BX2350 odd wont start issue

[ckloos]

Hi all, I'm new here, and new to owning a tractor. Please bear with me. Any information you may have would be appreciate.

I shut the bx down yesterday after doing snow for an hour or so. All was running find, except at the end, I noticed that it seemed the tractor wanted to idle down and stall our briefly when pushing with the box blade in reverse. Almost seemed like.it was.out of fuel... it was.low.on fuel but definitely not empty.

Anyhow, shut her down (note, I never put the lever in neutral or the park brake when I shut it off if that matters. Though I have never had trouble shutting it down or starting it in light of this in the past).

I go to start it 45 minutes after shutting it down..nothing. completely dead. No lights, sounds, anything.

Here's the odd part... after trying with wiggling everything around, I noticed that when I pound my foot (hard and fast) repeatedly on the brake pedal out of frustration, gives it power..... pound it for a while, turn key, dash lights and glow plug lights come on, but as soon as you go to turn it over, a click.and then dead.... pound the brake pedal again a.number of times, power, click, no turn over.

any advice appreciated. I'd like to get it.out of.the -30 Celsius and back into the shop! A very Merry Christmas to you all.

 

[85Hokie]

Ckloos,

welcome to the forum - sorry to hear about your problems.

The neutral and parking brake should NOT be affecting any of this .....

I think you have two problems. ...... the poor running could be from gelled fuel, in your neck of the woods it is real cold. Any moisture in the fuel will cause a lot of problems - it will gel and flow will stop, giving the sensations of running poorly.

Have you ever changed the two fuel filters? I bet the first one has some gunk it in.

The second part is you have an electrical open circuit or a safety switch that is causing your pain.
Safety switches get finicky in the cold. Have you tried moving the PTO lever a bit as you turn the key?
Have you bounced in the seat while turning the key? OR have you rocked the HST pedal as you turned the key?

I would start with the battery - how old? Voltage ? and then I would check the cables to the battery - anything look corroded? Check that ground cable as it goes to the frame/chassis.

When it did start - did it spin as it has always? If not - your battery might need to be looked at too.

Report back what you find - your "pounding on the brake pedal" is a good clue that most leave out when they say the tractor will not turn over ....... leading me to believe a safety switch is the cause of not turning over.

 

[Bmyers]

If it isn't gremlins, then as 85Hokie pointed out, the fuel could be the first problem.

 

[Henro]

Hi all, I'm new here, and new to owning a tractor. Please bear with me. Any information you may have would be appreciate.

I shut the bx down yesterday after doing snow for an hour or so. All was running find, except at the end, I noticed that it seemed the tractor wanted to idle down and stall our briefly when pushing with the box blade in reverse. Almost seemed like.it was.out of fuel... it was.low.on fuel but definitely not empty.

Anyhow, shut her down (note, I never put the lever in neutral or the park brake when I shut it off if that matters. Though I have never had trouble shutting it down or starting it in light of this in the past).

I go to start it 45 minutes after shutting it down..nothing. completely dead. No lights, sounds, anything.

Here's the odd part... after trying with wiggling everything around, I noticed that when I pound my foot (hard and fast) repeatedly on the brake pedal out of frustration, gives it power..... pound it for a while, turn key, dash lights and glow plug lights come on, but as soon as you go to turn it over, a click.and then dead.... pound the brake pedal again a.number of times, power, click, no turn over.

any advice appreciated. I'd like to get it.out of.the -30 Celsius and back into the shop! A very Merry Christmas to you all.

It sounds like you have a loose connection or broken wire that is making contact when you vibrate things by stomping on the brake pedal.

Such a connection could have cause the engine to cut out like it was running out of fuel, if the fuel cut off solenoid works like on my BX, where it cuts off fuel when de-energized.

Since you appear to be losing all voltage, perhaps the battery connection to ground could be the issue. Either at the batter end or the frame connection end. There is also a main fuse somewhere, that might cause the same symptoms if the connection to it were loose.

Just a couple thoughts...

 

[i7win7]

I shut the bx down yesterday after doing snow for an hour or so.

but as soon as you go to turn it over, a click.and then dead.... pound the brake pedal again a.number of times, power, click, no turn over.

Check that ground cable as it goes to the frame/chassis. Moisture from snow. Adding internal or external tooth lock washer may improve frame connection.

Starting problem w/bx2370 earlier this year - bad frame connection.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

No lights or anything point to no power.
I agree with others that said, ground / battery connections, check those first.
It might not be a coincidence on the cutting out and running poorly as lack of power could be causing it to not keep the run solenoid completely engaged.

If connection are not the issue:
Pull the battery and have it load tested.
Could be dead, and could be caused by it not charging, or just internally open or shorted.

 

[Russell King]

And I just have to ask:
If it is that darn cold outside why would you even think about shutting it down outside? And as a Texan why would you even think about going outside when it is that cold?

Can you winch it inside or is it frozen in place until the spring thaw?

 

[ckloos]

Right on! Thanks everyone for your input. Heres what I did/found:

1. As suggested, I looked at the fuel as being one issue. I noticed that everything was clean and flowing well. No gelling. That said, Im glad that this was mentioned as embarrassingly I didn't remember to put the additive in for winter... Ive already been to the store and grabbed some!

2. After doing this I got back in the tractor, and jostled everything around while holding the key in accesory position. Nothing was working so I started pumping that dam break peddle again... of course power came on but the same click and dead..

I then had a bit of a eureka moment... as someone said here, the brake pedal should have nothing to do with it. Thus, something else was moving... well, the shroud that covers the battery is directly to the left of the brake pedal... guess what- give that a kick and same thing! So I opened it up and tapped the battery a few times with a wrench. power on and it FIRED UP!! turned it off and re fired it up a couple times. So, for now its fixed, but something is loose.

Enough to get it back in the heated shop for the night, and will figure out whats no good tomorrow. I will check the ground and battery cables first as mentioned here.

Thanks!

 

[ckloos]

And I just have to ask:
If it is that darn cold outside why would you even think about shutting it down outside? And as a Texan why would you even think about going outside when it is that cold?

Can you winch it inside or is it frozen in place until the spring thaw?

Russell, I shouldnt have shut it down outside, and wont again! -30 c really isnt anything to write home about where I am lol. Doesnt phase me, can spend hours outside, just need to dress right! With windchill, it often gets to a -40 or -45 celsius here in January!

 

[GreensvilleJay]

well I'm happy it's INSIDE and you KNOW where to look. Sure sounds like a bad battery connection. How old is it? If 'new' maybe the clamps need to be 'snugged' ? if 'old' and the cables are homemade, replace with proper one piece molded ones.

 

[Russell King]

Glad to hear you got it into a heated area.

I guess cold is acceptable to you whereas you probably can’t imagine being in +40C when it is just a bit warm to me. Interesting how you can adapt to the environment you are in.

 

[ckloos]

Glad to hear you got it into a heated area.

I guess cold is acceptable to you whereas you probably can’t imagine being in +40C when it is just a bit warm to me. Interesting how you can adapt to the environment you are in.

I would die in +40! Looking forward to visiting Texas though when this covid business allows me.to travel again. I hear you have good BBQ!

 

[SidecarFlip]

Remove the cables from the battery and clean them with a wire brush inside until shiny. The take a piece of sandpaper and clean the terminals on the battery as well and reinstall the cables tightly.