L3450 won’t crank

[ktwebb]

New to the forum. Just acquired a L3450 from my father in law that will not start. I look forward to learning from everyone and hope this is a fairly easy one to get my feet wet (finger crossed).

Tractor has a fresh battery, I tested the starter earlier today and it functions properly. Dash lights come on fine but not the slightest crank when turning the key....i’m att a stand still with my level of knowledge and really would like to work through the problem rather than calling the dealer. Any advice/suggestions?

 

[85Hokie]

Are you sitting on tractor? I know - stupid question....but there is a safety switch in the seat on most machines that needs a good bit of weight on it to start.

See if by chance the PTO lever has been bumped into gear.

If it has a clutch - make sure it is pushed to the floor while turning key.

If HST pedal - make sure it is in the "neutral" position - as you turn key, move pedal slightly forward or backwards and see if it will crank.

Report back what you find out.....

 

[ktwebb]

Yes I have been sitting on it while trying. Funny thing is, I can’t even locate the safety switch under the seat. It is clutch and I’ve made sure it’s to the floor and still nothing. PTO locks in the disengaged position, but I have still worked it back and forth with no luck. I have no idea where the clutch, PTO, or seat switches are but I’m hoping it’s one of them.

 

[Dave_eng]

I am with 85Hokie. Don't go tearing things apart, something simple is wrong.

Usually on Kubotabooks.com, if you are lucky you will find either operators or workshop manuals but not for your machine nor the models just before and just after it.

Take a blank USB stick and go to a dealer. Offer to pay a reasonable price for both the above mentioned manuals.

The dealers have access to a very large library maintained by Kubota. Mine has given me a number of manuals for free as I explain I am trying to hep another Kubota customer. Since you do not have a relationship with a dealer you will not get things for free.

Another short term strategy is to pay the dealer to have his mechanic come to your place to do a service. Give the guy $20 at the start and ask him to explain to you what he is doing and why. You will learn a great deal.

If you don't have the two basic electrical tools consider investing $30 and get a test light and multimeter.

Once you have those two tools and ask a question, many members can guide you through basic troubleshooting.

Dave

 

[alleyyooper]

Couple mornings ago I went to start mine which can be done with out the clutch being locked down.
It would do nothing after the lights in the dash lit up and the glo plug warning went out.
Turned out to be the pto lever had gotten slightly ajar and some snow had gotten wedged under it.

Seat switch is the white lever piece with the orange tab holding it down.


Yours will not have the orange tab. the ornge tab is my first mod to my tractor.

Click on the picture to see it full size.


Al

 

[ktwebb]

Thanks for the pic alleyyooper. Mine doesn’t seem to have anything resembling a switch under the seat. I’ll post a pic when I get a chance, but I’ve looked and looked for a seat switch. I will tinker with it again later today and focus on the PTO, clutch, and gear selector. Are there actual switches I should be looking for with these three? Will update then.

 

[sheepfarmer]

Different models have the seat switches in different places. Most will allow you to start the tractor regardless of position, but the engine will die if you try to move forward and no weight in the seat.. Might be helpful to ask your father in law if this tractor has any idiosyncrasies, maybe he modified the circuit in some way. Or he knows that the pto switch is fussy.

 

[rbargeron]

...... Just acquired a L3450 from my father in law
that will not start. ...... Tractor has a fresh battery,
I tested the starter earlier today and it functions properly.........

How exactly did you "test" the starter? Did you power the solenoid directly?
A more precise description would help in troubleshooting it.

 

[ktwebb]

I will ask him. As far as testing the starter, I took it off, hooked negative cable from battery to starter housing, hooked positive cable from battery to big post on starter, connected big post to small post with screwdriver and zip! Starter cranked like normal. Also tested just the sylinoid and it blew out like it should also.

 

[rbargeron]

The L3450 is old enough that it has minimal safety switches.
It does have a "fusible link" P/N 38430-34530 that's
plugged into a connector above the starter. It's a short loop
of wire that gets corroded and stops conducting full current.
It's ok to temporarily substitute a jumper of house wire or similar
to see if it helps. Get the correct part to reinstate fuse function.

There's a thread on TBN here that includes
some wiring diagrams for further reference (similar tractor).

As always, prompt cheerful refund if advice is bogus. Dick B

 

[ktwebb]

Hopefully this will help some. Just quickly connected the small and big post while the starter was fully connected, tractor cranked! rbargeron, I see an in-line fuse that is the closest thing to what ur picture shows. Is this it?

 

[ktwebb]

Also I just noticed, while the fuse is disconnected in the previous picture, the dash gets no power. The second I plug it back in, dash lights back up. Maybe this tells you something.

 

[rbargeron]

Yes, that's the fusible link - try a jumper around it.

It's to protect the instruments from a battery connected backward. Disconnecting it shuts off the instruments. It may conduct enough electricity for the instruments but not to operate the solenoid (up to 30 amps). Do the instruments dim when trying to start?

If the fuse is ok, the clutch switch would be my next suspect.

 

[ktwebb]

Yes the instruments dim when attempting to start. By jumping it, you mean just connecting the 2 posts with a piece of wire?

 

[ktwebb]

I located the neutral switch and the lever wasn’t the strongest on tripping the switch. I bent it just a hair and can hear the audible click with going to and from neutral, but still no cranking. Hopefully we can rule the neutral switch out though!

 

[ktwebb]

Jumped around the fuse. Dash didn’t light up, repositioned the wires, dash lit up like it should, still no crank.

 

[rbargeron]

Clutch switch?

 

[ktwebb]

TRying to track it down right now...

 

[ktwebb]

Not having any luck finding the clutch switch. Found the PTO switch but can’t get my hands on it yet to say for sure if it seems ok or not. Any ideas as to where the clutch switch may be?

 

[ktwebb]

PTO switch!!!!! Sigh.......thanks so much everybody! I know you all know the feeling!