Suddenly Hard Starting

[nckennedy]

The JD 5425 has been starting fine for 10 years winter and summer until a couple of days ago. The battery is about 6 months old and turns over very quickly.
Normally I start it while in idle position. Now the only way it will start is if I goose it, push the fuel peddle to the floor very quickly several times in a row, and then it starts.
Not sure what to think. Problem seemed to come from no where.
Any suggestions.
Thank You,
Craig

 

[Zork]

The JD 5425 has been starting fine for 10 years winter and summer until a couple of days ago. The battery is about 6 months old and turns over very quickly.
Normally I start it while in idle position. Now the only way it will start is if I goose it, push the fuel peddle to the floor very quickly several times in a row, and then it starts.
Not sure what to think. Problem seemed to come from no where.
Any suggestions.
Thank You,
Craig

Are your glow plugs working? You may hear the relay and see the dash indicator illuminate, but the plugs/heater may not be getting hot. I’d check this first.

I’m sure your IP is not worn, but I have heard stories of IPs failing early due to low sulfur fuels lubricity.

The IP governor should give you increased fuel/full throttle at initial cranking so I do not think your goosing it makes any difference. FWIW, you could try a fuel boost/cleaner. I don’t know about your newer diesel, but in the OLD days ATF was our friend and seemed to perform immediate results if used in the filter housing and/or the tank.

I hope this helps. Keep us posted.

 

[dodge man]

Your tractor is new enough that low sulfur diesel shouldn’t hurt it, it was designed for it.

When you say you floor the gas pedal that tells me it’s short of fuel. You are most likely injecting fuel when goosing the throttle. I’d start simple, fuel filters especially and check the air filters. Unless it’s cold it should start without glow plugs.

 

[CH4Ohio]

Fuel line and fuel filters first, as said above. Did you take a fuel line loose ahead of the filter to see if it flows freely from the tank? Catch fuel in a mason jar and look for gunk floating in it. Algae can grow in the fuel tank and makes a black gooey mess that clogs lines or moves through the lines in clumps. Simple to resolve with some fuel treatment and draining and flushing things out.

 

[oldnslo]

Does that model have a lift or boost pump supplying fuel to main injector pump? If yes would add that to list of items to check to confirm that is working.

 

[sixdogs]

Keep it simple.
There is a sensor on the side of the water pump outlet that senses temperature and cause the engine timing to advance or re-tard (full word was censored) when starting, depending on conditions. It's a common problem that seems to happen more than it would seem. This has been widely discussed and my own 5520 Deere had this problem.

It doesn't have to be this but always start with the easiest answer and this is way too common. Sure, it doesn't have to be this but it's a very common thing. Worth a try.

If you have a 5000 series Deere and it cranks but won't start, try this first.

I have a 5520 Deere that turned over but wouldn't start so I checked the fuse panel and the 20 amp fuse was blown. Changed the fuse, cranked again and blew the fuse. Again changed the fuse but just turned the key to "on" and blew the fuse. Now what? After a fair amount of searching, I learned...

www.tractorbynet.com

 

[dkmc]

Diesel engines don't have carbs or accelerator pumps. No ammount of pumping the pedal will do
anything. Set the throttle to 1/4, run the glow plugs, 10? 15? seconds, then crank till it starts.
Simple.

 

[Zork]

I’m a fan of mechanically controlled pumps. Regarding the electronic cold start that’s good to remember about the fuses. Forty years ago, I worked at dealership and everyone KNEW when a gasser’s Cold Start Thermal Time Switch was failing because it happened very often. The vehicle wouldn’t start in the morning, until it did, then it would start all day long. Perhaps the values of the sensor or the controller in the pump are off, something to check.

 

[boatmoter]

The JD 5425 has been starting fine for 10 years winter and summer until a couple of days ago. The battery is about 6 months old and turns over very quickly.
Normally I start it while in idle position. Now the only way it will start is if I goose it, push the fuel peddle to the floor very quickly several times in a row, and then it starts.
Not sure what to think. Problem seemed to come from no where.
Any suggestions.
Thank You,
Craig

may want to pull the injectors and have them tested & if you have not had to use your glow plugs then you shouldn't now either unless you have lost some compression or the injectors need service

 

[Little Red Tractor]

Fuel line and fuel filters first, as said above. Did you take a fuel line loose ahead of the filter to see if it flows freely from the tank? Catch fuel in a mason jar and look for gunk floating in it. Algae can grow in the fuel tank and makes a black gooey mess that clogs lines or moves through the lines in clumps. Simple to resolve with some fuel treatment and draining and flushing things out.

