bx starting

edwardthe3rd · Mar 12, 2011

Hi, folks..
I bought a BX24 3 springtimes ago. From the first week I had mine, it would occasionally simply not start. I discovered after a time all of the traps created by dead-man switches, including once when the one under the seat which is very cheaply made, and which broke off with almost no provoking. But there were times which were just unexplainable. I would turn on the switch, hear the relay click, and nothing... then I would hear what is assume is the solenoid plunger, snap back into position. After sitting for a while, I would try again and the engine would turn over and start immediately --- nothing different done by me. In a car this is usually a sign of a sticking solenoid.

This morning I went out.. been using the BX all winter to move snow and haul wood, and now I want to put the tiller on it, but it does the same routine again. I turn it on to glow and it ticks, then I turn it to S and nothing. I release the key and 2 seconds later I hear the sound of something spring-driven popping back into place.

What do you all think? Did I get a bad starter in the first place? Or is it a damned deadman switch again? Whatever advice I can get to test it, starting with the simplest and cheapest first, would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.

rlsmith · Mar 12, 2011

oh the safety switchs. Just love to hate them. How about the high/low lever or the forward/reverse peddle. the slightest jiggle sometimes on the lever or peddle allows mine to start. Those two give me the most problem on my BX23 and have adjusted both twice. Then lastly the PTO lever. All the above I would really think is the problem not the starter. And with almost 1200 hours in 65 months I have learned to giggle and check the levers and the peddles when I have starter.

rdsaustintx · Mar 12, 2011

I know this sounds ridiculously basic, but check your battery. My story:

BX would refuse to start intermittently. Just like you described. Relay would click (which means it ain't safety switches) but starter would not turn. Twist it 4-5 times and eventually it would turn over. Used it like this all summer. Cleaned it up and brought into my shop for winter maintenance...

The battery had a shorted cell, holding 10.6 volts. And the machine was usable! I know this was horrible for the starter windings, but dang Kubotas are tough...

Good luck.

Tom_H · Mar 12, 2011

Check your fuses. If you replace a blown fuse, and then the problem crops right back up, check fuses again. My wiring harness developed a short that couldn't be found. This burned out my solenoid and burned out fuse after fuse. Harness had to be replaced.

Good luck; I know how frustrating this can be.

radioman · Mar 12, 2011

I concur with rlsmith more then the other posters. rdsaustintx does have a point about battery and easy to check with meter.

brucewj · Mar 12, 2011

I have had the same problem with my bx2660. I found that if I jiggle the pto engagement lever that it will start. Scared me the first few times this happened 'cause I didn't know how I was going to get it back to the shop.

I tried bouncing up and down on the seat, moving the fuel pedal, everything I could think of. I finally got it to go when I messed with the pto engagement lever, and that has worked for me since.

edwardthe3rd · Mar 12, 2011

Hey, thanks for the comments. My battery check was fine. I have NOTHING attached to the PTO, but the switch was the culprit. After looking at the quality of the switches so far, I get kind of crazy thinking about what Kubota is doing mixing really high quality rugged components with other fittings that are just crap. The FEL lock bar decomposed on my tractor by the time I had it two months. The instrument panel went bad before I barely got it out of the barn. All of this was under warranty, but still....

Also had a similar experience to others of you last summer with the lack of a skid plate, when I took the mower deck off. Just like a lot of you experienced, as branch shot right up underneath, sheared off the radiator fan blades and almost punctured the radiator. When the blades came off, they took out the lower half of the cowling on the air intake. The fan blade was an easy fix, and I fashioned a nice replacement for the fan cowling from a five gallon buck, along with plastic cement and pop rivets. Still again, one would think that engineers would anticipate this type of very common problem.

Oh, well, I'm moving again... shoved around a couple of tons of driveway stone this afternoon, and little orange is sitting happily outside my driveway window.

jwatt51 · Mar 12, 2011

I had the same problem about a month ago with my BX25 and tried all kinds of things.I looked at the wires going to the starter and noticed a small wire connection on it was disconnected.It could have vibrated off or could have caught a branch or something,but that's what it was.I hope this will help you.

Usta · Mar 12, 2011

I had to adjust the switch on the PTO engagement lever. It was a simple loosen the two bolts, move the switch and retighten bolts. Did take some time to realize which swich was the not starting problem.