Kubota BX23S not starting

[GreensvilleJay]

THANK YOU Henro !!!!
Yes, I'm 'shouting', 800% zoom and I can READ the 'panel' info,
GREAT
You made my day !!!
Hmm, can you also post in the 'electrical ' section ??

 

[Henro]

THANK YOU Henro !!!!
Yes, I'm 'shouting', 800% zoom and I can READ the 'panel' info,
GREAT
You made my day !!!
Hmm, can you also post in the 'electrical ' section ??

Already posted in the electrical sticky...

 

[gutster13]

here's 2 pictures of my BX23S fuses area. The main 50amp fuse is labelled and EASY to get to !!! View attachment 120610 View attachment 120611

Mine looks almost exactly identical. Bought a brand new battery from Kubota as it was coming up on 8 years anyway, changed every fuse in the area to the right of battery, 50amp, 20amp and the 9 other listed fuses one by one but nothing. Pulled the panel off so I could access the switch connector and reseated that a few times with no luck. Have Ruwet Sibley Kubota where I bought the tractor coming out Friday to look at it. Wish I was more electrically or mechanical included to use a meter as others have suggested but not quite sure how to use the one I have.

 

[gutster13]

Switch wet? Or is that normal

I took a hair dryer to it for a bit and it hasn’t rained in a few days and the weather has broken and been in the 40’s so I think it would have dried out by now but thank you for the suggestion.

 

[Henro]

Wish I was more electrically or mechanical included to use a meter as others have suggested but not quite sure how to use the one I have.

We all are what we are! Don’t feel bad for having strengths that others of us don’t in other areas. It’s just the way things are. You did your best! There are certainly things that you can do that the rest of us have struggled with…

 

[gutster13]

There's more wrong than just 'won't start'. The dash doesn't 'light up' as it should ! Hour meter ,dead, gauges, dead, headlight, blinkers, all dead.
There is something 'weird' going on as the fuses all seem to be good.
I suspect maybe a bad ignition switch.
IF it was 'easy' to remove,(usually unscrew trim ring on top, push switch through hole,disconnect wires ?) I suggest remove it, bring into nice warm house,use hair dryer or leave on register,spray WD40 in the key slot,cycle key a zillion times, test on bench.
BTW... The WSM does show/tell how to test it View attachment 120699
new switch is $120 Canadian...
Hay !!! there's a cover for it #070, $11

I finally pushed it into the garage, took forever but I’m going to leave it overnight and try in the morning by removing it and all the other recommendations. Maybe I’ll just take a ride back to Kubota and replace the switch either way.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

it 'should' take about 10 minutes to get the switch out
1) disconnect ground of battery
2) remove 'trim ring' on switch
3) pop switch down and CAREFULLY remove from harness ( plastic 'lock' )

just be careful when removing the cable when it releases, if it's sudden.good chance you'll slash yourself on sharp plastic..... so....

FIRST step...
0) place box of bandaids on tractor seat

 

[gutster13]

Were you pushing snow or blowing snow? Either way check your PTO lever sometimes a little bump will open it and not let it start

I was snowblowing but i don’t believe it’s the PTO, I believe it’s more electrical than mechanical from what I’m gathering piece by piece. Thank you for the recommendation though as I did check it multiple times just in case.

 

[gutster13]

it 'should' take about 10 minutes to get the switch out
1) disconnect ground of battery
2) remove 'trim ring' on switch
3) pop switch down and CAREFULLY remove from harness ( plastic 'lock' )

just be careful when removing the cable when it releases, if it's sudden.good chance you'll slash yourself on sharp plastic..... so....

FIRST step...
0) place box of bandaids on tractor seat

Since I was able to push it into the garage and not getting drenched by sleet I attempted to check the fuses with the multimeter.

The 50amp had power going to it, this square thing next to the 50amp that I believe has something to do with the snowblower has power going to it, but none of the fuses I tested had power to them. The 25amp fuse had -0.02, not sure if I did that correctly or not?

Maybe I’ll try and remove the fuse panel tomorrow and check to make sure a mouse didn’t get to a wire behind it or it came disconnected somehow.

Any other thoughts?

 

[DustyRusty]

Don't start replacing parts, because if you don't know it is good or bad, then just throwing money at it isn't going to solve the problem. If you are bound and determined to throw your money out then just buy a new tractor and trade the old one. I am relatively certain that the dealer will have it running in less than an hour. I have never used the shotgun method of repair since I know that I would be wasting money. If I can't fix it, then I would rather spend the money on someone who has the expertise to repair it, instead of my wasting my money on parts replacement that are not proven to be defective.

