L2350 Wiring Harness - Newbie Question

[JoleenC]

A little background: I've had my L2350 for about 3 years, bought from the widow of the original owner. I... Abuse it, for lack of better word. But I have learned how to change oil, use a grease gun, and all sorts of other things I never knew how to do, so, yay me. And yay OrangeTractorTalks for being such a great resource.

I started the tractor around 2 weeks ago and it started up just fine. Did a bit of bush hogging, then switched out for the finish mower and turned the tractor off in order to safely replace the mower's belt.

And then it would not start again... Completely dead, no power.

The battery is good, that was the first thing I checked. I started this week going through the service manual to find the issue. Unless I completely misunderstand how everything works (possible, but not probable this time around), there is an issue in the wiring harness.

So, my newbie question is: Is it possible to pull the wires and go through them one at a time to find the issue, or is it better to just replace it? I already have requests in to SBB Tractor and West KY Tractor Parts to price compare used wiring harnesses.

 

[Jim L.]

Usually there is no need to pull wires. You can fault isolate leaving the harness on the machine. A single wire can be fixed normally with the harness in place also.

When you get quotes for an entire harness and the work it takes to remove and replace one, it becomes apparent that repair is the way to go.

 

[RCW]

I wouldn't be looking to replace a harness due to a non-start.

Start with simple stuff first:

1. How do you know battery is good? A battery can show 12+ volts until a load is on it.....then nothing. A load test may be in order.

2. Does it crank at all? If nothing, could be a safety switch. Check that PTO is out of gear. (I'm not sure what all safety switches your L2350 has, but you say you have a service manual....)

3. If battery is determined good, check battery cable connections, especially the ground. Connections should be "bright and tight" as member Hokie here would say.....

4. Also check the battery cables themselves - can have breaks inside the shield.

5. There is a slow-blow main fuse, maybe near the battery or starter, that can render everything dead. Worth a check.

Just throwing out where I would start....hope its of some help.

Good luck!

 

[JoleenC]

1. AutoZone and Advance Auto both checked the battery. Voltage and load were good.

2. It does not crank at all. I will double check the safety switch and PTO, just to be sure.

3/4. Both battery cables are solid connections, according to my multimeter resistance test.

5. I did test the fuses a gave a good tone with the multimeter.

The point I got to in the service manual was to disconnect the main switch from the wiring harness and then test the voltage coming into the main switch connection. 12.7 volts at the battery should be 12.7 volts at the disconnect terminal. Instead, the voltimeter reads anything from 160 volts to negative volts and never settles on any one number.

 

[JoleenC]

I should mention that when I say "dead", I mean no lights, no clicking from the starter, no glow plug, etc. Before, lights would work even if the key was not in (I killed the battery a couple of times because I hit the switch without realizing it).

 

[sheepfarmer]

If you have a circuit diagram in your wsm and can scan it and post it there are a couple of members on the forum that could shed some light on your issues. Regrettably I am not one of them! In the meantime a little more information about model eg HST? will help. The safety switches are always suspect. The HST pedal switch and the PTO switch are worth double triple checking.

 

[RCW]

Joleen - - I’m kind of an electrical idiot, so bear with me....
You ran it, then moments later dead as you describe.....
Your battery sounds good, so we’ll check that off.
You tested continuity of positive and ground cables, but not their respective mounting points? Did you disconnect and reconnect?
Can you jump the starter and get it to turn over? Make sure it’s out of gear and set parking brake!!!!
160 DCV doesn’t make sense ...are you reading DC Volts??

Could it be the key switch?? Another thought to check with your meter...
Like sheep farmer, I’m not savvy either, but maybe we’re making some headway for others to chime in on .....

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[100 td]

If you don't have 12v from IGN switch to ground, check the fusible link near the starter motor. Main battery cable goes from battery + to starter solenoid. Also leaving that terminal will be another wire, follow along it till you find a connector with a loop of wire plugged into it, it is a fuse.

 

[Jim L.]

" Instead, the voltimeter reads anything from 160 volts to negative volts and never settles on any one number."

Either the black test lead came off of battery negative,

Or, the problem is that the negative cable from battery to ground is not working.

Another point is that sometimes a voltmeter will show a voltage which is not sustainable under load. This happens with a marginal connection that looks good with little current (voltmeter) but has high resistance under high amps. An easy way to check that is to put some amps through, such as a load of headlights, and check the voltage drop on both sides of the connection in question.

Happy hunting.

 

[JoleenC]

Err... HST? Google tells me that's Hydrostatic Transmission. I am pretty sure I do not have that. It is a very basic tractor with a PTO and no bells or whistles, but it is enough for me.

http://www.tractordata.com/farm-tractors/001/2/9/1292-kubota-l2350.html

The first thing I did was pull the starter, because I assumed that was the issue. (Maybe it stopped 3 weeks ago? There was a wedding and my son took a trip to Japan in the last month, so I'm a little scattered.) I... Uh... Mentioned I'm a newbie, right? I took the starter off wrong and accidentally took it apart. I managed to get it back together, but it did not work when I tested it. So, I replaced it with a new one.

