I recently purchased a b2100 about 2 weeks ago. The guy had it running when I bought it, I drove it on the trailer, hauled it home, and it has not started since. It turns over, blows black smoke out the exhaust but will not hit for nothing. I got it in a heated garage, fully charged battery, new oil, drained fuel and added new with stabilizer, bled air out of fuel lines, glow plugs are all working, turns over blows black smoke out exhaust but will not start. Any ideas please help.
need help kubota wont start
- Thread starter bjohnson
- Start date
when the tractor was running it seemed to run fine. plenty of power.. guess my next step would be to check compression. but don't have a compression tester or the money to buy one
ShaunBlake
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Equipment
B6100D; B219; Piranha bar; Hodge stabilizers; Filled Ag rears; R322T w/48" deck
That's really heartbreaking! Don't get too discouraged - you know it can run, and you made a good choice. A quick aside: did you actually see the seller start it? Maybe there's some help in the steps you saw him take? Try all the steps you're doing, don't stint on the glow plugs, give them a good 5 seconds, and pull out the decompression knob fully to let the engine really spin before shoving it in. There have been a couple of times that I thought mine was hopeless and the the inertia plus warm plugs kicked off combustion.
When you were in the buying process did you ever see it start from setting cold? What do you know about the tractor's history----before you bought it what maintenance did it have, how was it used, how many hours?
You need fuel, air and compression with enough battery to turn it over (faster then a gas engine to start).
Black smoke indicates it's getting fuel. You mentioned draining fuel and bleeding air.
Two things pop into my mind. One, sure you didn't gasoline in your diesel container? Two, you didn't get all the air out of the system when bleeding.
Did you bleed at the fuel filter, then the IP, then at the injectors? If not that is what I would do first.
You need fuel, air and compression with enough battery to turn it over (faster then a gas engine to start).
Black smoke indicates it's getting fuel. You mentioned draining fuel and bleeding air.
Two things pop into my mind. One, sure you didn't gasoline in your diesel container? Two, you didn't get all the air out of the system when bleeding.
Did you bleed at the fuel filter, then the IP, then at the injectors? If not that is what I would do first.
the tractor has 1200 hours not sure how well it was maintained and never saw tractor start from cold. I have since tried to call the seller since but no response. I replaced the fuel because there was a little about a half inch of water in the bowl, and I changed the filter. I bled fuel lines until I saw fuel pumping out of the lines at the fuel injector. I am getting black smoke plenty of black smoke but don't even try to start... if my tractor has a compression release I have yet to find it..
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You said, "I bled fuel lines until I saw fuel pumping out of the lines at the fuel injector." Got to be sure ALL air is out.
I would suggest you loosen the lines at the injectors. Just turn them counterclockwise 3-4 turns. Then turn the engine over for 20 seconds. Then wait 15-20 seconds and turn engine over for another 20 seconds. Repeat this process until you see fuel dribbling out at one injector, then tighten THAT line. Repeat process until you get fuel at another injector, then tighten that one. When you have fuel and have tightened all injector lines. Engine should start.
The reason you want to wait the 15-20 seconds between engine cranking is to save overheating your starter.
(As a rule, do not ever buy a machine that you're not there to see how it starts from COLD. You don't know what the PO did to get it started. Could have used starting fluid not caring about anything internal, just wanting to sell it. Could be something real simple---you just don't know at that point. What's he trying to hide?
Just like buying a horse. When you get there to look at it and the guy has it all tacked up and riding around, you better look real close because he's trying to overcome something he does not want you to see!)
I would suggest you loosen the lines at the injectors. Just turn them counterclockwise 3-4 turns. Then turn the engine over for 20 seconds. Then wait 15-20 seconds and turn engine over for another 20 seconds. Repeat this process until you see fuel dribbling out at one injector, then tighten THAT line. Repeat process until you get fuel at another injector, then tighten that one. When you have fuel and have tightened all injector lines. Engine should start.
The reason you want to wait the 15-20 seconds between engine cranking is to save overheating your starter.
(As a rule, do not ever buy a machine that you're not there to see how it starts from COLD. You don't know what the PO did to get it started. Could have used starting fluid not caring about anything internal, just wanting to sell it. Could be something real simple---you just don't know at that point. What's he trying to hide?
Just like buying a horse. When you get there to look at it and the guy has it all tacked up and riding around, you better look real close because he's trying to overcome something he does not want you to see!)
kubotasam
Well-known member
Equipment
B2410, B7100dt, B7500,Woods BH750,Landpride 2660RFM, Tiller, B2781 Snowblower
How do you know all the glow plugs are working? If you are sure they are good I would bleed the injectors as mentioned above. Then try to pull it with another tractor or a truck. 3rd gear high range. Hold the glow plugs on for about 30 seconds then start pulling the tractor. You don't need to pull it very fast. Keep the glow plugs on until it starts. This will spin the engine faster than the starter can. If you can get it to start by pulling then you can start to troubleshoot what is keeping it from starting by using the key.
Billdog350
Member
Equipment
Kubota L3710 HST,L2230A QT,forks,Takeuchi TB125, 60" Luck Now pto Snowblower
Summary of above posts:
1. ensure you're using DIESEL not GAS
2. Ensure your FUEL rack is on, some Kubotas have a lever that kills your fuel to the rack, if you don't push that knob back in, it will never start. I think that B2100 might have an electric shutoff to the rack.
