Experiencing Intermittent Shut-down

[MinnesotaEric]

Intermittent faults/problems are the worst!

6 months ago (my Autumn) I was happily chain harrowing a fairly flat paddock, HST in Low, revs at 2000 and I'd been at it for about 30 minutes. I'd filled the diesel in the tractor prior to the task. The FEL was raised for visibility. About 380 hours on the rig and all maintenance (50 hour oil & grease) done at the required time... when the tractor just shut down. The battery & engine lights came on as the engine 'withered' away like one of those safety switches would do. I tried to re-start = no joy.

Bugger.

Key off, I put it in Neutral, set the brake and dropped the revs. Hopped off and checked the fuel bowl (red disk at the bottom) then checked the tractor over for, well, anything. Nothing obvious. So I hopped back on and tried starting it again and, after a few turnovers, it fired back up again as if nothing had happened. OK, back to work... for about 10 minutes and the same thing happened. I turned it off, revs down, brake on, Neutral, count to 10 and re-start... It fires back up again and I'm able to finish the job.

Once or twice again it would do this over the next month. Sometimes in Low and sometimes in High, usually when I give it just a wee bit more acceleration on the FWD pedal.

So I reckoned that I was close enough to the 400 Hour maintenance period. I changed the oil & filter and the fuel filter. Did my full hydraulic oil & filter change. Greased everything and inspected the safety interlocks... the 'seat' one was a bit wobbly so I duct taped it in solid! After all of this I took it out again and it eventually happened again. Then it hit me (inspiration, nothing physical... although I may have smacked myself upside the head)... The diesel tank cap! I backed it off and have had trouble free tractoring ever since. HUZZAH!!!

Until yesterday. It's back. :thumbdown:

The only thing I've done different is top up the diesel fuel... could it be the culprit or am I missing something?

Bio diesel gums junk up. If you can run without your cap on, take your gas cap off and clean it up in some mineral spirits so the vent works again.

 

[Alien]

pulled the next bug out of the tank.....a small wasp. A 'mud dabber' they are know as here...they love small holes to build mud nests in, pack them full of spiders to feed their young as they hatch out of the eggs laid first...they are quite aggravating insects.
..

We have them here as well. (Mud Wasps) They block up my air hoses and nozzles and even the muffler outlets on small motors which then won't start of course. I even get them inside my model aircraft. Delicate job getting them out of those. As you say, aggravating little sods.

 

[Tractor Seabee]

A while back I found a nest of ear wigs in my fuel dispensing nozzle. It appears they are attracted by diesel. I hope none ever got in the tank before I discovered them. I now flush the nozzle before sticking into the tank. Probably should fill through a filtered funnel but that is another item adrift to lose.

Ron

 

[PJSprog]

My wife's uncle has a JD 3720 that has always had a fuel flow issue. It runs fine for a few minutes, then just shuts down. Give it a few seconds, and it starts right up and runs fine ... until it dies again for no apparent reason. Sometimes it's just a few minutes, and sometimes it's 10-15 minutes. I ragged him about it last summer, as it's been ongoing for several years now. He told me it's a known issue and Deere has a fix for it, but he just hasn't had the time to get it fixed (standard mantra from him). Maybe check with your dealer to see if it is indeed a known problem on your model.

My new LS had a fuel cap issue recently, too, though.

 

[RSKY]

Had similar problems on two different tractors. On the Kioti it was water in the fuel. Changed the filter twice in two weeks and solved it. On the Ford it was more complicated. I finally drained the fuel tank and found a ball bearing smaller than a BB blocking the line. Took me days to trace it down. Just start eliminating one thing at a time. Start at the engine and work back to the tank.

 

[Wagtail]

I just know that it's going to be something simple once I find it.

At the moment I can't afford to hunt too much as I'm 'on call' to help bring in the hay crop. Naturally, we're at the mercy of the weather.

I may try a diesel detergent additive (Penzoil product) in a tank of fuel. Probably 200ml to my 46ltr tank.

 

[Alien]

A while back I found a nest of ear wigs in my fuel dispensing nozzle. It appears they are attracted by diesel. I hope none ever got in the tank before I discovered them. I now flush the nozzle before sticking into the tank. Probably should fill through a filtered funnel but that is another item adrift to lose.

Ron

I always use a funnel with a very fine stainless steel mesh in it. If something goes wrong in the future then at least I know I didn't contribute to the problem.

 

[GoldenCityMuse]

My fuel tank has a removable filter in the neck, very fine mesh, some type of plastic. At least it takes care of trash from the bulk fuel stores of mine.

 

[TractorGuy]

Had similar symptoms with my backhoe when I got it but worse. It would start right up after sitting a bit but would only run 5 to 10 minutes then shut down. It ended up having rust in the tank. After cleaning the tank, and replacing the hoses and filters I finally discovered the rust had clogged the banjo fitting going into the sediment bowl. Cleaned that little bit of crud out of there and it's been running fine ever since. I also added a small engine type filter on the line in front of that fitting. I have had to replace that twice but for $3 each it's a simple quick thing to do instead of waiting till the fittings or $50 filter become clogged.

 

[Wagtail]

Just to let everyone know, I used the 4105 on Monday to chain harrow a large paddock (after shifting the horses). As before, I was in Low with the revs just a titch below 2000.

The bloody thing ran perfectly. No shutdowns. I haven't yet added the Penzoil diesel cleaner to the tank.

Grrrrr! :muttering: