GC2410 Coldest Weather Starting problem

[JWR]

Have you tried just garaging this whole rig in a warm garage so you can debug all the problems that are not temperature related ? Then tackle the rest. By the way, Amazon dot come at Amazon.com: Kat's 13080 850 Watt Aluminum Circulating Tank Heater: Automotive has an 850watt circulating thermostatically controlled heater. It uses 5/8" ID heater hose for connections. Where there's a will there's a way. There is a wide variety including magnetic ones that just campout on the side of the block. Lookout though as some are very low wattage (which was probably the problem with your dipstick type.)

 

[ray66v]

Nope. We don't even have snow, and I don't have a snow blower. I just started it up to test when it was 30 out without using a heater.

There's always the old throw a tarp over it, and put a heater in there.

It's funny, but guys have gotten tractors that quit out in the weather, to start so they could bring them in that way.

 

[piercedtiger]

Seems like the throttle cable was seized a bit. Sprayed some WD40 at both ends, and started working it back and forth gently. At first I could open the throttle all the way up, but when I pulled it back down it wouldn't idle back down. The cable at the lever end would get bunched up and not retract. I sprayed and worked it some more, and it seems to be better now. Maybe even smoother than before. I'll let that wick through the cable and hit it again tomorrow.

What I really need to do is fix the light in the barn and stop using the tractor lights to see what I'm doing. That's probably running the battery down enough to affect starting. My charger said it was at 30% charged after trying to crank it once today. A battery tender might be a good idea too. Not really used to trying to maintain something with a battery that doesn't drive 40 miles or more a day during the winter.

 

[ray66v]

Seems like the throttle cable was seized a bit. Sprayed some WD40 at both ends, and started working it back and forth gently. At first I could open the throttle all the way up, but when I pulled it back down it wouldn't idle back down. The cable at the lever end would get bunched up and not retract. I sprayed and worked it some more, and it seems to be better now. Maybe even smoother than before. I'll let that wick through the cable and hit it again tomorrow.

What I really need to do is fix the light in the barn and stop using the tractor lights to see what I'm doing. That's probably running the battery down enough to affect starting. My charger said it was at 30% charged after trying to crank it once today. A battery tender might be a good idea too. Not really used to trying to maintain something with a battery that doesn't drive 40 miles or more a day during the winter.

I would not use WD-40 for anything except starting fluid.

It evaporates very fast, and has a high freezing point.

Get a can of Lock-Ease or similar graphite spray, and work that in there.

Of course, a battery tender is a good idea on any equipment not used regularly. It won't charge a battery. But, it will help keep it from going flat from sitting. Put a battery charger on the battery once in a while in the winter, if you find you are not using it.

 

[JWR]

WD-40 as ray66 says is not the ideal stuff. However, WD means water displacement and it will have 2 effects: short term lubrication and crowding out of the water which is what froze in there in the first place. That's probably why it seemed to work for you at least somewhat. I'm thinking that a liquid "penetrating oil" would get into that cable better for you than the graphite (though it certainly would not hurt to try both.) Both will last better than WD-40 as ray says.

 

[ray66v]

Lock-Ease in a spray is a very thin liquid, and penetrates well.

It can't freeze once the liquid evaporates, which doesn't take long. And, it will not attract dirt later.

Still wondering why there is a problem with the cable? Perhaps it got kinked at some point? Maybe you should look into the replacement cost.

 

[piercedtiger]

I would not use WD-40 for anything except starting fluid.

It evaporates very fast, and has a high freezing point.

Get a can of Lock-Ease or similar graphite spray, and work that in there.

Of course, a battery tender is a good idea on any equipment not used regularly. It won't charge a battery. But, it will help keep it from going flat from sitting. Put a battery charger on the battery once in a while in the winter, if you find you are not using it.

