Kioti CK30 tractor won't start

[rxdpad11]

I own a 2006 Kioti CK30 tractor and it doesn't want to start most times. I did find a mouse nest under the engine hood and removed it. There were no mice in the nest although there was at one time. They managed to chew the outer casing from one of the two wires leading from what appears to be some type of sending unit. I'm not sure if it's for the fuel though. The unit is located to the right of the fuel fill cap. I used electrical tape on the exposed wire. Before I found the nest I wondered if the fuel filter was dirty so I removed and cleaned it. I purged the fuel lines of air and it started right up. I let the tractor run for about a half hour. The next day I went to start it and it wouldn't. I haven't been able to get it to start since. The engine turns over nicely and no heavy white exhaust can be seen from the exhaust pipe. The tractor was kept outside all last winter and started without incident. I put up a building to store it in and to protect it from the winter elements and I seem to be having more problems than when it was not under cover. I'm sure this is just coincidence, but... Any suggestions? I do add an additive to the fuel that includes anti-gel solution ingredient.

 

[VictorW]

As far as the mouse chewed wires, they should be from the fuel guage sending unit. The two wires should be in a thin plastic covering leading up to an approximate 3 inch round metal plate that is held down on the top of the tank by 6 or 8 small nuts.

As far as not starting, a diesel just needs fuel, air, and compression. After changing the fuel filter, it did start and run. I don't know your weather temps, but two things would be are you still getting fuel and are the glow plugs working?

 

[VictorW]

If it's the glow plugs not getting current, most of the time it's the glow plug relay that goes bad which isn't an uncommon problem. It's on the left side of the firewall as in the picture.
Here's another picture from a dealer's site, Michigan Iron and Equipment. It shows the price and as you can see, there were several revisions. http://www.michironandequip.com/pag...M-T940A/01-03|~CK30-M-ELECTRICAL/0103CK300087

There's also a fuel shut off solenoid, about 1 1/4 in round and 3 in long that is mounted to the front of the injection pump. Do you here this click when you turn the key on without cranking? There are two styles and I don't know yours by the year. Here's two pictures again from MIE. http://www.michironandequip.com/pag...G703-00280)/01-03|~CK30-M-ENGINE/0103CK300091
http://www.michironandequip.com/pag...3-00001_-_)/01-03|~CK30-M-ENGINE/0103CK300093

 

[rxdpad11]

Thank you VictorW! Definitely a few things I can try here. I'm now leaning toward the glow plug relay being the problem. When the tractor did start it was in the 40s making me think it didn't need the glow plugs to get it started. When it didn't start it was in the low 10s and 20s with a cold northerly wind. I live in Vermont and the weather has been unpredictable lately. It's warm one day and cold as **** the next. Thank you for providing the links. The diagrams are very helpful.

 

[Coyote machine]

Before you jump to any conclusions about what needs replacing test each glow plug, which can be done with a VOM after removing the plug from the head and seeing if it has any resistance, or is an open circuit- indicating it being dead and needing replacement.

 

[VictorW]

Coyoti is correct in that you just don't want to throw parts at it. Being that it started one day in the 40s and then not the next day, coupled with the 10-20 degree temps, it seems glow plug related but hard to imagine that all three glow plugs went bad at the same time. Even if one worked, that cylinder would try to fire. Before I would start removing the glow plugs to check for resistance, I would just check the wire to each glow plug with a volt meter or I have used a 12 volt bulb before, and see if you have current when the glow plug relay should be on for about 8 seconds after turning the key on. If you have power, then move on to checking the glow plug resistance. If no power, then check the relay. In temps under 20, I usually run two cycles of the glow plugs for an easy start so I can imagine it wouldn't start if the glow plugs didn't heat up.

 

[ritcheyvs]

Before you jump to any conclusions about what needs replacing test each glow plug, which can be done with a VOM after removing the plug from the head and seeing if it has any resistance, or is an open circuit- indicating it being dead and needing replacement.

You can do this without removing the glow plugs from the head but you do need to remove the bus bar that connects the tops of all the plugs. The resistance of each plug should be quite low, about one ohm, which may be hard to read on some meters. For an even better test you can run 12v from the battery to the top of each plug through an old-style car ammeter. I don't recall the spec but the current should start at about 15 amps and then decrease to about 8-10 amps as the plug heats up. Obviously zero amps means a bad (open circuit) plug and even the ohm test will tell you that. But a weak plug (low current) is easier to see by looking at the current flow. Just be careful not to short that +12v from the battery to ground/chassis anywhere.

But before you test individual plugs, make sure the bus bar that connects the plugs is getting power (+10 to +12 volt range) when you turn the key to on.

I had a similar problem that turned out to be a dirty key switch.

 

[mrutkaus]

Pardon dumbness, but adding the white bottle diesel additive helped me start at least once under similar conditions, FWIIW. Mike

 

[rxdpad11]

Mike, thanks for the idea but I add the additive when I fill up the fuel tank. It isn't a dumb response either. Thanks for your assistance.

 

[rxdpad11]

I'd like to give an update on the tractor not starting. It turns out that the battery didn't have enough voltage to start the tractor. With the assistance from someone else we were able to check how much voltage was in the battery without trying to start it. We then turned the ignition key to draw on the battery and it was too low for the tractor to start. We purchased a new battery and haven't had a problem starting it yet. It's starting just fine even in the cold weather which is when I was having the mot trouble. I want to thank everyone for their ideas and time for posting. It's greatly appreciated.