L3200 Engine Will Turn Over but Won't Start

I have an L3200 DT just under a year old with 98 hrs on it. Has been running like a top since day one. 50 hr service completed by dealer six months ago.

This morning I had been tilling for about an hour and a half when the engine just died. Level ground, half a tank of fuel. No warning--no cough, no sputter, no rough running, it was as if I had just turned the key off.

My first thought was that I'd somehow run out of fuel, even though I had just put a few extra gallons in that morning and the gauge read half full. The engine spool down had the feel of a fuel-starvation / flameout event. Even though the fuel gauge read half full I checked the fuel filter bowl and it was full to the top of fuel.

I disengaged the PTO, put her in neutral and the engine turns over strongly and rapidly but will not even begin to run. To me it "feels" like it is either fuel or electrical.

I towed her out of the field and back to the shop. I pulled the fuel filter and got strong flow from the tank. The paper filter was clean with only mild sediment in the bottom of the bowl. I cleaned it all and put it back on and bled the air out of the filter and bowl. I removed the hose leading out of the filter and got strong flow there. Still won't start.

I checked the fuses in the fuse box by the clutch pedal, even though none of them would seem to cause a problem like this (regardless, none were blown). All the appropriate dash indicators light up.

It *seems* like I'm missing something obvious (and big)--an oil pressure sensor interconnect (don't know if this model has one)? Engine oil reads at the top of the dipstick.

If it were a gas engine I'd look for a spark but that's not applicable here.

Maybe the fuel injector pump? I guess I could crack the nuts on the injectors and see if they seep fuel (I have not gone that far).

Conditions were very dusty, but it was a cool, overcast morning and the engine temp was in the lower half of the gauge (how I wish they would put numbers on gauges).

In my younger days I did all my own engine maintenance, including complete overhauls and rebuilds so I have decent technical understanding and some experience--however that was a few decades ago.

I'm not opposed to having the dealer's service truck out to take a look, I was just hoping it would be something simple and easily fixable by me.

Any thoughts, suggestions or even WAGs are greatly appreciated.

Matt

Wolfman - Thanks for the pointer to the solenoid and relay. I checked to ensure the connector on the solenoid hadn't come loose. Also thanks for the WSM, very helpful.

Mickey - Thanks for the welcome. 98.6 hrs.

Texas - Thank you for the tip on your B21, I will keep that in mind.

Ray - Yes, good advice, thank you. That fact had been on my mind but I was hoping it might be something as simple as a loose connector or busted hose.

I had a call with the dealer this morning and he said his next step would be to recommend I crack the nuts on the injectors and see if fuel is getting there.

As much as I love to tinker, solve problems and fix things, this one is still under warranty and there is a bunch of other work that I *have* to do today. The dealer is sending a service truck out this afternoon and with luck they'll be able to fix it on site. I will be interested to learn what it is, and will post the findings.

Thanks again to all.
Matt

Re: L3200 Engine Will Turn Over but Won't Start--SOLVED

mld213 said:

...engine just died. Level ground, half a tank of fuel. No warning--no cough, no sputter, no rough running, it was as if I had just turned the key off...

Click to expand...

Problem solved. This one involves some embarrassment and some learning--funny how those often go hand-in-hand. Service tech arrived at 0630 this a.m. and it only took him minutes to diagnose and fix it.

Three things that I looked at and should have *seen* but didn't:

Firstly, I failed to notice that when I turned the key to the ON position I wasn't hearing the fuel solenoid click. That would indicate that either the solenoid is bad or it's not getting power. In TexasB21's reply to the original post I don't know why in my mind I was thinking starter solenoid click when I should have been thinking fuel solenoid click--bonehead mistake.

Secondly, while I checked the fuses by the clutch pedal, I failed to check the fuses to the right of the gear shift. I missed these despite when I checked the fuses by the clutch pedal I thought to myself "These are all small / low amp fuses, surely there larger ones around somewhere...well, maybe they are in-line somewhere" and I went off to look for them and got distracted. The 30 amp Key Switch fuse was blown.

Thirdly, when checking the wire connector at the solenoid I noticed that it was pulled very tight and that there was no slack in the wire. I said to myself "Poor installation...why would they build it that way?" I traced the wire from the solenoid back up to where it enters the cowling above the dashboard. I failed to notice that the flex tubing that protects the wire bundle from chafing against a sheet metal cut-out was a hair too short and not providing protection from the sheet metal edge. The sheet metal had abraded the insulation and caused a short, blowing the fuse.

The tech quickly found the blown fuse and replaced it. She fired right up. We stood there and pondered why the fuse might have blown. Certainly we've all seen fuses blow and breakers trip for no apparent reason. But there's always a reason. It may not be obvious and we may not be able to reproduce it, but there's always a reason.

With the engine running he used his fingers to trace the wire from the solenoid back toward the relay. When he got to the area near the sheet metal the engine died. That's the spot. The tech took a photo for the warranty submission.

A light pull loosened the wires a bit to provide some slack. Used some tin snips to enlarge the passage, filed it smooth, took some of the edge roll from the outside edge (where it's not needed) and put it on the inside edge, repaired the wire insulation, added extra flex tube and secured it. It is definitely belt + suspenders, but I'm okay with that here.

If you have a similar setup, I recommend looking at this area and adding some edge protection to the inner edge of the cutout and adding some flex tube to lengthen what you have if it appears that your current flex tube could ride up.

In the first photo you can see the wire bundle was pulled tight against the forward edge of the cutout. You can also see that the flex tube ends just above the sheet metal. The wires were wrapped with electrical tape but the sheet metal went through it and then through the insulation. You can also see that the edge protector is on the outside which serves to keep the wire bundle inside the cutout so as not to get snagged on the hood when it opens, but there is none on the inside to protect from chaffing. You can also see that there are two cutouts in this area but only the forward one is used, and there is more than enough edge roll to cut a piece from the end and use it on the inside of the cutout.

The second photo is after slightly enlarging the cutout and using some of the extra edge roll to line the inside of the cutout.

The third photo shows the final repair. Edge protection inside and out and extra flex tube on the wire bundle.

In the end I'm happy the tech came out--I got to ask him a bunch of questions. And he went straight to the source of the problem--no need to check the injectors, relay, etc. And it was all covered under warranty.

With luck, this thread will help someone avoid a wire chafing problem before it happens.

Thanks again to all.
Matt

He did say that he loved his job. The local dealer (Garton Tractor) has mobile service trucks and everyone with equipment that I know around here uses them. Great service and keeps down time to a minimum. Most of the time they can come out same-day. He was supposed to be out yesterday afternoon but got stuck on a problem job so he came first thing this morning--06:30 AM--no complaints from me. The downtime was a small issue but I had plenty of other work to get done.

ShaunRH said:

Where exactly is that bulkhead pass through so I can look for it on my L3200?

Click to expand...

Apologies for the delayed reply. It is on the right hand side, just forward of the firewall. Photo attached.