L2002DT - not starting - now banging my head against a wall!

[steventhechef]

Hi all,

First time poster - a little background firstly.

I have an L2002DT 22 HP 3 cylinder motor (as far as i know) that I have owned for about 3 years. It currently has 2000 hours on the clock. I bought it second hand and it appears to be 10 years old or so. Mechanically I have not had to put a spanner to it until now.

It has always been a little slow to start taking about 5-10 seconds to start from turning over. It turns over slowly but is on a battery tender so the battery is always strong and fresh.

The motor has positive crankcase pressure with a fair amount of blow by but this has not caused too much of a problem. It has always been smokey but not asphyxiating so.

My wife moved the tractor to the hay stack and it was parked on an angle (not too bad). I went to start the tractor and it sounded a little slower than normal and wouldn't start at all. I changed the battery and found the same issue. The fuel tank was low and I thought that with the angle that I may have starved it of diesel.

I have filled that tank, bled the filter, bled the tap and cracked the injectors (not too much diesel sprayed out and came out slowly (read dibbling) but I haven't done this before so I thought that it was "normal"). It sounded the same and would not fire

I wondered if it had a low oil cut off and as the oil was just above the lowest mark I filled it up to the top level. It sounded the same and would not fire

The glow plug indicator on the dash appears duller than normal so I wondered if the terminals were loose, dirty or broken so i have disconnected the battery, starter solenoid, ignition and glow plug terminals and sanded, cleaned and sprayed them with contact cleaner. It sounded the same and would not fire - grr!

I connect the battery to the glow plug indicator terminal on the dash and it heats up to glowing red and appears in reasonable condition. I cranked it over at the same time as heating the glow plug indicator It sounded the same and would not fire - grrrr!!

I connected another fresh battery and ran it in tandem with another fresh battery (read 24 volts) and it still it sounded the same, turned over at the same rate (read no faster cranking) and still would not fire grrrrr!!!

I was going to pull the centre glow plug next but then i saw how tight they were and I do not have a suitable tool to get a good purchase on the end of the glow plug sooo - a good man knows his limitations and I reconnected it and came in for a coffee

I am not sure what next to do. I do not have a multi meter so am finding it a little challenging.

I had a mate of a mate come over who is a diesel mechanic (works on trucks) and he scratched his head and didn't have a clue. He did re-bleed the system though so I am assuming that that portion is OK.

I must say that I am a little frustrated and surprised that I am drinking coffee and not having a beer instead! That said it is only 10.45 a.m. but I am sure that it is 5.00 p.m. somewhere in the world.

Anything else that I should do? I am wondering about the slow crank and if that is an issue? I am wondering if that is related to the the glow plug indicator is duller and if the combination shows that the current is not getting through?

Any suggestions except a beer? Thanks in advance

 

[JeffL]

Diesel engines need heat from the compression to start and run. Slow cranking especially in an older engine will cause hard or no start. This can be further compounded by bad glow plugs. Sounds like the fuel side is good, you did get fuel pulsing at the injector when you opened each line for bleeding (?).
First check all the glow plugs are working. Multi-meter is nice but a test lamp also works. Check all the ground connections to the engine. If all is OK the starter might be bad. I have very good luck opening up starters and cleaning, re-cutting the contacts, and greasing bushings. By doing this starters usually last the life of the vehicle. Jeff

 

[steventhechef]

Thanks for the reply Jeff. I was talking to a mate who has a similar sized tractor. His starts quickly and runs - unlike mine!

He had his starter motor reconditioned and suggested that also. I will try this next and pull the starter. The trouble is that I am unsure exactly what I am looking at and/or for.

I sort of suspect the glow plugs might need replacing also. I tried to pull one but really couldn't get decent purchase on it at all. I was looking at pulling the head to get quick access - with minimal frustration - as minimal as possible anyway.

When I bled the system it more oozed than squirted or pulsed. I will purchase a multi meter during the week also. I saw how to do it on You tube so i will give that a go also.

Thanks again

 

[Diydave]

Thanks for the reply Jeff. I was talking to a mate who has a similar sized tractor. His starts quickly and runs - unlike mine!

He had his starter motor reconditioned and suggested that also. I will try this next and pull the starter. The trouble is that I am unsure exactly what I am looking at and/or for.

I sort of suspect the glow plugs might need replacing also. I tried to pull one but really couldn't get decent purchase on it at all. I was looking at pulling the head to get quick access - with minimal frustration - as minimal as possible anyway.

When I bled the system it more oozed than squirted or pulsed. I will purchase a multi meter during the week also. I saw how to do it on You tube so i will give that a go also.

Thanks again

Get yourself an IR laser thermometer, and use it to check each glow plug. If all are good, they will show nearly the same temp, which will be more than the regular ambient temp of the head. If there is a bad one, it will of course show a lower temp. Also check that the buss bar is connected well to every plug. Sometimes the nuts on the plugs work loose, and cause a bad connection...

 

[steventhechef]

Thanks Dave,

Another thing to check

 

[bcp]

Clean both ends of every battery cable, and clean whatever it connects to.

Bruce

 

[steventhechef]

Thanks for the idea Bruce.

Already done

 

[steventhechef]

OK! I spoke to a few "experts in their field" this week and a couple of people suggested the starter motor. I pulled it off this morning and it is very stiff to turn so I am thinking that this may be the issue.

I will get it reconditioned (or replaced) and see how that goes. Thanks again for the help and suggestions

 

[steventhechef]

I'm back! <- said with a victorious lilt in my voice.

I had the starter motor reconditioned over the week. The Auto Electrician didn't feel that there was anything "really" wrong with it but gave it a clean and replaced the bushes.

I refitted it yesterday and it still wouldn't start although it turned over quicker.

I was still thinking that it was an electrical issue so (taking Bruce's advice) commenced from the battery earth terminal to the body through to the dash. I removed every connection and bolt and put them on the grinder/wire brush to really clean every terminal.

I went through the engine bay plugs and pulled them apart, scratched what I could and sprayed them with Electrical Contact Cleaner.

It still wouldn't start but turned over a bit quicker again - getting closer.

I bled the fuel pump and system again just in case I had missed something and cracked the injectors - still no start !!!

My wife helped me and I chained it up to the Nissan Patrol and tried to bump start it. It fired up with a lot of smoke but at least it was running. I left it on the trickle charger last night and it started again this morning with no issues. Woo Hoo!

What a relief - thanks so much for the input guys. Much appreciated and very helpful. Thanks to Bruce for making me revisit the electrical issue. Thanks also to JeffL for the starter idea

In the end I do not think that it was just one issue but a combination of lots of little things. I am so relieved that it is working again. The cows can be fed now!

 

[D2Cat]

I glad you didn't pull the head thinking you'd eventually find a problem there!!!!!

 

[1970cs]

What scares me is you say you have "blow by" How much? Is it smokey vapor or it's to the point of occasional dripping oil? Blow by is a tell tale sign of an engine needing a rebuild.

I would try to get a compression test done. I would give you a spec. But you have a model # we don't have here in the states. I might be able to cross reference and find it by engine model for example D1305 or V if it's 4 cylinder.

If memory serves, factory spec. should be in the 400 psi or 27.6 bar and above range.

Pat

 

[steventhechef]

Thanks Pat,

Sorry I missed your post. The blow by has concerned me from the start and I know that I will have to deal with it in the long term. I must get a compression test at some stage just for peace of mind.

I am not sure of the engine model but a mechanic mentioned D1305 (3 cylinder 20HP) but i can't confirm that number.