Emax22 hard starting and white smoke?

   / Emax22 hard starting and white smoke? #1  

Leadfoot64

Member
Joined
Jul 23, 2020
Messages
35
Tractor
Mahindra EMax22 Gear
Hello everyone, i have recently purchased a used 2015 emax22 gear tlb as i write this its got about 550hours on it. Ive got a few issues with it and i think i already know the answer but wanted to hopefully get some confirmation from you guys before I spend all the money trying to get repairs. Heres the issues: now that its cold out (roughly in the 20s-40s) the tractor has become harder to start. I never thought it was great starting since day one but i dont have much to compare it to except some friends have older john deere and kubota small tractors that start with barely even turning the key hot or cold and no drama with clouds of smoke. When i say my machine is hard starting, I mean that it takes several tries to get it to run continuously even after using glow plugs, and im getting quite a bit of whitish/bluish/gray and sometimes black fuel smoke. I always cycle the glow plugs (about 40 seconds) when attempting to start and I have checked each plug and they look ok and ohm out at 1.8-1.9, and the connections are clean and im getting 11.5-11.8volts at each plug so the circuits and wiring and plugs are assumed good. Also, it has always taken a bit of cranking even in 80-90degree weather and I always get a decent cloud of smoke when it starts. Another issue is that since i bought the machine, it has always sputtered and puffed white/blue (fuel smelling) smoke when run at higher rpms (2800-3k/pto speed). When i bought it, i found out it had sat for quite a while and that there was enough water in the fuel to nearly fill the filter bowl. I ended up draining and flushing tank, and emptied fuel lines and replaced filter and filter housing since the shutoff lever was inop. I spoke to dealer about this and he suggested a mahindra branded fuel additive which i purchased and after all that it did start somewhat easier and some of the smoke and sputtering went away but it was still not perfect. Fast forward to now, and even considering temps arent really that cold, the tractor is much more reluctant to start, and the sputtering and smoking at high rpms has returned. Im guessing that the injectors may need cleaned/rebuilt, and im hoping that the pump doesnt need messed with. Im guessing that this could have been from the water in the fuel, but between my flush and running the additive and keeping the tank topped up and storing it in shed and keeping an eye on the filter, i would have figured the water would be well dissipated by now. What do you all think? I have videos that i will try to post of the issues that im experiencing.
 
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   / Emax22 hard starting and white smoke?
  • Thread Starter
#2  
Here are links to videos of my tractor with the starting/smoking/sputtering issue:

 
   / Emax22 hard starting and white smoke?
  • Thread Starter
#3  
 
   / Emax22 hard starting and white smoke?
  • Thread Starter
#4  
 
   / Emax22 hard starting and white smoke? #5  
Well here's my :2cents: I think your holding the glow plugs on to long. Maybe crud on the glow plugs not given you full heat, I hold 10 to 15 seconds. Maybe a weak battery and not turning over fast enough to start, dirty injectors not spraying fuel , crap still in the fuel system.
 
   / Emax22 hard starting and white smoke?
  • Thread Starter
#6  
Well here's my :2cents: I think your holding the glow plugs on to long. Maybe crud on the glow plugs not given you full heat, I hold 10 to 15 seconds. Maybe a weak battery and not turning over fast enough to start, dirty injectors not spraying fuel , crap still in the fuel system.

So, i have been letting the plugs run their full cycle (they time out at roughly 40-45seconds), and the dealer suggested that maybe i run them shorter as well so i did that, but it was not any easier to start. When i pulled plugs to check them they appeared clean but i took scotch brite to the plug end anyways and cleaned them up even nicer. The battery is pretty new and tests good, I checked cables and connections and grounds and even cleaned the ground connections on frame. Engine cranks just fine and all electrical appears to work fine as well. Im fairly certain the fuel system is clean up to the pump as i have not seen any more water and the filter looks clean as well. Not to say that the pump or injectors weren稚 contaminated previous to me owning it. So in my mind ive kind of narrowed it down to injectors or pump or both and was just hoping to see if anyone had any insight before i tear it down and ship stuff out for rebuild $$$$$. Im assuming you have an emax22.. How is yours to start, and does it do any popping or smoking at high rpms??
 
   / Emax22 hard starting and white smoke? #7  
So, i have been letting the plugs run their full cycle (they time out at roughly 40-45seconds), and the dealer suggested that maybe i run them shorter as well so i did that, but it was not any easier to start. When i pulled plugs to check them they appeared clean but i took scotch brite to the plug end anyways and cleaned them up even nicer. The battery is pretty new and tests good, I checked cables and connections and grounds and even cleaned the ground connections on frame. Engine cranks just fine and all electrical appears to work fine as well. Im fairly certain the fuel system is clean up to the pump as i have not seen any more water and the filter looks clean as well. Not to say that the pump or injectors weren稚 contaminated previous to me owning it. So in my mind ive kind of narrowed it down to injectors or pump or both and was just hoping to see if anyone had any insight before i tear it down and ship stuff out for rebuild $$$$$. Im assuming you have an emax22.. How is yours to start, and does it do any popping or smoking at high rpms??

No I don't have a emax22 , Just a couple Kubota's..
 
   / Emax22 hard starting and white smoke? #8  
I have a 2015 emax. Always required multiple attempts to start in the cold.then smokes like yours until it gets going in 10 to 20 sec.
Important things that make it harder to start
1. Good strong battery, a little weak makes it much harder
2. Anti gel additive in the fall through spring. Make sure you use up the summer blend and fill with winter blend fuel.
3. Computer update added extended glow plug on time to pre heat the cylinder.

I don't have the smoke you have at PTO speed or high rpms, never did.

I would suggest running some power service additive through it and putting some hours on it before you start tearing things apart
 
   / Emax22 hard starting and white smoke? #9  
You might try checking the compression before you take it apart , And use some injector cleaner and see how that works out.
 
   / Emax22 hard starting and white smoke? #10  

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