Should I Regret Buying A Kioti?

[murphy1244]

Thanks James, I should have specified a RPM:thumbsup: as I think way much faster than I can type.

 

[Wolfy]

That battery looks like garbage. I get fantastic service from Die Hard Gold and A.A.P. line of batteries

 

[GuyInHuntsville]

:thumbsup:Good for you Guy, for recognising the thread title might have been a bit harsh.

I would not worry too much about the battery or damage. But I realise I don't have a huge concern about the aesthetics of my equipment and vehicles. I keep them maintained but accept the imperfections that come through use. I do think the dealer should have at least offered some kind of assistance to repair the damage to your tray, even if it was just some free paint for you to do it yourself.

I recently punctured my battery and damaged the battery tray. I cleaned it up and replaced it with the same brand (Interstate) after researching online. I see others have said good things about Interstate. If the voltage checks others mentioned turn out OK, perhaps you just got a battery lemon or someone(most likely the dealer) damaged it when they installed it.

Your dealer's uncaring attitude certainly unfortunate. Hopefully he was just having a bad day. My dealer experience is just the opposite. I bent my top link (through improper use) shortly after getting my tractor. I took it to the dealer and he straightened it as I waited(including repairing the threads) for no charge.

This may be a bit off-topic but....it is important to take the little maintenance items such as checking for loose bolts seriously. I find the small bolts holding the pivot pins on my DK35's loader have a tendency to loosen. I lost one(luckily the large pin stayed it) and find one or two slightly loose when checking them. I just tightened a couple last week and will reinstall all of them with blue LocTite.

Kioti's are good tractors and chances are it will give you mostly trouble-free service. Hopefully your dealer will do the same.

Cheers

ADDITION TO ORIGINAL POST:

Adding this after seeing photos on my PC (they did not display on my Android). The damage is much more severe than I originally imagined and can relate to your original concern. Your dealer should have been much more helpful in cleaning it up. The problem is the dealer, not the tractor.

I also see your battery is not an Interstate. Mine came with an Interstate and I think all Kioti's here (at least at my dealer) have that brand. That is what my dealer sells as replacements. Perhaps your dealer put in an old or damaged battery.

Thanks kco....My wife and I spent $19K for this tractor and when I saw this damage I was really stressed about it and then when the dealer called me to tell me he would only swap out the battery I was even more stressed hence the crude title to this thread...But as another member here kindly said he appreciated the honesty of what I was feeling at the time. You guys have sobered me up and I don't regret buying the Kioti because it sounds like this treatment is fairly common from dealers no matter what brand...Doesn't make it right but I've accepted that I've got to handle this myself...Further talks over this with the dealer would probably lead to more frustration. But if it turn out to be the alternator then I've got to back to them.

The Continental battery is what the dealer put in there and not Kioti. I was told Kioti ships the tractor from the factory without a battery.

Guy

 

[GuyInHuntsville]

Let me tell you the story of my battery/acid issue with at the time a brand new Long 2360 tractor. I noticed the leak and corrosion after about a week or so of delivery of the new tractor. The dealer came out and replaced the battery and I started on cleaning up the mess. A short period of time later I noticed the new battery was leaking also, and I noticed a split in the side of the battery. I called again and the dealer trotted out another new battery and installed it.

Again my job to neutralize the acid spill and sand the metal and paint. The battery tray was looking pretty rough by this time. I was starting to get suspicious that something was wrong at this point. Duh. So I grabbed the multi-meter, and measured the charging voltage and it measured about 17 volts. Uh, Oh. The regulator was not working properly. In this case the regulator was an external to the alternator unit. Most regulators now a days are internal to the alternator.

What I found was just a loose wire on the regulator, and as soon as it was repaired, the charging voltage went down to just a little over 14 volts, and I never had any more problems with split overflowing batteries. The overcharging causes to battery fluid to boil and outgas causing pressure and spillage of the acid. I did fight rust and peeling paint on the battery tray for some time, from the original acid spills.

I would almost bet money your alternator with its internal regulator is overcharging the battery causing the acid spill. A quick check with the engine running at 2000 rpm and if the battery voltage is over 14.5 volts you have a problem. Good luck with this problem. The dealer is thinking this is a bad battery, and he is willing to replace the battery and not look any further. I think there is an underlying problem that should be addressed under warranty.

Thank you James! I'm sorry you had to go through all that. I appreciate your clear instructions: 2000 RPM 14.5 volts max. I've borrowed a multimeter and was given a simple crash-course on how to use it: black probe on neg/red probe on pos terminal and meter on DC voltage to get the reading along with your instructions. I won't be able to get out there and do this test for maybe a couple of weeks as work is getting really busy (no days off until it slows) but I'll post the results of what I found.

Thanks!

Guy

 

[GuyInHuntsville]

I lied.

Just now I took another look at the excretions and yes they seem to be coming from the seal, not the top under the caps as I initially incorrectly implied. My experience with Continental is limited, but I have seen them around. So what I said in all my blabbering doesn't amount to a hill of beans in this particular case.

Sorry for the disinformation.

Mark

I don't think so...Plenty of others here have pointed out the same thing as your initial thought and it's a priority of mine now to check this out once I put a new battery in there. Thanks!!

 

[k0ua]

Thank you James! I'm sorry you had to go through all that. I appreciate your clear instructions: 2000 RPM 14.5 volts max. I've borrowed a multimeter and was given a simple crash-course on how to use it: black probe on neg/red probe on pos terminal and meter on DC voltage to get the reading along with your instructions. I won't be able to get out there and do this test for maybe a couple of weeks as work is getting really busy (no days off until it slows) but I'll post the results of what I found.

Thanks!

Guy

Good luck with it Guy. I would just about bet money that over charging is the problem. But you can never be sure without measuring the charging voltage. Let us know how it checks out, and we will continue to offer advice as best we know how.

 

[Dr_Zinj]

Happens with Bobcats too; so this is a Daedong-wide problem.

In fact, I need to remove my battery this weekend and wire brush all the rust off, sand it, and repaint it with corrosion resistant paint. Put a plastic battery pan in before replacing the battery. That should cut down or even stop future spill corrosion problems.

 

[roadhunter]

Happens with Bobcats too; so this is a Daedong

+1. Battery was removed in mine yesterday. could not believe how much corrosion there was around the battery terminals. Even the angle that holds the battery in was rusting badly.

 

[k0ua]

Happens with Bobcats too; so this is a Daedong

+1. Battery was removed in mine yesterday. could not believe how much corrosion there was around the battery terminals. Even the angle that holds the battery in was rusting badly.

I coated the piece of angle steel that is the hold down bracket as well as the rods and nuts that tighten the whole thing down with my favorite grease. (No-ox-id).

 

[varmint]

After getting my L3130, I added LED work lights, and then this little LED voltmeter (waterproof, maybe $5 from China) just to be able to see what the charging system is doing. I had real gauges on my last Kubota, and I like having more than an idiot light. And, after having alternator issues in my Subaru, I invested $3.50 in this little LED voltmeter that plugs into a lighter/convenience outlet, and lets me know just what is going on in about any vehicle. FWIW, these came from China, where I often order such things online, and so far I have great luck with all the stuff being what I wanted, and showing up.