BX2350 Bad relay? Dash malfunction, no start, buzzing...

[kubotadaisuki]

My BX2350 won't start -- most of the time.
On Sat, it would not start and the normal dashboard startup wasn't happening (hour meter display, fuel gauge reset...). Thought my 2 week old battery was bad -- or my alternator. But voltage on battery was fine and it tested fine on the machine at the battery retailer. But no start.

Then Monday, it started fine. Ran for about an hour until I had to quit to attend to a phone call.

Wed. No start. Dash behaved fine, but failed to turn over. Subsequent turns of the key had the dash not initiating again. And I get a buzzing sound from under the dash. A relay, I think.
Hoping for good luck, tried again today. About the only difference was the buzzing lasted longer. And turning the key from off to on again doesn't elicit a reaction from the dash at all.

It does create a voltage drop on the battery though. So SOMETHING is trying to happen.

Am I on the right track with the relay? Looks like I could order one fore >$100 and a week or 2 wait.

I guess I should have left it running and just kept pouring fuel in every few hours!

 

[diesel85]

Are you sure all levers are in the correct position and the HST treadle is fully in neutral?

It might not hurt to take a quick video of you trying to start it. Post it up on Youtube and then post a link here.

 

[kubotadaisuki]

Yes. Checked. Double checked and triple checked levers. Of course one of those switches could be bad. Would that cause the voltage drop? Or the dash malfunction? The lack of start I could understand...

 

[diesel85]

It *might* be the relay, but without testing it, you won't know.

A good way to test it is by taking it out, and figuring out the schematic/diagram of the relay and it's respective positions. Apply your 12v to the coil and see what the relay does in terms of continuity for each position.

$100 seems rather steep for a relay. Then again, I don't know what it looks like.

Most relays I work with on tractors and vehicles are only a few bucks. That even troubleshooting isn't even worth it, but it's a step in the right direction.

 

[Dave M7040]

Start with the basics.

Remove the battery ground cable's frame end and clean thoroughly to shiny metal.
Sometimes you will find some factory paint under the cable lug and thus there is less contact area available.
Over time, this minimal contact area degrades and then you get the kind of intermittent operation you describe.

Post some photos of your battery and its cables. I need to see if there is anything else suspicious.

Do you know how to jump the starter? Remember, doing so bypasses every safety device and can get you or someone else hurt or worse.
If the engine starts by jumping when it wont start with the key you have learned a lot.

Do you have a multi meter? Investing $10 in a cheap one can help take the mystery out of electrical problems as this diagnostic procedure from DENSO will explain.

http://densoautoparts.com/Portals/D...s/file/DENSO Starter troubleshooting tips.pdf

Dave M7040

 

[kubotadaisuki]

Thanks to those who have replied. Good things to check. I'll see about getting photos/video posted.
I'm a little out of my depth here, but it seems like I probably don't want to look for problems with the starter right? Since I'm seeing bad behavior just turning the key to the "on" position -- not even getting to glow plug or start positions.

 

[kubotadaisuki]

Thanks to those who have replied. Good things to check. I'll see about getting photos/video posted.
I'm a little out of my depth here, but it seems like I probably don't want to look for problems with the starter right? Since I'm seeing bad behavior just turning the key to the "on" position -- not even getting to glow plug or start positions.

So...
The battery terminals and cables looked pretty good. I've seen A LOT worse. But there was a thin layer of oxidation. So polished the heck out of both post and cables. And the tractor started right up. Started right up again today. Lesson learned (AGAIN!). Even if the connections look "pretty good", if you can't see your reflection, get out the terminal cleaning brushes.
Or it could have nothing to do with quality of electrical contact and everything to do with the blood sacrifice I offered when the cable bush got a little too friendly with my finger.
Unless it fails to start tomorrow, I'm going to call this one fixed.

 

[diesel85]

It's funny this happened to you.

I had this same occurrence on my Harley motorcycle. Terminals look OK, but wouldn't start. Dash lights and lights all worked... just no starter action. No clicks either.

Brushed them up, and vroom vroom... started right up. No signs of arcing or anything.

What I ended up doing is getting some battery grease and I cleaned the terminals up again, and added the battery grease.

You can get this at the parts counter, usually right next to the cash register of say AdvanceAuto or AutoZone.