 

[gutster13]

Don't start replacing parts, because if you don't know it is good or bad, then just throwing money at it isn't going to solve the problem. If you are bound and determined to throw your money out then just buy a new tractor and trade the old one. I am relatively certain that the dealer will have it running in less than an hour. I have never used the shotgun method of repair since I know that I would be wasting money. If I can't fix it, then I would rather spend the money on someone who has the expertise to repair it, instead of my wasting my money on parts replacement that are not proven to be defective.

I totally agree about not wasting money. Unfortunately we were predicted to have snow again and we have a long steep driveway so I am under the gun to try and get it fixed ASAP if possible. We’ve had plows try and do it and it never comes out as good as the tractor.

Dealer can’t have someone come out to look at it until this Friday or sometime early next week which puts me in a bit of a pinch.

 

[jaxs]

You say 50 amp fuse has power coming to it,how about coming out of it? The 50 amp probably supply's fuse panel.

 

[gutster13]

You say 50 amp fuse has power coming to it,how about coming out of it? The 50 amp probably supply's fuse panel.

I’m pretty sure it does have power coming out of it cause I get the battery light and oil pressure lights on the dash illuminating. When I removed the 50amp the lights on the dash go out.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

quik recap
50a fuse is good , also 5a 'panel fuse is good, as your have batt + oil light
NOT working are gauges, lights, 4ways,hour meter,gloplug light


??? do headlights work ??

1) I don't know what the inline fuse is for,maybe snowblower ?
2) you can check each fuse real easy..

a) connect -ve of meter to ground of battery
b) set meter for 20volt DC ( in picture !)
c) turn key to ON position
d) push probe into 'shiny posts' on a fuse. You should read '12 volts' on both 'posts'

If you read 12v on only ONE side, then that fuse is blown
If you don't read 12v on any post, hello Houston..we got a problem.

Make a drawing of the fuse panel, label circuit and rating ( Meter, 5a ).
Print off the 'fuse section' of the wiring diagram, you need it !
Check a fuse, if good ,check it off as OK.

REMOVE the ignition switch, flood with WD40, blow lots of very warm,almost hot air at it(10-15 minutes)
Reconnect switch and battery, turn key, see what happens.
IF that doesn't fix it...

I don't know what's involved in removing the 'meter' aka instrument panel but my gut is telling me it needs to come out and inspected for water damage, dried out for several hours.

4 fuses will be live( power even with key off )
Meter (power the instrument panel/dash )
stop solenoid (powers the stop solenoid )
work light ( connector in back )
lamp (headlights, taillights )

My problem is trying to understand WHY the 'meter' doesn't function. The 5a fuse is good (batt +oil light ) BUT loss of 'ground' would explain the LCD hour meter not being displayed as well as turn signals not working
The other ugly reason..It's also possible a LOT of water has gotten into the 'computer' board.

Sadly, this is another 'need to be there, to SEE what's going on',in the meantime I'll keep thinking about this.

 

[DustyRusty]

If I were there, the first thing that I would do would be to move all the pto handles in both directions and observe the dash to see if anything comes to life. If the PTO lever is set to engage, it will shut down the tractor from starting.

 

[gutster13]

quik recap
50a fuse is good , also 5a 'panel fuse is good, as your have batt + oil light
NOT working are gauges, lights, 4ways,hour meter,gloplug light


??? do headlights work ??

1) I don't know what the inline fuse is for,maybe snowblower ?
2) you can check each fuse real easy..

a) connect -ve of meter to ground of battery
b) set meter for 20volt DC ( in picture !)
c) turn key to ON position
d) push probe into 'shiny posts' on a fuse. You should read '12 volts' on both 'posts'

If you read 12v on only ONE side, then that fuse is blown
If you don't read 12v on any post, hello Houston..we got a problem.

Make a drawing of the fuse panel, label circuit and rating ( Meter, 5a ).
Print off the 'fuse section' of the wiring diagram, you need it !
Check a fuse, if good ,check it off as OK.

REMOVE the ignition switch, flood with WD40, blow lots of very warm,almost hot air at it(10-15 minutes)
Reconnect switch and battery, turn key, see what happens.
IF that doesn't fix it...

I don't know what's involved in removing the 'meter' aka instrument panel but my gut is telling me it needs to come out and inspected for water damage, dried out for several hours.

4 fuses will be live( power even with key off )
Meter (power the instrument panel/dash )
stop solenoid (powers the stop solenoid )
work light ( connector in back )
lamp (headlights, taillights )

My problem is trying to understand WHY the 'meter' doesn't function. The 5a fuse is good (batt +oil light ) BUT loss of 'ground' would explain the LCD hour meter not being displayed as well as turn signals not working
The other ugly reason..It's also possible a LOT of water has gotten into the 'computer' board.

Sadly, this is another 'need to be there, to SEE what's going on',in the meantime I'll keep thinking about this.

Hey Jay, thanks for the detailed instructions as I was checking the fuses wrong. I did it again using the battery as a ground and found that ALL the fuses work minus the glow plug one. That is not working, I switched it out with 3 separate brand new 5a fuses just to make sure and still nothing.

Not working are the gauges, meter, headlights, turn signals, brake lights or headlights. The glow plug light does not come on when turning on the tractor but flashes for like .001 tenth of second when I go to turn off the tractor (see pic). Not sure what would cause that to light up on shutdown?

The meter, stop solenoid, work light and lamp all have power when the engine is off as you mentioned but nothing actually works.

I'm going to take the switch out and attempt to dry it etc. and check the meter if I can access it by removing the whole panel today. I’ll let you know how it goes. I’m hoping it’s the not the computer board but we’ll see when the mechanic finally gets here at some point. At least I’ll have a few answers for him.

Thank you again for all the assistance, I’ve learned more about this tractor this week than the 7 years I’ve owned it!

 

[gutster13]

If I were there, the first thing that I would do would be to move all the pto handles in both directions and observe the dash to see if anything comes to life. If the PTO lever is set to engage, it will shut down the tractor from starting.

Hi Dusty,

Thank you for the advice, tried that but no luck. I’ve had it happen before but the lights and all the other stuff should still stay on but unfortunately nothing is working. Nothing on the dash is working other than battery light and oil pressure light, no gauges, meter, lights etc. I’m thinking it may be more of an electrical issue going on.

 

[gutster13]

quik recap
50a fuse is good , also 5a 'panel fuse is good, as your have batt + oil light
NOT working are gauges, lights, 4ways,hour meter,gloplug light


??? do headlights work ??

1) I don't know what the inline fuse is for,maybe snowblower ?
2) you can check each fuse real easy..

a) connect -ve of meter to ground of battery
b) set meter for 20volt DC ( in picture !)
c) turn key to ON position
d) push probe into 'shiny posts' on a fuse. You should read '12 volts' on both 'posts'

If you read 12v on only ONE side, then that fuse is blown
If you don't read 12v on any post, hello Houston..we got a problem.

Make a drawing of the fuse panel, label circuit and rating ( Meter, 5a ).
Print off the 'fuse section' of the wiring diagram, you need it !
Check a fuse, if good ,check it off as OK.

REMOVE the ignition switch, flood with WD40, blow lots of very warm,almost hot air at it(10-15 minutes)
Reconnect switch and battery, turn key, see what happens.
IF that doesn't fix it...

I don't know what's involved in removing the 'meter' aka instrument panel but my gut is telling me it needs to come out and inspected for water damage, dried out for several hours.

4 fuses will be live( power even with key off )
Meter (power the instrument panel/dash )
stop solenoid (powers the stop solenoid )
work light ( connector in back )
lamp (headlights, taillights )

My problem is trying to understand WHY the 'meter' doesn't function. The 5a fuse is good (batt +oil light ) BUT loss of 'ground' would explain the LCD hour meter not being displayed as well as turn signals not working
The other ugly reason..It's also possible a LOT of water has gotten into the 'computer' board.

Sadly, this is another 'need to be there, to SEE what's going on',in the meantime I'll keep thinking about this.

Finally figured it out!

So the mechanic from Kubota stopped by and he ran through the whole checklist as I’ve discussed here. Turns out it was a ground connector underneath the tractor that even though was connected and tight must have had some corrosion over the years and did not have proper grounding. I removed it, cleaned up the area and viola, up and running! Since I had an extra pair of hands he was able to move it around while I turned the ignition and figure out that was the issue.

Thank you to everyone for the inputs and maybe it helps someone else down the road.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

GREAT news !
Yes, the lousy ground IS why the dash(meter panel) never lit up,or allowed 'stuff to work'.
The bat and oil do NOT need that ground though.

 

[Mikats]

Yeah I’m going to try and pull it into the garage tomorrow somehow. Hopefully it can sit overnight and defrost. It’s been in the 20° here so maybe there’s something frozen on it is what I’m hoping.

Bought all new fuses and I’ll test them out and recharge the battery and check all the connections. I checked all the grounds and spoke with Kubota service today. They gave me a few suggestions (center the HST pedal, check ground connections on battery, etc). None worked but I’ll figure it out eventually.

It’s just much easier to do inside vs outside in freezing temps, in the dark with wind whipping in my face.

Did you find the problem? Today the same issue with my BX, thanks