G1800 cranks , won’t fire

[Soonerdad]

Older g 1800. Runs great. 500 hrs on the clock. Have had several gremlins, mostly fuel related since I bought it but worked Thru them and have had no issues lately until now. mowed yesterday, ran fine. put it up , came back later to resume some work and it won’t fire. Cranks fine, smokes while cranking but damned thing won’t fire off. Weathers warm, fuel tank is near full. Good fuel flow at the bleed valve. Brake is set . About to lose my mind here folks. it isnt like you can just push the damned thing anywhere . Help please
!!!

 

[Russell King]

What color smoke?

 

[Soonerdad]

grayish white like always I would say

 

[Mark_BX25D]

Sounds like unburned fuel. Check your radiator for signs of oil, and maybe check your compression.

 

[85Hokie]

How long you glowing the plugs?

 

[lugbolt]

find the fuel shutoff solenoid. Top of the engine. It connects to a lever. The soleoid pulls the lever towards the solenoid to shut fuel off. Push the lever away from the solenoid. Does it move any? If it does, the solenoid is sticking or the fuel shutoff lever is sticking; both of which can cause a crank/no start situation.

Other'n that it's gonna be lack of air or lack of compression assuming you have fuel.

 

[philkent]

Try cracking it at the injectors and see if you have fuel there.

 

[Soonerdad]

find the fuel shutoff solenoid. Top of the engine. It connects to a lever. The soleoid pulls the lever towards the solenoid to shut fuel off. Push the lever away from the solenoid. Does it move any? If it does, the solenoid is sticking or the fuel shutoff lever is sticking; both of which can cause a crank/no start situation.

Other'n that it's gonna be lack of air or lack of compression assuming you have fuel.

 

[Soonerdad]

Just getting back to this after some time . Solenoid piston is in the In position with key off. Turn key on and the piston moves out as I assume it should .
‘I have fuel to the air bleed port right in front of the injector pump. it will crank but will not fire. Makes ZERO sense. SOB ran like sewing machine before I shut it off. Now. Nothing.
have a hard time believing that in the course of 30 minutes the injector pump suddenly goes out and or the whole thing has no compression. can’t be safety switch as if it was it wouldn’t crank .
im bout to set the MFer on fire and be done
How is the easiest way to check for fuel to the injectors and or test the injector pump? I’m not a diesel mechanic so any rational and logical direction would be appreciated . i need to get it started to get it back to the house 1/4 mile away.

 

[Torinodan]

Like someone else said did you remove the lines from your injectors to see if you have fuel? If you take the fuel line off your injection pump with the key on do you get adequate fuel flow?

 

[pigdoc]

Like someone else said did you remove the lines from your injectors to see if you have fuel? If you take the fuel line off your injection pump with the key on do you get adequate fuel flow?

Ya, I think that was me. I just looked through the WSM, and I did not find the recommended procedure for priming the fuel injection system. But, cracking loose the clamping nuts on the high-pressure lines (the ones between the injection pump and the injectors) is a way to see if fuel is being delivered to the injectors. I'd start with the nut at the injector. Just loosen it about one turn until you can turn it with your fingers. You do NOT need to remove the lines! If you crank the motor, fuel should spurt out around the loosened nut. If you get nothing there, fuel is not being pumped.

-Paul

PS, Start with one line. If, after cranking for a few seconds, you start to get fuel spurting, stop. Tighten that line down again, and loosen the other two. Repeat. After you get all three lines bled, it should fire right up. Might run rough for a few seconds, because there will be residual air in the high pressure lines.

 

[Soonerdad]

Ya, I think that was me. I just looked through the WSM, and I did not find the recommended procedure for priming the fuel injection system. But, cracking loose the clamping nuts on the high-pressure lines (the ones between the injection pump and the injectors) is a way to see if fuel is being delivered to the injectors. I'd start with the nut at the injector. Just loosen it about one turn until you can turn it with your fingers. You do NOT need to remove the lines! If you crank the motor, fuel should spurt out around the loosened nut. If you get nothing there, fuel is not being pumped.

-Paul

Thanks , Paul. Where would a fella get his paws on one of those Service manuals ? I’ll head out there here today and let you know what the scoop is. My love affair with this thing is just about over…lol

 

[pigdoc]

Thanks , Paul. Where would a fella get his paws on one of those Service manuals ? I’ll head out there here today and let you know what the scoop is. My love affair with this thing is just about over…lol

I splurged and bought the WSM on eBay. It was $46, shipped. Do not despair. Diesels are simple: air, fuel, no spark to worry about. There are electrical issues that can go bad - these allow you to actually shut the engine down. I hope you have a good battery. The cranking may run it down. Hope you have a booster pack handy...or a LONG extension cord and a charger...

Hang on, I'm scanning a couple of pages from the WSM that may be useful...

 

[Soonerdad]

I splurged and bought the WSM on eBay. It was $46, shipped. Do not despair. Diesels are simple: air, fuel, no spark to worry about. There are electrical issues that can go bad - these allow you to actually shut the engine down. I hope you have a good battery. The cranking may run it down. Hope you have a booster pack handy...or a LONG extension cord and a charger...

Hang on, I'm scanning a couple of pages from the WSM that may be useful...

And that’s what is so frustrating about this.…..lol

 

[pigdoc]

Hang on, I'm scanning a couple of pages from the WSM that may be useful...

Description of the Governor, and how the stop lever works.

Hope that helps!
-Paul

 

[pigdoc]

If you can find Fork Lever 1, I'd try pulling that to the Start position with your finger, crank the engine, and see what happens... Is the Start Spring intact?

-Paul

 

[pigdoc]

I went out and looked at my early-build G1800, and it doesn't have anything like the WSM depicts.
Here's a picture of the injector pump on my engine:

The "F" is the fuel solenoid pull-off. "Start" is the start lever. It needs to be in the position shown for the engine to start. When you turn the key to shut the engine off, the fuel solenoid pulls the Start lever back against its stop. It stays there for 4 or 5 seconds after you shut the engine off, then returns to the start position as shown in the image.

You'll notice a piece of wire attached to the start lever. This was done by the PO, and I just left it. It serves as a manual shut off if the solenoid goes bad...I guess. My solenoid looks iffy with its torn boot, but it still works...

-Paul

 

[Soonerdad]

I went out and looked at my early-build G1800, and it doesn't have anything like the WSM depicts.
Here's a picture of the injector pump on my engine:
View attachment 88772
The "F" is the fuel solenoid pull-off. "Start" is the start lever. It needs to be in the position shown for the engine to start. When you turn the key to shut the engine off, the fuel solenoid pulls the Start lever back against its stop. It stays there for 4 or 5 seconds after you shut the engine off, then returns to the start position as shown in the image.

You'll notice a piece of wire attached to the start lever. This was done by the PO, and I just left it. It serves as a manual shut off if the solenoid goes bad...I guess. My solenoid looks iffy with its torn boot, but it still works...

-Paul

Looks exactly like mine. Mine does all that and so forth.
I cracked the line at one of the injectors , cranked the motor and no fuel to the injector that I could tell. That pump is cam driven which makes no sense why it wouldn’t pump. This unit has only 500 hrs on it. Can’t be worn out.

 

[Soonerdad]

 

[Soonerdad]

Well it’s clear the pump isnt pumping. Being cam driven, it is possible the lobes on the cam are worn beyond spec which I don’t buy or , the drive gear isn’t turning. Likely a sheared key i guess. How it sheared who knows. May be all wet but that’s the most logical path in my mind anyway. I have attached the schematic of the fuel camshaft. I welcome all feedback.