WD-40 as ray66 says is not the ideal stuff. However, WD means water displacement and it will have 2 effects: short term lubrication and crowding out of the water which is what froze in there in the first place. That's probably why it seemed to work for you at least somewhat. I'm thinking that a liquid "penetrating oil" would get into that cable better for you than the graphite (though it certainly would not hurt to try both.) Both will last better than WD-40 as ray says.

Lock-Ease in a spray is a very thin liquid, and penetrates well.

It can't freeze once the liquid evaporates, which doesn't take long. And, it will not attract dirt later.

Still wondering why there is a problem with the cable? Perhaps it got kinked at some point? Maybe you should look into the replacement cost.

Thanks guys. It got down to 10F last night and the cable is seized up again. I was trying to look for a kink last night, but it was hard to do without moving the tractor. The sections I could see appeared undamaged. I've had the tractor for about 6 months now, and put 60 hours on it without a problem with the throttle. It's been stored in an enclosed barn for all but about 2 weeks I've owned it, but it did sit out in a yard for who knows how long at the dealer (and whatever with previous owner). This is probably the first cable I've had seize so it has me a little stumped. With no visible kinks I was thinking frozen grease or something along those lines since I don't even run it in the rain, and both ends of the cable seem protected from water entering.

I need to run to a store today at some point so it looks like I'm getting some lock-ease. Would the graphite gum up or anything with the WD40? I'm half tempted to pull the cable, lay it over my pellet stove to thaw out, then hang it vertical to drip something into it (lock ease, penetrating oil, whatever).

I know it's not the throttle as I can move that freely within the cable slack.

Guess it's a good thing I'm working these issues before we get snow! (And that I don't live in Buffalo right now!)

 

[ray66v]

Mine sat out front of the dealer by the street, for a whole winter, and the cable hasn't given me a problem. :confused3:

If you have the ambition, removing the cable would probably be a good idea at this point.

If you are worried about the WD-40 that may be in there, you can wash it out with some starting fluid, or brake cleaner.

Once that evaporates, (apply some compressed air to blow the solvent out, if you can), test the cable for binding with multiple bends in it. If the cable has any bind on it, I would replace it.

Test the rest of the system to.

If the cable is okay, I would apply graphite, and reinstall it.

I would still probably order a new one, so you have it for next time, if you need it.

 

[piercedtiger]

Mine sat out front of the dealer by the street, for a whole winter, and the cable hasn't given me a problem. :confused3:

If you have the ambition, removing the cable would probably be a good idea at this point.

If you are worried about the WD-40 that may be in there, you can wash it out with some starting fluid, or brake cleaner.

Once that evaporates, (apply some compressed air to blow the solvent out, if you can), test the cable for binding with multiple bends in it. If the cable has any bind on it, I would replace it.

Test the rest of the system to.

If the cable is okay, I would apply graphite, and reinstall it.

I would still probably order a new one, so you have it for next time, if you need it.

Yeah, something is definitely freezing up on it. I managed to get it up around the 2k RPM range and let it idle for a few minutes before pulling out of the barn for a few more minutes of idle. I pulled the throttle all the way back for low idle, and the RPMS stayed at 2k. After the few minutes idling outside the engine slowly crept back down around 1200 RPM. At that point I could throttle up and down without issue. I'm ruling out a kink since there's little resistance when warmed up. (Just enough to hold the lever position.)

I ran to the store to get the lock-ease and a few other things. Wouldn't you know, I realized when I got home that I got everything but the lock-ease. :duh: So I had my wife pick some up on the way home, and sprayed some on both ends while I could still move it tonight. Supposed to be 60 tomorrow so it'll probably work just fine, but should also be a good day to see about getting the cable off to where I can hang it and get the lock-ease down inside it.

Then again, I want to get the diff locker off my truck and figure out why that's not working before winter too. *sigh* So much crap to fix before snow falls.

 

[piercedtiger]

Well, below freezing temps for a couple days now and no problems starting. More throttle has done the trick, and the cable hasn't seized up again since I did the lock-ease. Hopefully that took care of it for good.