Mystery, RTV900 not starting

[mike69440]

Our Kubota 2005 RTV900 suddenly will not start.

This occurred during a sudden cold spell where temps dropped way below 0 deg F.

The RTV 900 started and ran ok twice during this 4 day cold snap. Battery is strong.

I just went out to use it again. The outside temperature was up to 12 F.

I energized the Glow Plug, then waited 20 seconds and it fired right up , but was racing at full throttle and blowing grew particulate smoke.

I pumped the throttle, thinking it was stuck, no change it continued to race.

I shut the motor down.

I tried to restart, NO GO. It just cranks, not even a sputter.

I cranked the starter to raise the bed, but could not see anything obviously wrong, It was too dark and cold so I figure maybe someone on the forum had this experience and could give me a place to start?

Other than water/ice in the fuel, causing something to stick, anybody have any ideas or has this happened to you?

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

 

[DT86]

That is odd. I'll be watching to see what you end up figuring out.

When it is cold my starter just clicks once the first time you turn the key. Second key turn it starts. It starts first time around when the temperature is above freezing or the engine is warm.

 

[DT86]

As for cranking and not starting I wonder if the fuel is gelled? Will a small diesel run faster when it is running out of fuel like a chain saw does?

 

[Greywoolf]

Our Kubota 2005 RTV900 suddenly will not start.


I energized the Glow Plug, then waited 20 seconds and it fired right up , but was racing at full throttle and blowing grew particulate smoke.
I pumped the throttle, thinking it was stuck, no change it continued to race.
I shut the motor down.

I tried to restart, NO GO. It just cranks, not even a sputter.

Same thing happened to me on my BX24, same conditions. I waited 15 minutes and all was well. This happened a few times over the last week or so. This morning though it just cranks. I checked the fuel flow and the fuel is flowing to the engine, not restricted or gelled at all.

I checked the fuel solenoid fuse and it is good, and the solenoid seems to be working.

It seems to me that the fuel is not getting through the injectors and distributed to the cylinders. I'm on here trying to find the next step in my troubleshooting.

 

[murphy1244]

Same thing happened to me on my BX24, same conditions. I waited 15 minutes and all was well. This happened a few times over the last week or so. This morning though it just cranks. I checked the fuel flow and the fuel is flowing to the engine, not restricted or gelled at all.

I checked the fuel solenoid fuse and it is good, and the solenoid seems to be working.

It seems to me that the fuel is not getting through the injectors and distributed to the cylinders. I'm on here trying to find the next step in my troubleshooting.

Are you saying both machines are down? if so I agree with DT86, your fuel has jelled somewhere.

 

[Greywoolf]

Are you saying both machines are down? if so I agree with DT86, your fuel has jelled somewhere.

If the fuel is flowing out of the last fuel line before it goes into the engine, could the injectors themselves be jelled or frozen?

 

[murphy1244]

Did both go down the same time?

 

[Greywoolf]

Sorry two different people in two places experiencing similar problems.

 

[DT86]

If the fuel is flowing out of the last fuel line before it goes into the engine, could the injectors themselves be jelled or frozen?

I would say it is possible.

 

[mike69440]

Update.

I recharged the battery and tried restarting again. It fired again racing and smoking. As I don't have a service manual, I,m not sure what lever I wiggled but it is the one below the solinoid next to the fuel pump, trying to get the motor to stop racing. The engine stalled and would not restart. I'll stop by MB tractor tomorrow and brain pick the service mgr.

 

[Greywoolf]

Learn anything from the service mgr?

 

[mike69440]

Learn anything from the service mgr?

Not really, just added Howes treatment and waited for warm day.

But my Kumatsu PC75 UU2 won't fire up, even after the temp went to + 40 F? It always started before in cold weather?

 

[timswi]

I use off road diesel in my shop heater...For the first time I've noticed slight gelling in the plastic cans at singe digit temps..Never experienced this in 20 years of using this stuff...Wonder if there is something up with diesel in general this year...Personally I really don't know.

Fortunatly my BX and RTV have not been affected....Yet....They both stay in a climate controlled garage, so that might be why.

 

[nybirdman]

Sure sounds like a fuel problem,try Powersevice 911.Summer blend fuel?

 

[TashasDad]

I am having the exact same problem. Back to the dealer is the next step. Have you come up with a solution yet?

 

[BlkBrdsNThmprs]

Not really, just added Howes treatment and waited for warm day.

But my Kumatsu PC75 UU2 won't fire up, even after the temp went to + 40 F? It always started before in cold weather?

Hello, I have searched this site extensively and cannot find anything else pertaining to this same problem you posted earlier. Wondering if you ever figured out why your Kubota RTV900 smoked and raced after starting on a cold day. I am having a similar problem starting mine. Temps have been around 0 to -10F but parked in out of the wind. I run the glow plugs for 15-20 seconds. Then I start the engine which races for 20 seconds with heavy black smoke and no throttle control. Then it slows and dies. It will not restart immediately. After waiting 5 minutes, run the glow plugs for 15-20 seconds, then engine starts and runs fine. Any help is appreciated.

 

[DT86]

Are you running any cold weather diesel additives?

 

[BlkBrdsNThmprs]

Are you running any cold weather diesel additives?

No additives but using straight #1. No sign of gelling or freezing. It ran fine with #1 in it until recently when temp got below 0 F. When it starts and races, you cannot turn it off. It continues to race even with the key off for about 1 minute. Then it slows down and dies. Five minutes later, you can restart it and it runs fine. My thought is that it is sucking oil past the rings which is what the engine is running on until it gets enough heat in it to seal up the rings. Is this a valid theory or common problem? Or is there somewhere else in the engine that it can be getting oil (breather tube or vent). Any other ideas? Thanks for helping!

 

[DT86]

It's a valid theory, I'm not aware if it is common problem though.

How or why it would pull oil up through the rings while turned off is what I can't figure. Is it over filled? Who many hours?

 

[buickanddeere]

Gelled summer fuel and/or frozen condensation . Diesel in small light duty applications have more disadvantages that advantages .