These would be my first suspects as well. Some fuel conditioner won't hurt the process. I think there are multiple threads here on what works and how well each works. I'll stay out of that one except to say I use Power Service.

 

[SPYDERLK]

The JD 5425 has been starting fine for 10 years winter and summer until a couple of days ago. The battery is about 6 months old and turns over very quickly.
Normally I start it while in idle position. Now the only way it will start is if I goose it, push the fuel peddle to the floor very quickly several times in a row, and then it starts.
Not sure what to think. Problem seemed to come from no where.
Any suggestions.
Thank You,
Craig

Not sure of your specific tractor situation, but long cranking to start a diesel after it has sat a while can stem from a very small leak in the "suction" part of the fuel line. Air leaks in while the tractor sits. After a few hours a big enuf bubble forms to affect the prime of the injector pump.
... If you see any part of the line that is suspect, smear it thoroughly with grease - while running. If that fixes the symptom for a day or so there it is!

 

[Aggie66]

I don’t have a solution or suggestion as I’ve never encountered this problem but what I want to comment on is how great Tractor By Net contributors are with suggestions. Everyone in this forum is a worthy contributor. You guys are great.

 

[WeBBeefmasters]

Hello, is your 5425 a cab or open? I have a cab that had problems once the fuel level dropped below half a tank. JD has a service bulletin out to fix it. Or you can just keep the fuel level above half. Good luck!

 

[bordercollie]

Not sure of your specific tractor situation, but long cranking to start a diesel after it has sat a while can stem from a very small leak in the "suction" part of the fuel line. Air leaks in while the tractor sits. After a few hours a big enuf bubble forms to affect the prime of the injector pump.
... If you see any part of the line that is suspect, smear it thoroughly with grease. If that fixes the symptom for a day or so there it is!

Our old diesel skid steer had a small air leak in the fuel line like Spyderlk said.
It never leaked fuel but on a very quiet day, and just after running it, then turning off, you could barely hear a faint noise like a mosquito buzzing. New rubber hoses and no more problems.
It would loose it's prime and would be hard to start first thing until then.

 

[Fxfymn413]

This is probably something simple so don't head down the road of pulling parts like injectors until you have checked all the simple stuff. As a previous post stated pumping the accelerator should have no effect on starting.

My bet is it is a fuel delivery problem.

When did you last add fuel? Did the problem start after adding fuel? Is the fuel different than what you normally use? Have you manually primed the fuel system before trying to start to see if you are losing prime? Is it cold enough to jell the fuel? If you can normally hear an electric lift pump run can you still hear it? When was the last fuel filter change? Have you looked at the fuel filter to check for blockage?

 

[Actonite]

Here is the solution that works well for me for all hard starting engines... Mechanic in a Bottle. Mechanic in a Bottle

 

[Brianczaw]

Best time to use it is when you don’t need it. That and marvel mystery oil.

 

[Gord Baker]

The JD 5425 has been starting fine for 10 years winter and summer until a couple of days ago. The battery is about 6 months old and turns over very quickly.
Normally I start it while in idle position. Now the only way it will start is if I goose it, push the fuel peddle to the floor very quickly several times in a row, and then it starts.
Not sure what to think. Problem seemed to come from no where.
Any suggestions.
Thank You,
Craig

 

[Gord Baker]

Start with the simple things. Change Fuel filters, Check Tank for water.

 

[EddinKY]

My JD 5420 (open station) will bleed down and lose prime if it sits a few days with less than half tank of fuel. There is a slow leak in the supply line that I have not taken the time and effort to repair. See if it happens if you keep the tank full. Try manually priming it (under the hood..takes 2 minutes) before you crank it to see if that fixes the problem.... as a diagnostic idea.
I also had to change the cold start module several years ago, but that was a No-start problem. You can unplug it..and it will start... to see if that is the culprit.