Help w/ JD 4110 shutting down

[JDdude]

Look for a broken wire to the saftey switch.

 

[downtoearth]

Look for a broken wire to the saftey switch.

This was my first thought. I made an effort to check every wire for a break / corrosion / bad connection. Of course, with my luck I probably missed the one that is causing the problem. I even checked the fuses. First time the ole girl let me down since I bought her new in 2004. It was very strange I had this issue after the battery problem I must admit. The battery was an older sealed yellow-top Optima, but it started the 4110 strongly this morning and throughout the day. My wife had been helping me and we were loading mulch onto our gator with the tractor and using the tractor loader to haul loads as well to our trees and landscaping. Ran perfect all day...and then...no start and a buzzing noise (from the solenoid?) and no crank. Used a booster box to jump start with positive to batter and negative to ground on frame. Started up, ran good for another few hours. Put another battery in. Engine started and ran strong and then the problem with the gear selector on the HST. Put her in high or low range and she just quits running like someone turned off the key. Hopefully it is just that neutral switch that kennyd mentioned. I'll check the continuity on that tomorrow. Thanks for everyone's help and suggestions!! Much appreciated!!

 

[JDdude]

I would bet money that it is a broken wire someplace..Could be melted in the harness grounding 2 wires, most anyplace..You need a wiring diagram.

 

[downtoearth]

Just wanted to advise everyone that there was no broken wiring and the safety switches tested okay. Called the local JD dealer to pick it up yesterday. Mechanic who came to get it said he wanted to take a quick look at the fuel solenoid. He removed the solenoid and the 4110 started right up and it went into low and high range and ran great. (With the fuel solenoid off, the tractor cannot be shut down conventionally as you must press your finger in the area of the engine where the solenoid plunger would normally contact to shut it down.) Said there seemed to be an unusually high occurrence lately of the solenoid problems on similar model tractors. He suggested that they check out the electronics fully on the tractor before replacing the fuel solenoid with a new one because a voltage or amperage spike somewhere in the electrical system might have caused this. Since I had the issue with the dying battery / dead cell, it could be possible that the electrical system overcharged sending a spike to the fuel solenoid I am told. I can say that the metal on the rear portion of the fuel solenoid was blown apart, so it sounds logical at this point. Hope this will help someone else with any similar issues.

 

[downtoearth]

Hopefully, this is the final follow up on the ongoing saga with our 4110. It seems as if something happened to the control box (aka "brain box") located under the 4110's seat. The brain box signaled that additional current needed to be delivered to the fuel solenoid, blowing out the rear of solenoid. It is unknown if the battery is what caused the control box to send the additional current to the solenoid for some reason, but is thought to be a possibility by the mechanics at the local JD dealer. It is also a possibility that the battery was not the actual problem and the control box just failed for some reason. Not a cheap fix as it was over $500 in only parts for the fuel solenoid and control box, not inclusive of the 3.5 hours labor to diagnose and repair. Odd thing with it all is there were three other JD tractors (4100, 4110, and 4310 models I believe) at the JD dealership with the same fuel solenoid / control box issue still waiting for their repairs. JD was asked by the dealer to contribute to some of the part replacement / repair cost due to the issues with the four tractors at the dealership at the same time; however, JD apparently declined due to the model year of the tractors or other unknown reasons. Apparently low hours doesn't factor into the JD equation.

 

[YesDeere]

I have an 04 4310 an Have not experienced any of this. But I appreciate the update so I know about it if it happens. One thing I would ask them is to check the alternator output. Not sure if it is internally or externally regulated. Just to cover all the bases.

 

[downtoearth]

I have an 04 4310 an Have not experienced any of this. But I appreciate the update so I know about it if it happens. One thing I would ask them is to check the alternator output. Not sure if it is internally or externally regulated. Just to cover all the bases.

The dealer did check the alternator output to make certain the new control box would not be damaged. Fortunately for me it was okay.