Starting problem?

kdlklm · Aug 5, 2003

My Kubota won't start with out glowing it first. It doesn't matter if the engine is warm or not. It will not start without being glowed for about 20 seconds. Once it is glowed it starts well, and runs well. I was wondering if anybody might know why this is. My machine is a B5100.

icat · Aug 5, 2003

I'm going to make some assumptions here - please correct me if I'm wrong. You are concerned about the length of time it takes for the glow plug to be ready to start the engine - is that correct? Mine is new and I have to wait between 3 and 5 seconds before I can start. It pretty much doesn't matter if the unit is warm or not. I am under the impression that this is normal. It would seem to me that 20 seconds would be an awful long time to wait for the plug to reach temp. How old is the unit? Perhaps it's time to change out the plugs.

equipman · Aug 5, 2003

kdlklm
It is common to have to glow those older diesel engines for a longer period of time. Usually when they are warm, they don't require so much glowing. Shouldn't be anything to worry about.
Lewis

kdlklm · Aug 5, 2003

It's nothing that I'm really worried about it. The tractor runs excellent. But I can run it for a couple hours, then shut it off, and try restarting it without glowing, and it won't start. I still have to glow it for about 20 seconds. It's kind of a pain in the butt.

icat · Aug 5, 2003

I think I see what you’re concerned about. All Diesel engines (at least that I’m aware of) use heat generated by the compression of air in the cylinder to ignite the air/fuel mixture. When you first start the diesel you need to warm the air in the cylinder to instigate the combustion process.

Gas powered vehicles use a spark plug to ignite the fuel in the cylinder, but this is totally different from the way a Diesel motor operates. Your car’s spark plugs fire every stroke of the engine, but the diesel “glow” is only used in the start sequence.

cnoel · Aug 5, 2003

Perfectly normal for that tractor. The newer Grand-L and M-series tractors have a "Super-glow" sysem that is much quicker. However, even the newer tractors in the B and BX series take a while to glow. Normally it should take less time if the engine is warm, but as long as it starts and runs every time I wouldn't worry. Just buy a diesel truck and then it'll just become habit. Come to think of it, our Dodge has to be glowed even when its warm.

BIGUN · Aug 8, 2003

My BX 1500 experience is that it starts instantly hot or cold without glowing it at all. Of course it is 90F + most of the time here now. It may be a different story this winter.