Kioti DK45C won't start.......

[LOGDOG5375]

Hello everyone. I have a Kioti DK45C. I believe it's a 2004 model. I went out to start it the other day and when I turned the key, it was flat as a pancake. Nothing. No clicking....nadda. I pulled my truck around, got the jumper cables, and clamped on to the tractor battery with the clamps. I had not clamped to the truck battery yet. When I clamped the second clamp on the second post of the tractor battery, I heard my fan come on in the cab. I guess I had left the key in the on position after trying to start it. So I thought, "Hmmmm...wonder if it'll start?" Sure enough....climbed in, turned the key....and up she went. Mowed for several hours, came back to the house, shut it off, and then tried to start it again. Nadda. Flat as a pancake again. So I figured I had a loose connection somewhere and maybe that was why I got juice when I clamped onto the posts of the battery with the jumper cables earlier.

Fast forward to the next morning. I go out, try the ignition just for kicks and still there's nothing. I take the battery cables off the battery, polish them nice and bright with a wire brush (even though there was no corrosion). Hook everything back up, make sure the connections are super tight on the battery, get in the cab, turn the key, and I get a click, click, click. Then I get nothing for several tries. Then a long string of the click, click, clicks ... then nothing.

My radio usually operates independent of the key switch. Normally, I can turn it on without needing the key on or in even. At the moment, the screen that shows the station on the radio will try to light up, and fade to black....try and fade...over and over....without coming on.

There's a 60 amp fuse that is just forward of the starter on what would be the left side of the tractor if I were sitting in the cab looking towards the front. I blew that fuse before and it pretty much shut everything down. So I took the electrical tape off that harness and exposed the fuse....pulled the fuse and it looked like brand new. I had an extra though, so to be certain ...I plugged it in and gave the key a try. Nadda.

Ok.... so I pull the battery, take it into town, and have it tested. It had a 97% charge. So it's not the battery. By the way, in the middle of me trying the ignition various times previous to this, I had also tried jumper cables again both to my F350 and my JD 450C dozer. Nadda.

I worked up a pretty good sweat out in the 93 degree Southern heat and humidity today trying to get this tractor to crank but haven't been successful. I came inside to cool off. Googled "Kioti Tractor Won't Start" and found some threads here. I wonder if some of the Kioti guys here could point me in the right direction. My Kioti dealership lost the Kioti line a few months back and now the nearest Kioti store is pretty much 2 hours + in any given direction.

Sure would appreciate some helpful suggestions.

Thanks much.

 

[LOGDOG5375]

So this is going to be a short thread. :thumbsup: I tracked down one of the mechanics that used to work at my former servicing dealer. Told him about my issues. One of the things he asked me was whether I had the type of battery cables that have the clamps on the end? The type that sandwich the cable in a clamp and pinch it down by tightening a bolt on each side. You know the kind... I said yes. He reminded me that even though the terminal connection can be tight, you can have a loose connection by way of those clamps that sandwich the cable in between them, ahead of the terminal connection. So after I posted above, I went back out and tightened down on those clamps. Sure enough....I was able to turn them down a good bit....more than what I should have been able to if they had been tight. I also checked the ground where it grounds to the tractor frame. It was tight there. Tightened the cable clamps on the ends of the cable on both positive and ground sides, then put them on the terminals, tightened them down, climbed in the cab, turned the radio on ....and it came on! Yes! Good sign. Pushed the clutch in, turned the key, and she fired right up. I turned it off, then turned the key on again....started right up. It appears to be fixed. We'll see if she holds.

Thought I'd share the solution just in case anyone with a similar tractor has the same issue. Remember, when checking connections...tighten every bolt on the cables leading into or out of the battery. Follow it from the terminal out and check everything. Don't take for granted that "it shouldn't be that...". It probably is "that".

 

[VictorW]

Thanks for the info. Taking any electrical power problem wire, connection, etc., for granted always ends up making the fix take longer. I'm glad I don't have those type of cable ends. Members have also posted that even though the cables look good at the clamps, corrosion/acid has entered under the wire insulation and ruined the cable. Also, even though the ground cable is tight on the frame, other members and me have found that corrosion/rust can form there degrading the current flow. I took mine apart after the first year, cleaned the cable end and frame well, coated the area with copper anti-seize, and no problems for 7 years.