JD 455 Fuel Pump

[BrisMatt]

Hi Everyone,
I am a long time guest, and brand new member from Brisbane Australia.

I have recently become a proud owner of a JD455 which i purchased for cheap as it needs quite a bit of work. I started this mower a few times very successfully, I even drove it onto and off the trailer however, as soon as i got it home I pulled the panels off and the full tank and now I cant seem to get the engine started again.

It would appear that the fuel pump, located within the fuel tank is not supplying fuel to the engine. If I disconnect the lines and turn over the engine no fuel at all is coming out of the pump. My first question is, is it possible that the fuel pump did not work in the first place, ie the fuel was simply being sucked through the line like a vacuum the previous times I started it?

I have checked the manual and it says check a few things first and I can confirm the following -

The seat switch is not an issue as a previous owner has removed the switch, and I could previously start it without being on the mower

The fuel shut-off solenoid works, when I turn the key the plunger moves into the solenoid body

I have checked the fuses on the right hand side of the steering console

Does anyone have any ideas on what the problem may be?

I have attached a few pics.

Thanks in advance
Matt

 

[atschirner]

Greetings Matt,

I hope I can help with your questions or point you in the right direction. I don't think the injection pump can lift fuel so the in-tank will need to operate to start the engine.

Give this a try, with the key turned to 'on' you should hear, and feel, the in tank fuel pump running before you engage the starter. If not it's time to start troubleshooting the pump and wiring. When you said you checked the fuses that that include the inline fuse or just the two on the circuit board? The inline fuse protects the fuel pump. I noticed in your second photo that a mouse or other furry critter has been snacking on the wire insulation. It is possible that the wiring harness along the frame rail has suffered the same fate. You should be able to check continuity between the circuit connector and the pump connector to confim the status of those three wires.

At the pump connector, toward the circuit board, with the key on, you should have battery voltage on one connector, chassis ground at one and the third wire is the fuel level circuit. Once you have identified the battery and ground terminals you could feed the pump side of the connector with a jumper lead to chassis ground and the battery. You will hear the pump run if all is okay in the tank.

I hope this helps you and please let us know what you find. The 455 is a fine machine capable of a number of chores around your property.

 

[Marcintosh]

This EXACT thing happened to me with my GT262. Drove it at the dealers it worked just fine, like it should have.
When it was delivered later in the week I drove it off the trailer and into the drive-way. I shut it off, went to speak with the driver returned to the machine and it was a no-start.
After fooling around for a while I discovered what happened. Over the years sludge had built up in the bottom of the fuel tank. It had sat at the dealers for a few weeks, I drove it but didn't bounce it much, the trailer took care of stirring up the sludge and when I started it and drove it off the trailer I drained the fuel lines to the carb of the gas with sludge in it.
It sounds like you've got the same type of thing. Sludge in the tank has most likely clogged the pump. It got there by being stirred up on the trailer ride.

 

[BrisMatt]

Thanks for your help,

Yes it was an electrical problem, with the key switched on there was no voltage reaching the pump. I connected the pump directly to the battery and it ran fine. With my meter i have traced the fault to the wires leading directly into the pump (between the brown plug and the pump see photo 1)particularly where the wires run into what seems to be some kind of an insulation block on the top of the pump(you can see it in the photo, i assume this stops sparks igniting your fuel tank) I have soldered these up and we are back in business.

The voltage is still quite low, I probably need to clean out all the connections as they are filthy and yes replace the chewed out wire(s).

Its still a mystery how the seller got this thing to run when I picked it up, clearly he had been messing around with the pump and that brown plug but obviously gave up). He must have filled the fuel filter or injector pump full of diesel, enough for it to run a couple of minutes.

Once again, thanks for your help. Next task get the hydraulic steering and deck lift operational!

And Marcintosh, I have checked the tank and it is full of sludge, it will require a thorough cleaning.

 

[BrisMatt]

I may have spoken too soon,
The pump works and there is now 12V running in the cables to the pump however, as soon as I attach the pump (I have also tested my 12V weedspray pump) to these wires the voltage immediately drops to zero.

 

[atschirner]

Good afternoon Matt,
If you are saying that your garden pump connected to the wiring harness also causes the voltage to fall to zero you need to ohm out the wires.

Testing for voltage across an open plug tells you that your have voltage (pressure) but says nothing about the current (flow) ability of the circuit. if you have a damaged wire you can see full battery voltage at the connector but when you connect a low resistance load, the pump, more current is required and the damaged wire or bad connection is acting as series resistance.

To isolate which of the two wires has the high resistance substitute a know good ground wire and the factory power wire to the pump. If it runs then you are looking for issues with the ground wire. If it does not run, you can focus your attention toward the power lead.

One more question for you. With all of the connections plugged in, and the key on, what is your voltage reading, to ground, on either side of the in-line fuse? The answer to this question will help determine if the fault is in the wiring harness or at the control board.

Again, good luck and please keep us updated.

 

[vik4310]

i had the same problem, it was the fuse holder being corroded. i cleaned it up with some emery cloth and it worked fine

 

[BrisMatt]

Yes the inline fuse holder was broken. I replaced it and it is pumping fuel!

Thanks Guys.

 

[atschirner]

Glad to lend a hand Matt.

 

[02603sec]

Hi ya Brisbane! My golfing buddy just moved there last year from Philadelphia! I read your 3.5 year old thread, and yes, that's an oldie but a goodie. It does come up first on Google search for Deere 455 fuel pump. You lost continuity with your problem, easy wiring fix. FOR ME I had fuel starvation. It was taking 20 mins for the fuel bowl to fill up. I could hear my pump humming. It took about 30 minutes to take it apart, the plastic ring unscrews to lift the mechanism out. My tractor is a rehabbed municipal unit that sat outside from 1993 until 2013. Twenty years. The fabric/resin pickup screen on mine was totally slimed. I hit it with some carb cleaner and blew it out with compressed air. My tank was surprising clean. The 1.5 Gallons of fuel I pulled out was a little cloudy. Visual analysis in a glass jar showed a slimey residue on the glass. Now I need to find a product to recondition my fuel system, any snake oil?