3. If you bled injectors, you might not have done it correctly. Ensure ALL air is out of lines or it will not start.
4. Ensure you installed fuel filter correctly, took wrapper off of it, and have the fuel shutoff (if applicable) turned back on. I think the B2100 has the element inside the plastic bowl. I have heard people missed an 0 ring on those little filters and it caused all sorts of issues. You should have an inner and outer o ring if you have a plastic fuel filter that sits inside the plastic bowl that threads into the bottom of the fuel filter housing.
5. Ensure your battery is fully charged
6. Ensure you're using the glow plugs for ~30 seconds or so before starting. Even in a garage most Kubota's will NOT start without using the glow plugs.
1. ensure you're using DIESEL not GAS
2. Ensure your FUEL rack is on, some Kubotas have a lever that kills your fuel to the rack, if you don't push that knob back in, it will never start. I think that B2100 might have an electric shutoff to the rack.
3. If you bled injectors, you might not have done it correctly. Ensure ALL air is out of lines or it will not start.
4. Ensure you installed fuel filter correctly, took wrapper off of it, and have the fuel shutoff (if applicable) turned back on. I think the B2100 has the element inside the plastic bowl. I have heard people missed an 0 ring on those little filters and it caused all sorts of issues. You should have an inner and outer o ring if you have a plastic fuel filter that sits inside the plastic bowl that threads into the bottom of the fuel filter housing.
5. Ensure your battery is fully charged
6. Ensure you're using the glow plugs for ~30 seconds or so before starting. Even in a garage most Kubota's will NOT start without using the glow plugs.
Yes I do have diesel fuel, no gasoline. I checked glow plugs by taking them out of engine and wired them back up and grounded them. they all glowed red. The filter is installed correctly and I have a fuel shut off solenoid that is working correctly. I did notice while attempting to bleed the fuel lines at the injectors the fully charged battery seemed to go dead really quick . by quick i mean after the third attempt of cranking the engine over for 30 seconds at a time the battery we nt dead.. Its a brand new battery from napa with 5000 cold cranking amps. The person i bought the tractor off of did just put a new starter on the tractor.. Is it a possibility that the starter is not the correct one and not capable of cranking the engine over fast enough? and drawing the battery down too fast? idk out of ideas.. also not sure if i can start the Kubota by pulling it since its hydrtostat..
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Crank speed should not be an issue unless it's not getting enough juice. You'll get that with a weak/low battery. If you have someone with an engine starter (not a cheesy one) you can disconnect the battery and fire directly from the start box. That will tell you if you are getting enough juice. You can try it with the battery connected and that might help but if it has a shorted cell, it will draw down the start box as well.
I don't know what the seller did to start the tractor, it was running when i got there. It was above freezing that day maybe around 40 degrees. I drove it on trailer, shut it off and brought it home. tried starting it the following day with no luck. It was a lot colder and noticed a half inch of ice in bottom of filter bowl, also they had no filter in the sediment bowl. so drained fuel and added a filter, also noticed the oil smelled like raw diesel fuel so i changed the oil and filter, attempted to bleed fuel lines and tested glow plugs , Someone told me it was probably to cold out so i towed it in my garage which is heated , put battery on charge overnight and attempted to start it since with no luck.. Did the seller start it with ether, don't know, still have air in fuel lines, not sure, are the injectors dirty, don't know, is it cranking over fast enough to start, it seems to me it would be, all i know for sure is the glow plugs are working and its blowing black smoke which smells of diesel out the exhaust but doesn't even attempt to want to start.
Daren Todd
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Lifetime Member
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Massey Ferguson 1825E, Kubota Z121S, Box blade, Rotary Cutter
Check and clean the battery cables. Both ends and pay close attention to the ground wire where it connects to the frame. Weak ground can cause the selonoid to open and close repeatedly or fall off all together while cranking and engage again when the key is released.
so far i have tried the new napa battery, battery out of my other tractor and the battery out of my truck which all seem to go dead with just a short time of cranking , crank for 30 seconds wait a while crank 30 seconds wait crank 30 seconds then battery dead barely cranks,
cleaned battery cables and removed ground wire at frame and cleaned, also checked all connections at starter
Can you jumper 12 volts directly to the glow plugs? If not I would at least check for power to the glow plugs with a test light.
maybe i got brushes in starter worn out from trying to start this tractor for the last 2 weeks every night,,i have always done all my mechanic work with no problems , but I have never owned a diesel so this is all new to me,
yes glow plugs are working, removed them from engine and wired them back up and grounded them, they all glowed red within seconds
kubotasam
Well-known member
Equipment
B2410, B7100dt, B7500,Woods BH750,Landpride 2660RFM, Tiller, B2781 Snowblower
I never thought about it being a hydrostat-- so no my advice about pulling the tractor will not work.
My next step would be to get a compression test. Harbor freight sells them.
My next step would be to get a compression test. Harbor freight sells them.
85Hokie
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BX-25D ,PTB. Under Armor, '90&'92-B7100HST's, '06 BX1850 FEL
hope you meant 500 cca ....not 5000 !!! that sucker would spin the tractor around - you would not need the engine!!!!
recharge the battery - then clean the hell out of the terminals.........and no you cannot pull start HST.....