TractorTenderfoot
New member
- Joined
- Aug 19, 2019
- Messages
- 17
- Tractor
- John Deere 2032R & X350
My low-time (233 hour) tractor (JD 2032R) would quit after a random period of time. After waiting some random period, the tractor would run fine for a while, then quit. In the process of quitting, the engine slowly reduced RPM until it quit. I have identified the problem - it was some relatively large contamination in the tank that restricted the gravity flow of fuel - but only occasionally and randomly.
It would run for a random period, maybe 5 minutes, or even an hour until the RPM decreased, then the engine quit. It would not restart without waiting some random amount of time. Usually if I waited overnight, it would start up and run for a random period of time and then quit again. I believe that the fuel tank blockage allowed fuel to gravity feed slowly until it filled up the fuel line, the sediment filter, the primary and secondary fuel filter and allowed the engine to start and run until the restriction in the tank meant insufficient fuel was available.
Several helpful suggestions included that the fuel pump quit when overheated, faulty injectors, relay problems, air intake problems, etc.
After cleaning the sediment filter / water collector, I changed the spin filter. The tractor ran fine for a while after those actions, but I believe it was not the filters, but simply sufficient fuel had gravity fed to fill them up that allowed the tractor to run again.
Ultimately, after the tractor quit again, to troubleshoot, I removed the fuel line that came directly from the bottom of the tank and the fuel was dripping out, not flowing. A puff of air into the fuel line dislodged the contamination and the fuel flowed freely. The tractor engine started and ran well after that.
Now I need to figure out the easiest way to remove the contamination from the tank.
In conclusion, it turns out to be another example of Occam's Razor - "When presented with competing hypotheses about the same prediction and both hypotheses have equal explanatory power, one should prefer the hypothesis that requires the fewest assumptions."
In other words, the simplest solution is often the most likely.
It would run for a random period, maybe 5 minutes, or even an hour until the RPM decreased, then the engine quit. It would not restart without waiting some random amount of time. Usually if I waited overnight, it would start up and run for a random period of time and then quit again. I believe that the fuel tank blockage allowed fuel to gravity feed slowly until it filled up the fuel line, the sediment filter, the primary and secondary fuel filter and allowed the engine to start and run until the restriction in the tank meant insufficient fuel was available.
Several helpful suggestions included that the fuel pump quit when overheated, faulty injectors, relay problems, air intake problems, etc.
After cleaning the sediment filter / water collector, I changed the spin filter. The tractor ran fine for a while after those actions, but I believe it was not the filters, but simply sufficient fuel had gravity fed to fill them up that allowed the tractor to run again.
Ultimately, after the tractor quit again, to troubleshoot, I removed the fuel line that came directly from the bottom of the tank and the fuel was dripping out, not flowing. A puff of air into the fuel line dislodged the contamination and the fuel flowed freely. The tractor engine started and ran well after that.
Now I need to figure out the easiest way to remove the contamination from the tank.
In conclusion, it turns out to be another example of Occam's Razor - "When presented with competing hypotheses about the same prediction and both hypotheses have equal explanatory power, one should prefer the hypothesis that requires the fewest assumptions."
In other words, the simplest solution is often the most likely.
