Flasher electrical problem

[MadReferee]

MY B2710 keeps blowing the 20 amp fuse for the flasher circuit. I can put a new fuse in and everythng works fine. I go out and do some work and when I finish the flashers no longer work and the problem is the fuse has blown.

Now I have checked the obvious connections at the lights. The wires are wrapped in corregated flex tubing and are together with the tail light and work light wires. The hot wire must be shorting somewhere due to vibration, but where.

Does anyone have a routing schematic? I can't really follow the harness since it looks like it goes behind the dash and getting that apart appears to be a major project.

Any help or insights would be appreciated.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Are you using the flashers when they fail?
DaveL

 

[MadReferee]

No, I am not using the flashers.

When I replace the fuse everything works fine. If I do some work and try the flashers when I am done, then the flashers do not work and the fuse is blown. Something, somewhere is vibration sensitive.

 

[sandyc]

Madreferee:
I have but a 2200 but I noticed that some of the wires run very close to the seat spring. I used a wire tie and moved them away from that area. You might want to follow the circuit back from the lights. Also pay close attention to any moving parts that might pince the wire harness.
Just a couple of thoughts.......
Good luck

 

[Anonymous Poster]

The lead from the fuse should go directly to the switch unless some other load is also connected. Can you trace the wire from the fuse to the switch and see if anything is contacting to cause the short?
DaveL
P.S. You may have to work from wire colors if you can't access the harness.

 

[BubbaJr]

You might want to check the area around the ROPS where the wire comes up from under the tractor to the lights. On my 2910 they come out under the cover at the bottom of the ROPS. If they have been chafing there against the metal edges, they might have worn a spot through the insulation on the wire.
Good Luck

 

[theboman]

Can't tell how old your 2710 is but if it's under warranty have the dealer check it out. If you've added extra lighting go from there and disconnect it all and see if the short goes away. I'm thinking a bare wire...

 

[MadReferee]

I got a chance last night to do some troubleshooting after borrowing a circuit schematic from a friends workshop manual. Since the problem seemed to be vibration related and not dependent on the lights being powered on, that narrowed it down to one of 3 things, the wiring harness up to the flasher or hazard switch, the flasher, or the hazard switch.

After popping out the instrument panel and blowing all the dust out it became obvious what the problem was. Kubota is very generous with the corregated flexible wrap for its harnesses up until the last 4-6 inches where wires split off to individual connectors. This leaves insulation exposed to chaffing from vibration. That, added to the fact that clearances behind the panel are minimal lead to the problem.

In my case the 4 exposed wires from the harness to the flasher plug had their insulation rubbed off leaving the wire conductors exposed. They were intermittently shorting to themselves or to the connector on the hour meter cable which was laying right on top of them.

I taped the wires and put flex wrapping around them. For good measure I put flex wrapping around any exposed wire bundles going to connectors.

I will get out and do some work this weekend and see if this fixed the problem.