BX23 is dead again......

jim_wilson · Aug 8, 2004

This is the second time something has happened to my BX23 to put it out of commision since I got it just a few short weeks ago. Last time the bolt that holds the seat to the seatframe twisted right off , this time for some reason the tractor will not start. I currently have about 47.5 hours on the tractor - had been running it most of the afternoon and had put about 4 hours on it. I was using the FEL to grab a load of dirt I had just scooped out with the box blade and the tractor died. I thought at first I had maybe moved off the seat and the kill switch did it but then when I went to try and start it it would not start. I checked everything, made sure the speed lever was in neutral, made sure I let the glow plug on for 2 seconds or so etc. After trying to get it to start for a few minutes I went in and got the voltmeter - the batter read something like 17 volts so there is more than enough juice there, when I push both of the kill switches down under the seat and turn the key to the start position I hear the sound of a solenoid or something clicking in the engine compartment dashboard area but the starter does not turn at all. I checked all the fuses I could find on the tractor with the continuity meter and they all are ok - this includes the 30amp and the 50 amp ones in the engine compartment. I am sure I could figure this out if I had to but I am a little bit peeved at the moment so I am going to let Kubota honor their warranty and get out here and fix the thing. Anybody else had this kind of problems with their BX?

_RaT_ · Aug 8, 2004

Analog voltmeter? If so, I think it needs calibrating. You will not have 17 volts at the battery. SOunds like one of the interconnect switches. Could be the seat switch, clutch switch, PTO switch, or hydro pedal switch. I am not familiar with the BX models, but I agree, let your dealer get it straightend out.

jim_wilson · Aug 8, 2004

Digital voltmeter - and it has always been correct before. I thought that was funky too. Usually a well charged battery will be 12.5 - 13 volts with no charging going on. I will check it again in the morning and see what it says before I go up and complain to the dealer.

DannyD · Aug 8, 2004

If it is at 17 volts, could that be the problem? Is there something on the tractor to NOT allow that much voltage to get to what it could hurt? Dont know myself, just wondering. Sounds odd for sure

ZackaryMac · Aug 8, 2004

I'm not familiar with that model of tractor either, but 17 volts is cetainly wrong. A device called a regulator is there to keep the charging system voltage to around 13.5 volts. Sounds like the regulator ain't a regulatin' and possibly shut something down from over-voltage. I have no idea how much electronics are on these tractors but they don't like too much voltage (that goes for ALL electronics).
Just my 2¢ worth. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

jim_wilson · Aug 8, 2004

Something dawned on me that I will have to check in the morning - it could be the regulator has gone belly up and that is why the battery was reading so high. The other thing that may have happened - I have seen this before with car batteries - is the battery itself might have gone. One way to tell is when I try to turn the engine over if I watch the battery with a volt meter and it goes way down I may have a dead battery. I am going to check this one more time before I go and see the dealer. The electronics on this tractor look pretty simple to me - definitely nothing more complicated than an automobile, and I know that a car will still function with high voltage although certain things may act screwy. With high voltage for instance I would still expect the starter to turn over - unless maybe there is a solenoid that all the safety switches connect to that got fried - in which case the tractor would not start.

ZackaryMac · Aug 8, 2004

Sometimes when the regulator goes it boils most of the juice out of the battery if left long enough, too. Then the battery is very weak. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif The poor battery takes an aweful pounding. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

jim_wilson · Aug 9, 2004

Went out and checked again this morning and it is still dead - however I did find that the battery is ok at 12.5 volts. Turned out the battery in the voltmeter was almost dead and that made it give wacky readings. So it looks to me like something is screwy in the safety interlock electrics. I talked with the dealer this morning and he asked if the power pedal was in it's neutral position and if the parking brake was on. He said that he was pretty sure that there were safety switches on both of those - I am pretty sure I worked the forward/reverse pedal back and forth a few times and it seemed to be ok - I was not aware there was a safety switch on the brake pedal though. Does anybody know if that is true? He said the engine should shutdown if I get off the tractor and it is in a drive range - but I have been jumping on and off the tractor with it running a lot since I got it and the engine always stayed running. Does anybody know if this is proper behavior for the BX?

ByronBob · Aug 9, 2004

My BX dies if I have it in gear. Now in neutral it's not a problem. Get on and off all the time.

Sounds like a switch pooped on you. Dealer here you come.

Bird · Aug 9, 2004

Make sure the PTO is off, then try turning the key to the "start" position and hold it there while you move the range selector lever back and forth and rock the hydro pedal back and forth. Sometimes one of the safety switches is just a little bit out of adjustment.

SCB · Aug 9, 2004

I'm able to get on and off my bx without killing the engine while in drive. But if the hydro pedal is engaged it will die. I know of no safety switch related to the parking brake on the bx model.

SCB · Aug 9, 2004

Good advice Bird.

bam · Aug 9, 2004

I have a BX23 and as you said, I can get off the tractor while it is engaged as long as the hydro pedel isn't depressed. As soon as I hit the pedel, the tractor will die.

jim_wilson · Aug 9, 2004

I came home from work tonite and went out to try a couple of things the dealer suggested to get the tractor to start. First thing I did was go over to the hydro pedal and move it back and forth with my hand to see if maybe it was stuck in forward or reverse. Then I got on the tractor and it started right up. Not sure if maybe the switch was stuck on the hydro pedal or if something else screwy is going on. I used the tractor for about an hour and got on and off it a number of times with it running and in drive low and it ran fine. Going to have to call the dealer in the morning and let them know it is working now. I am sure if there is something wrong it is going to to this again but I guess I will just have to wait until it happens again. thanks for all the help.

DannyD · Aug 10, 2004

You are close to the 50 hours service, have them look at all the switches, safety gizmo's and all...........unless you do your own service. This should not be happening. I had a 2200, did not have the problem you have, but I know that the pedal can stick just enough, they replaced this once for me.

I now have a 23, guess what happened or almost happened to the seat.........yep, got tighter to turn around on me. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif Thought of your post about it /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif THANKS, /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gifand tuned the seat back in the opposite direction, it loosened up fine. Now I know to only turn in half circles. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

One thing I noticed and will ask about is the switch under the seat that says I am still on the machine, is very touchy. Even repositioning myself causes the tractor to stall, very annoying. I have a list of things, little quirks that I hope they look at. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

NO cut off on the brake, although I wish there was an indicator light for it. My BX will run if I get off in neutral.

Wood_Butcher_Dav · Aug 10, 2004

You might want to look at the safety switch mounting hardware. Mine has come loose and would be knocked out of alignment giving false readings. I've unplugged both switches and shorted them out to test this. There is one switch on each side. One for neutral and the other for the PTO clutch.

Dave

jim_wilson · Aug 11, 2004

I will be doing the 50 hour service myself so I will take a good look at the hydro pedal and see if maybe there is some lubrication or something I can do to it to keep it from sticking. When the seat broke I ended up bringing the whole assembly back to the dealer and he fixed it and got it back to me. The shop foreman that I talked to actually seemed to be very interested when I told him that I was on a tractor website and a few other people reported having this same problem when I put the original post up. He said he was going to mention this to the Kubota tech people and tell them that maybe they should spend some time on the web and see what people are saying. So far the seat has been fine - I can turn it either way and I dont feel it binding up. I think if I ever feel the seat starting to bind again I am going to modify the bolt in the middle to use a slightly larger bolt and put collar around it and some teflon washers on either end - I think this will keep the action of the seat rotating from tightening up the bolt. I would also recommend reporting this to your dealer and see what he says - my impression is that a good dealer will be interested in knowing about this problem. A bad dealer however might not want to be bothered with it.

Kelvin · Aug 15, 2004

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I was not aware there was a safety switch on the brake pedal though. Does anybody know if that is true? He said the engine should shutdown if I get off the tractor and it is in a drive range - but I have been jumping on and off the tractor with it running a lot since I got it and the engine always stayed running. Does anybody know if this is proper behavior for the BX? )</font>

Depends.

I don't believe that there are any safety switches associated with the BX parking brake.

As for the safety switch that cuts the BX off if you get off the seat with the transmission in either HIGH or LOW...

(1) My BX23 does not die, however...
(2) My friends BX2200 does die

Based upon my experience with these two tractors, I would say that the transmission safety switch is installed on the BX2200/BX2300 but it not installed on the BX22/BX23. I believe that this is because you need to be out of the seat with the engine running to disconnect the backhoe on the BX22/BX23.

Kelvin

jim_wilson · Aug 15, 2004

It was last Sunday that I had the problem on the tractor - Monday night when I came home from work I checked it by moving the hydro pedal back and forth with my hand then I got on the tractor and it started right up. Used it a few times during the week and then most of the day on Saturday and it has been working fine since. I was on and off the thing constantly on Saturday and it never died. I did the 50 hour service on Friday and did not notice anything out of the ordinary when I was going over the tractor. I guess I will just have to wait and see if this happens again.

Junkman · Aug 15, 2004

I was at the Kubota dealer last week and I was looking the BX23 over closely to see what changes there were between my late production BX22 and the new BX23. I did notice a switch on the seat where my BX22 has none. I don't know what functions the seat switch works with, but there is no question in my mind that it was designed to do something if you got off the seat. There might be an interlock between the switch and the hydro speed selector, but I was unable to discern this from a casual observation of the machine. The only other changes that I saw were the loader control valve and the way that the loader pins were retained. The new design for the loader pins is identical in design as the pin that holds the backhoe boom on the BX22. The other changes were cosmetic and were of no consequence in my opinion. There was a fuse located on the front right side of the engine where the hydraulic hoses mount, but I have no idea as to what that fuse is for. Would need a BX23 owners manual to determine that. (See Picture). With the exception of my loader control, I prefer the BX22 to the BX23...... Oh.. almost forgot.... the seat is now a high back..... didn't seem any more comfortable to me, but that might just be a personal choice. Would have to park my rear in it for more than a few moments to really tell. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif