Avenger
Veteran Member
On Sunday evening I was up in the forest doing some loader work on a rather steep hill. After dumping my third scoop of dirt, the tractor suddenly and without warning idled down from 2500rpm and shut itself off. No lights or codes. I attempted to restart it, but all it did was crank over. I did the basic troubleshooting measures: it has 2/3 tank of fuel, engine oil is good (I am good at checking it before starting it daily, but checked it again after it shut off, still good), coolant was good, air filter is good, nothing leaking from underneath, no water in fuel, fuses look good, etc.
I hooked up my OBDII scanner and read no codes.
At a loss, I figured I'd call the dealership on Monday and see if someone was available to come out. I figured they have a better computer than I do for talking to these things and it is probably some weird computer glitch or sensor malfunction since I cannot find anything obvious. The service mechanic was not able to come out until Tuesday morning (today).
The mechanic showed up promptly and we went to work, out in the forest, up on the side of a hill, in the sticks. Spend 2 hours troubleshooting it. His computer, while very cool with very neat tricks, did nothing for us. It did say that the fuel rail pressure was a bit low, but within tolerance. However he did figure it was a fuel delivery problem. Disconnected the lines from the fuel filter thinking that somehow the engine lost prime and sucked air... somehow. He was thinking that maybe the fuel pump died or something. He hooked up a little 12v fuel pump in between the filter and the tank and turned it on. Nothing came out. So he disconnect the output side and still nothing came out.
At this point I was starting to suspect that maybe it was a faulty fuel gauge and that I ran it outta diesel. The mechanic looked under the tractor and noticed a steady flow of diesel coming from the fuel line at the tank and falling to the ground! When he moved the fuel line, it opened up a very small gash just large enough to allow fuel to flow.
Apparently I had hit a rock or stick or something and made a small hole in the fuel line right at the tank. It wasnt enough for fuel to leak out, but was large enough to allow air to be sucked it. The engine lost prime and acted as if it run outta fuel. I exacerbated the issue when I drained some fuel form the filter checking for water and pumped it back up, sucking yet more air into the system. It took about 5 minutes to fix the line (cut off the torn end, stick it back on the nipple and tighten a hose clamp), and bleed the lines with his 12v pump.
I am not sure what the service call is going to cost me yet, but having someone come out and get a second set of eyes on it, find, and fix the issue, I am just happy its running again. Hopefully it wont cost me too much.
I am a bit embarrassed by how simple it was and the fact that I did not find the issue myself, but you live and learn. Besides, if this was a warranty issue, I might have caused something to void the warranty. The tractor is only a year old, 4 more years on that warranty.
I am also considering making a skid plate for the bottom of the tractor. There is much more than just a fuel line under there. Steel hydraulic lines, fuel lines, fuel tank, rubber hydraulic lines, etc. Thoughts? Has anyone made one before? I was thinking something like 1/4in steel plate bolted to the loader frame with a small drain hole for moisture. A front lip that could act like a ski or something, for going up and over instead of though.
Where I live in the forest with stumps, stick, rocks, mud, etc and with what I do, logging, making roads, removing stumps, digging rocks, etc I think it would be a wise idea to put a skid plate on any tractor.
Anyway, just wanted to update you all. Nothing wrong with the tractor as far as major issues, just me running my tractor like it wasn't supposed to be run.
I hooked up my OBDII scanner and read no codes.
At a loss, I figured I'd call the dealership on Monday and see if someone was available to come out. I figured they have a better computer than I do for talking to these things and it is probably some weird computer glitch or sensor malfunction since I cannot find anything obvious. The service mechanic was not able to come out until Tuesday morning (today).
The mechanic showed up promptly and we went to work, out in the forest, up on the side of a hill, in the sticks. Spend 2 hours troubleshooting it. His computer, while very cool with very neat tricks, did nothing for us. It did say that the fuel rail pressure was a bit low, but within tolerance. However he did figure it was a fuel delivery problem. Disconnected the lines from the fuel filter thinking that somehow the engine lost prime and sucked air... somehow. He was thinking that maybe the fuel pump died or something. He hooked up a little 12v fuel pump in between the filter and the tank and turned it on. Nothing came out. So he disconnect the output side and still nothing came out.
At this point I was starting to suspect that maybe it was a faulty fuel gauge and that I ran it outta diesel. The mechanic looked under the tractor and noticed a steady flow of diesel coming from the fuel line at the tank and falling to the ground! When he moved the fuel line, it opened up a very small gash just large enough to allow fuel to flow.
Apparently I had hit a rock or stick or something and made a small hole in the fuel line right at the tank. It wasnt enough for fuel to leak out, but was large enough to allow air to be sucked it. The engine lost prime and acted as if it run outta fuel. I exacerbated the issue when I drained some fuel form the filter checking for water and pumped it back up, sucking yet more air into the system. It took about 5 minutes to fix the line (cut off the torn end, stick it back on the nipple and tighten a hose clamp), and bleed the lines with his 12v pump.
I am not sure what the service call is going to cost me yet, but having someone come out and get a second set of eyes on it, find, and fix the issue, I am just happy its running again. Hopefully it wont cost me too much.
I am a bit embarrassed by how simple it was and the fact that I did not find the issue myself, but you live and learn. Besides, if this was a warranty issue, I might have caused something to void the warranty. The tractor is only a year old, 4 more years on that warranty.
I am also considering making a skid plate for the bottom of the tractor. There is much more than just a fuel line under there. Steel hydraulic lines, fuel lines, fuel tank, rubber hydraulic lines, etc. Thoughts? Has anyone made one before? I was thinking something like 1/4in steel plate bolted to the loader frame with a small drain hole for moisture. A front lip that could act like a ski or something, for going up and over instead of though.
Where I live in the forest with stumps, stick, rocks, mud, etc and with what I do, logging, making roads, removing stumps, digging rocks, etc I think it would be a wise idea to put a skid plate on any tractor.
Anyway, just wanted to update you all. Nothing wrong with the tractor as far as major issues, just me running my tractor like it wasn't supposed to be run.
