clack." If you don't get that last clack it means the stop solenoid "dropped out" while you were cranking and the key switch is likely the cause; the "hold" coil is powered directly by the key switch (no relays involved).

If the stop solenoid checks out (by ear) check the glow plug voltage. You should see close to 12v at the bus bar that connects the tops of the plugs as soon as the key is turned on (with a cold engine) and also whenever the key switch is in the glow position. My DK won't start in winter without a good glow cycle. There is a glow relay that can fail even though the glow light on the dash will look normal. Also, I've had key switch problems which caused faulty glow.

Try squirting some WD-40 or (even better) contact cleaner in the key slot and cycling the key switch several times. That has fixed (at least temporarily) key switch issues for several owners. The key switch can be disassembled (with great care) and cleaned or completely replaced, but try squirting lube in it first.

You need the starter to spin the engine at a good rate to start a Diesel, especially in cold weather. Unlike gas engines, Diesels need a rapid compression to start. If in doubt, charge the battery or jump it with a really healthy battery and good cables.

If the stop solenoid, glow plugs, and starter are working correctly you may have the dreaded injection pump failure but I have not read of this in models newer than 2008, so that's unlikely, IMO. If you get to that point, there is a very simple test for a jammed IP but you need to remove a cover plate from the engine block.
 
   / DK40help please
  • Thread Starter
#10  
I pulled the fuel solenoid. Tested the connection. No voltage with the key on. could it be a fuse or relay?
 
   / DK40help please #11  
I pulled the fuel solenoid. Tested the connection. No voltage with the key on. could it be a fuse or relay?

The stop solenoid has two wires and the ground path is through the engine block. In other words, the stop solenoid won't do anything unless it is grounded to the block. One wire is for the "pull: coil and it should get a 12v pulse for one second when the key is first turned ON. The pull power is switched by a 30-40 amp relay on the firewall. The other wire is the hold coil and it should always see 12v except when the key is in OFF or ACC. These voltages are measured to ground (e.g. the engine block).

If you measured the volttage between the two wires you did it wrong. There would never be voltage between the two wires: during the pulse they are both at 12 v and after the pulse the "pull" wire is open circuit (i.e. disconnected by the relay).

Yes. There are at least three fuses that could prevent the SS from working. I think they are labeled: alternator/engine stop, engine stop solenoid, and (display) Unit.

Did you try to start the engine with the stop solenoid removed? Removing the stop solenoid should allow the engine to start and run if the SS (in any way) is the problem.
 
   / DK40help please
  • Thread Starter
#12  
the engine wii not start with the ss removed. I checked the fuses, all good, Relay??
 
   / DK40help please #13  
If the engine does not start with the SS removed. the SS is not the main problem. If you have a helper, you can visually check SS operation: have your helper turn the switch on while you hold the SS case against the engine (or use a jumper wire to make this ground connection) and observe the SS plunger retract and stay retracted as long as the key is on.

I think you need to check your glow plug voltage next.

Do not use ether under any circumstances.

Did you squirt WD-40 in the key slot?
 
   / DK40help please
  • Thread Starter
#14  
I switched the two blue relays, now it won't crank. That tells me that 1 relay isn't working. I'm sending my wife to get 2 new relays, I'll change them both. It must be the relay, agree?
 
   / DK40help please #15  
I switched the two blue relays, now it won't crank. That tells me that 1 relay isn't working. I'm sending my wife to get 2 new relays, I'll change them both. It must be the relay, agree?

Maybe. If switching the relays killed cranking the (originally) SS relay is suspect, at best.

But with the SS removed, the SS relay should make no difference.
 
   / DK40help please
  • Thread Starter
#16  
I'll let you know in about an hour. thank you very much for your help
 
   / DK40help please #17  
Is it possible you switched the start relay with the glow relay? If the glow relay was bad that would explain failure to start. The stop and start relays should have contacts rated for about 30 amps and the glow relay should have contacts rated about 60 amps. BUT, I think all these relays have the same pin-out making it possible to connect any relay to any connector. The wires to the glow relay should be bigger than the wires to the other two relays.
 
   / DK40help please
  • Thread Starter
#18  
the two relays are identical, same numbers.
 
   / DK40help please #19  
the engine wii not start with the ss removed. I checked the fuses, all good, Relay??

When you say "SS removed", did you mean the SS was physically unbolted and removed from the engine or just disconnected at the electrical connector?
 
   / DK40help please
  • Thread Starter
#20  
I meant both physically unbolted and the wiring disconnected.
I just replaced both relays. Started right-up. All fixed. Thanks again!
 

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