I'm going to try replacing the negative cable tomorrow, since that is an easy and relatively cheap fix. And I will pull and check the fusible link.

Why did I buy a tractor again? Oh, yeah, the same reason I decided that an extra 7 acres wouldn't be a problem...

 

[100 td]

I started the tractor around 2 weeks ago and it started up just fine...and turned the tractor off in order to safely replace the mower's belt.
And then it would not start again... Completely dead, no power.

Both battery cables are solid connections, according to my multimeter resistance test.

The first thing I did was pull the starter....I replaced it with a new one.

I'm going to try replacing the negative cable tomorrow, since that is an easy and relatively cheap fix. And I will pull and check the fusible link.

Got any more info you may have forgotten to mention?
First, tractor works until you turn it off and work on mower belt. Mower is initiated by the PTO drive.
If the PTO drive is still selected it will not start. If it is not in neutral it may not start. Try this fix first, it may have been the original cause, but I fear there are now others.
You have stated both battery cables are solid and good connection.
Perform this test, measure from the center of the battery positive post to the aluminum of the starter housing and check for volts.
Measure from the main battery terminal on the starter solenoid to the housing and check for volts.
The terminal that the main battery wire attaches to at the starter, does it also have another smaller red wire on the same terminal, or is there another red wire hanging loose somewhere near the starter?
Check for power at both sides of the fusible link to ground on the tractor.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

If the PTO drive is still selected it will not start. If it is not in neutral it may not start.

100 td, Sorry, but neither of these statements are true!
That model does not have a PTO switch or a Neutral safety switch.
So it will start with the PTO engaged, and will start in gear.

The only safety switch is on the clutch pedal, that is easily jumped to make sure that is not the issue.

JoleenC, Why are you doing far more tearing into it than needed?
It's a simple system, not the space shuttle!
Turn the key to glow, does the glow indicator glow?
Turn on the lights, do they light?
Disconnect the 2 wires on the clutch switch and jump them together, does it crank?

 

[100 td]

100 td, Sorry, but neither of these statements are true!

I assumed most Kubotas have a PTO switch, therefore I'm wrong. I'm always happy to be corrected, and acknowledge it NIW!
The second statement says "may" not start. I didn't know if it had a neutral switch or not. It's always safer to place tractor in neutral before trying to start.

If you have the wiring diagram, post it up for the OP and others and add some color pen to it to help with the testing.

 

[JoleenC]

JoleenC, Why are you doing far more tearing into it than needed?
It's a simple system, not the space shuttle!
Turn the key to glow, does the glow indicator glow?
Turn on the lights, do they light?
Disconnect the 2 wires on the clutch switch and jump them together, does it crank?

The truth of the matter is that I feel out of my depth with anything mechanical. So, of course it has to be the worst possible solution. The service manual starts with checking the battery, then checks the feed to the main switch. It does not go into depth about how to track down a fault, just that the fault is in the wiring harness.

The lights and glow plug do not light or glow when tested.

I will double check the negative cable and connector from the battery, the fusible link, and the clutch safety.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

The truth of the matter is that I feel out of my depth with anything mechanical. So, of course it has to be the worst possible solution. The service manual starts with checking the battery, then checks the feed to the main switch. It does not go into depth about how to track down a fault, just that the fault is in the wiring harness.

The lights and glow plug do not light or glow when tested.

I will double check the negative cable and connector from the battery, the fusible link, and the clutch safety.

So since you don't get anything of the lights or the glow plugs it's a main power issue, you can leave the clutch safety switch alone.

Meters are nice but for these situation a simple 12V test light will give you easier to understand results.

When you replaced the starter did you install 2 wires back on the large terminal on the starter?
One goes to the battery (very large wire) and one smaller wire that feed the main power to the tractor, there will also have been a second smaller solenoid trigger wire that went to a different terminal.

 

[JoleenC]

Apparently my meter does not like me. We replaced the negative battery cable this evening. With only the negative terminal connected to the battery, testing DC volts from the positive terminal to the chassis, it gave me the wildly inconsistent readings every time. My husband tested the exact same way and got 12.75 volts every time.

I am going to pull the fusible link tomorrow for testing, and find a 12v test light...

 

[Jim L.]

That fusible link will look like just a piece of wire. But it is not.

It has a specific length, specific gauge, and special insulation so as not to catch fire. So if you replace it, put in the proper replacement. And it looks like that may be where the problem is probable.

 

[JoleenC]

After figuring out why my multimeter gives me wrong readings, I have cleared the wiring to the main switch (testing with the multimeter and the 12v light). My main switch is the problem. I get infinite resistance across the terminals when the key is in the On, Start, or Preheat positions. According to the WSM, it is supposed to be 0 resistance.

Time for more research for me. Thanks for all the help.

 

[sheepfarmer]

Good for you, was wondering how you were making out.

 

[JoleenC]

A quick update: the ignition switch has been replaced and the tractor is working fine. Thanks everyone.