JD 5103 Won't Start

[KentG]

Tractor ran fine yesterday. Today won't start. Good battery, clean fuel filter, but will not fire. Turns over, all dash lights appropriate. Problem???

 

[Soundguy]

any smoke during starting attempts?

no fuel stop pulled.. or key-off fuel / off solenoid unplugged?

 

[KentG]

No smoke at all. Where is fuel solenoid located?

 

[JD5210]

Are you blowing any fuses? And does the fuse blow as soon as you turn the key? It might be the key switch fuse.

If yes, to both questions, I believe the problem is the thermistor sensor (thermistors are temperature variable resistors used as sensors.). On the thermostat housing there is a sensor that is connected to a two wire harness that goes to the injection pump; this is the "cold start advance" portion of the system so it starts easier when cold by advancing the timing.

When the sensor on the thermostat housing fails it shorts out and blows the fuse. Try unplugging it, replace fuse and see if it starts and runs. The part # is RE503242, if you are quick changing it, you don't have to drain the coolant, just make sure it's not hot at the time. You will want a pan under the tractor to catch the coolant, so as not too have to clean it up.

To comply with the exhaust emissions regulation, the timing of injection pump should be around 6 to 9 degrees before TDC. These timing values do not allow proper start-up operations when engine is cold. To ease engine start-up, a cold advance system gives to the injection pump a temporary over-timing.

When coolant temperature is below 50 C (122 F), the solenoid valve is activated and opens the cold advance circuit.

URL to online operators manual
http://manuals.deere.com/omview/OMRE268160_19/?tM=FR

 

[KentG]

Thanks JD5210. I'll check that when I get back to the tractor on Tuesday. I checked the fuses in the fuse panel (under the dash) and they all seemed to be good.

 

[JD5210]

You may want to take a DC volt meter with you to see, if the fuel solenoid is getting power. The fuel solenoid is located on the top of the injection pump. Must admit I cannot hear mine click, when I just turn the key to run (no need to start it). See attachment most likely your injection pump is the first picture on the left and the wire in the back is the fuel solenoid.

If you feel it is a fuel issue, this video maybe of value. The 5203 has the 3029 engine like your does.

JD 5203 John Deere tractor fuel filter change - YouTube

 

[KentG]

You may want to take a DC volt meter with you to see, if the fuel solenoid is getting power. The fuel solenoid is located on the top of the injection pump. Must admit I cannot hear mine click, when I just turn the key to run (no need to start it). See attachment most likely your injection pump is the first picture on the left and the wire in the back is the fuel solenoid.

If you feel it is a fuel issue, this video maybe of value. The 5203 has the 3029 engine like your does.

JD 5203 John Deere tractor fuel filter change - YouTube

Thanks for the info! I'll do all that and let you know the results. As I remember the plunger on top was collapsed so that may be part of the problem.

 

[Soundguy]

let us know what you find!

 

[KentG]

No voltage at fuel solenoid. All fuses are good and don't blow. I can run a wire directly from the battery to the solenoid and the engine will run. Must be a broken wire somewhere.

 

[JD5210]

My suggestion at this point is to get the tech manual JD shows it to be (TM900019). Not cheap, but there is one on ebay. As luck would have it the page on ebay shows the location of the relays I would check the by-pass relay, start relay, fuel shut off relay and diode. If you go to JDparts.com and then go to the parts catalog all the relays on the left have the same part number, so you could swap the by-pass and fuel shut off for one of the turn signal relays and see what happens. You could also swap the diodes as it appears the part numbers are the same. I have attached the page from JDparts. Disconnect the negative battery cable, before pulling anything, just to be safe.

If you get the manual and if you would like help looking at the start system, I would be more than willing to help. Maybe another member can post a page of the starting system and the page that is on ebay.

I have attached the start system for the 5X10, you are going to have to determine how close, they are.
On the plus side the fuel solenoid is good. For now I would disconnect the sensor that is connected to the fuel solenoid to take it out of the equation as they say.

John Deere Ag - New Equipment: Technical Publications - Equipment Search
John Deere 5103 5203 5303 Tractor Technical Service Tech Manual CD TM900019 | eBay

 

[KentG]

Thanks a lot for the info. I'll do some more troubleshooting now that the weather has improved. I'll let you know what I find. Kent.

 

[Soundguy]

keep us posted

 

[joecdeere]

I have a PDF of the tech manual you're welcome to, shoot me your email

Joe

 

[Soundguy]

you might want to PM that so the entire world doesn't have your email...

 

[JD5210]

Kent, please take a look at this post, thread #7.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/parts-repairs/261278-jd-5103-electrical-problem.html

 

[KentG]

I found the problem finally- a blown fuse. My fuse panel is different from the one shown in my manual. I finally found the problem- sure enough, it was the thermistor in the thermostat housing blowing the fuse. My fuse panel is different from the one shown in my manual; the top row has six fuses, the next row three fuses, then a row of six relays, then four spare fuses at the bottom. The middle fuse in the second row was blown but it was not immediately obvious, because the blow was at the side of the fuse, not the middle where you would normally look. I unplugged the thermistor, replaced the fuse, and the tractor now starts. It blows a little white smoke instead of black now on startup,but runs fine. Thanks everyone for your much-appreciated suggestions and diagrams! Kent.

 

[JD5210]

Thanks for letting us know you got it fixed, what you found and describing your fuse panel. Even though you are in FL, I would suggest you replace the sensor as the cold advance circuit is used when the coolant temperature is under 122 F. This comes from JD manual CTM125 for the 3029 engine. This could be the reason for the white smoke.

I had some smoke from my engine and I started using JD summer fuel conditioner TY26784 and winter fuel conditioner and after a few tanks no more smoke and even after the tractor seats for up to two weeks it literally starts with just the flick of the key.

 

[KentG]

Thanks for the info. Before I had this problem the tractor would belch out a bunch of black smoke on every cold start; I'll replace the switch and try the conditioner. Kent

 

[JohnDodd]

The spare fuse blow all the time. JD5303