diesel engine won't start

[pipehead]

Hello,
I have a John Deere industrial engine (4.5 litre) that will not start. It has sat for a while, but was running fine. What is happening is that it turns over very slowly. I have tried to jump start it, but it still turns over very slow, and will not fire. Any suggestions? Thanks.

 

[pook]

oil heater

 

[pipehead]

oil heater

I'm leaning towards battery, but even with a 200A booster, it still turns over slowly. Got it on a trickle charge for now.

 

[Elim]

Does it have glow plugs, or grid heater, and is it functioning? Might have to cycle it twice before hitting it. Other than that a block, or oil heater would help if its outdoors. The oil gets like peanut butter in the cold. If its outdoors can you tow it into a garage to warm it up some? Might have to let it charge for a bit before cranking it if your jumping it off too. They can draw some serious amps.

 

[pipehead]

Does it have glow plugs, or grid heater, and is it functioning? Might have to cycle it twice before hitting it. Other than that a block, or oil heater would help if its outdoors. The oil gets like peanut butter in the cold. If its outdoors can you tow it into a garage to warm it up some? Might have to let it charge for a bit before cranking it if your jumping it off too. They can draw some serious amps.

It glows itself for 10 seconds, then tries to start 3 times. The engine was indoors and warm, so the oil should not be very thick. I did notice that it drops to around 9V when it tries to turns over, which seems a little low.

 

[Elim]

It glows itself for 10 seconds, then tries to start 3 times. The engine was indoors and warm, so the oil should not be very thick. I did notice that it drops to around 9V when it tries to turns over, which seems a little low.

Rgr that. I am sure the glow plugs do not help the state of the battery. Yes it sounds like the battery is a bit weak, or might have some bad cells. If its a 12v system could you "borrow" your truck battery to see if she will fire up?

 

[Walt41]

Charge it and throw a heating pad under it for a while, might be a moisture/fuel problem too.

 

[bigbadbob]

If you battery is anyhwere near 5 years old I would start by changing it.
Buy the best one you can get as the draw is huge.
My dodge and vw are fussly like that, really shows first cool snap. The vw likes to have its starter removed and cleaned and regreased also.
Good Luck
Bob

 

[chowdozer]

9v is too low. good way to burn out your starter. Get your battery load tested and check your starter connections

 

[pook]

battery connectors + ground to engine?

 

[bigbadbob]

9v is too low. good way to burn out your starter. Get your battery load tested and check your starter connections

Lots of stuff wont go untill its sees at least 11v, not sure if the tractor has electronics??

 

[pipehead]

Lots of stuff wont go untill its sees at least 11v, not sure if the tractor has electronics??

It has electronics. It is actually a 50Kv generator.

 

[reaperman]

It has electronics. It is actually a 50Kv generator.

There goes my idea of pull starting it!

 

[bigbadbob]

It has electronics. It is actually a 50Kv generator.

That could get interesting, as they have lots of things that can stop it from starting, we had them at work, some were very troublesome and hard to trouble shoot. And you do need a very good battery to turn that puppy over.
Be sure and keep us up to date.
Bob

 

[pipehead]

That could get interesting, as they have lots of things that can stop it from starting, we had them at work, some were very troublesome and hard to trouble shoot. And you do need a very good battery to turn that puppy over.
Be sure and keep us up to date.
Bob

Yeah - we've got a few of them in our shop, and they are almost always cranky to get going. Usually, it is the battery - even when they are "off", the circuit boards seem to drain the battery slowly (that is what I think happens anyway). I may start disconnecting the battery when they are not being used for any amount fo time.
I have a feeling I may have to buy a new battery for this one. Thanks for all the advice, everyone.

 

[bigbadbob]

Yeah - we've got a few of them in our shop, and they are almost always cranky to get going. Usually, it is the battery - even when they are "off", the circuit boards seem to drain the battery slowly (that is what I think happens anyway). I may start disconnecting the battery when they are not being used for any amount fo time.
I have a feeling I may have to buy a new battery for this one. Thanks for all the advice, everyone.

Ya the battey is the easiest, then you know what you have .
All ours were on blockheaters and automatic trickle chargers 24/7.
New batteries every two years.
We had one volvo that they spent months trying to figure out why it sensed over speed and went to shut down. Chips from starter drive on the magnetic speed sensor!!
Was a gong show between mechanics and electritions, pointing fingers!!!

 

[pipehead]

Got the old girl running. Just had to leave it on the charger a little longer than usual. Thanks again for all the help, everyone.

 

[fields_mj]

Don't over look the starter. I had the same thing on my truck last year (7.3L IDI). No matter how long I charged it, jumped it, or what ever, it just didn't hardly want to turn over. When I went to go to work, the truck turned over a little slower than it had been, and it acted like the batteries drained real quick and then nothing. Started my wife's car, and hooked up the jumpers and let it charge for an hour or so with very little effect. Tried using the 75 am boost along with the car and still it would hardly turn over. After spending $230 on a pair of 1000 cca batteries, I learned my started had died on me. Put a new starter on and with the original batteries, she fired up like she was brand new again. Thankfully, the store took the batteries back the next day

If your solenoid is pulling in, and you are turning over, then adding the booster should have got you started. Since you said that it has electronics, I assume that means that a computer controlls the injection cycle. So if it's not the starter, you could be in for one heck of a time. Diesel only needs fuel, high compression, and a little heat. So if it doesn't start either you're not getting enough fuel, or your not getting enough compression for the temprature that you are running at. The battery and starter will slow the system down and reduce your compression, but all the current in the world won't help if you're not getting atomized fuel into the cylinder.

Just my 2 bits,
Mark

 

[Dan_IN_MN]

Hello,
I have a John Deere industrial engine (4.5 litre) that will not start. It has sat for a while, but was running fine. What is happening is that it turns over very slowly. I have tried to jump start it, but it still turns over very slow, and will not fire. Any suggestions? Thanks.

If the unit is not cold then it's the battery, connections, starter.

Don't assume anything. Check everything. Are the glow plugs heating? Pull the wire from each glow plug and use an ohm meter to check for continuity. The Gplugs should have some resistance. If they're open they will not heat.

A diesel will not start with slow cranking.

How old of a unit is this? How long have you had it?

What size of wire were the jumper cables that you used? I have a pair of cables that have 0 for wire size. When those are hooked up, it's like dropping in a fresh battery.

Regards

Dan

 

[Junkfxr]

Glad to hear you got it going. One of the worst things in the world is a generator that won't start when you need it. I know this from way too much experience. I used to work at a saw mill that ran off of a 450 kva generator and our house is 90% off grid with a 8 kw diesel generator for back up. I don't know your situation but can you keep a charger on the starting battery all of the time? I put in a solar panel just to keep the generator battery charged for the long periods that it isn't used. I also use 4D size batteries, they've got a lot more reserve capacity than group 27 which is what seems to be the most popular size in gensets now.