John Deere 3032E Starting Problem

[rstars93]

This is my second post. I parked my perfectly running John Deere on a slight slope when the fuel was low. Tractor running fine when I turned off key. When I attempted to restart I noticed that there was no solenoid click. I was off the machine so I checked to make sure I was in neutral and I was. There was an error message on the screen by the key that said fuel off. Clearly something was causing an interruption in the key. I posted a thread and got two replies. The first suggestion was to unhook the battery and attempt to reset the system. It did not work. The second was to bleed the fuel system. I asked for instructions to do that. BUT in the meantime, since I figured I'd have to bump the starter manually to turn the motor over to bleed, I mad a cable to jump the starter. I placed the clip on the negative side and, prior to hitting the positive side, turned on the key. I immediately noticed that the solenoid clicked as it's supposed to so, without bumping the starter, I simply turned the key and the tractor fired right up. I let it run for 15 minutes, climbed on and went and dropped the load of wood I had been gathering. While at the woodpile I attempted to get off the running machine while it was in neutral but the kill switch kicked in so I quickly sat down before the motor shut off. drove to the top of the property and shut the tractor down. Now I'm right back to the original problem. When I try to start the tractor I just get the fuel off message and something is preventing the key from working. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you. Randy

 

[crashz]

You mentioned it was low on fuel. Have you tried filling it up? Maybe it needs to have a certain amount of fuel pressure to activate the fuel solenoid?

You mentioned that the first time you saw this message, you were off of the tractor. The seat switch will not allow the starter to crank without a butt in the seat. Won't turn over or anything. Or shouldn't if operating properly.

Clearly it does not need bleeding if the tractor won't crank. Go through all of the safety related shut-offs first, most likely its there:
- seat switch?
- neutral switch?
- PTO disengaged?

If its not those, check your connection at the battery and at the starter. Both ground and positive (be careful!) can get corroded and act funny.

 

[rstars93]

Thanks crashz. Actually the tractor will start without a butt in the seat if its in neutral. The three things you mentioned were the focus of my investigation after the tractor started right up. I found the answer in a post about faulty kill switches. Don't know why it works. Maybe it resets the code. I found it on a post on another John Deere model. Anyway I just put the tractor in gear and turned the key and held it for 15 to 20 seconds. Then shut it off. Put it in neutral and started it right up (with no butt in the seat). Now all is well. I can get off the tractor while its running when in neutral and whatever glitch I had seems to be gone. Thanks to all. Randy

 

[earl69]

have a 3032e got off it one day would not start up after hrs of all the tricks I found it to be something to the starter turn the key wont crank check all connections 3 times took the starter off had it tested its fine new relay fuses checked all fuses all safety I cant figure this out im a excellent backyard mechanic help me out if you can thanks

 

[Buddy G]

My 3032E began acting up a week ago. It would start to sputter and then just shut down. Sometimes the engine would restart immediately, sometimes it would take 10-15 seconds before it caught. I thought it was probably bad fuel. Today it wouldn't even turn over after shutting it down. No nothing. The scrolling display on the dash was virtually impossible to read, and the manual has no reference to what the display even means. My JD dealer service dept didn't know what it meant either. Long story a bit shorter- the display was actually saying: "fuel off" or something like that. I started backtracking wiring and figured out the 2 speed lever, which has to be in neutral to start, has a plug in on the switch that got jerked out by debris I was running over while clearing property. Plugged it back in and engine started immediately. Now if I can figure out why the front wheel seal is leaking.....

 

[Buddy G]

This is an update to my earlier reply. My 3032e started "stumbling" a bit and then began to shut down totally. It would almost always start right back up, but eventually got to where it wouldn't stay running for more than 30 seconds. I cleaned out the fuel/water separator on the lower right side of the engine. Had some black tar-like substance on the screen, but not enough to cause the problem. Pulled spin off filter to look for obvious trash, but looked good. Looking good doesn't mean much, though, since you can't look down into the filter pleats. Changed the filter anyway. Ultimately learned there is yet another filter on the fuel line fitting going into the bottom of the tank. Note: there is an upper hose going to the tank that will look like the fuel delivery line, but that is just a return line. On the lower line, be prepared to fight getting the fuel line off the barbed fitting. It's easier to just disconnect the hose at the other end and unscrew the fitting with the hose still attached. Once it's out, you can put the fitting in a vise and pull the hose off. Tip: put some WD40 or oil in the inside of the hose before reassembling. It's a bear trying to slip the hose up on the barbed fitting. Not much room to work. Also, not to be critical, but I really get frustrated with people responding with "guesses" on what's wrong with a machine. If you don't know, don't just toss out something silly like, "maybe it needs more fuel". If the guy working on the machine can't figure that much out, he probably can't fix anything.