Kubota B3300SU won't start. Any suggestions? Thank you!

[Lars Pleines]

My 2012 Kubota B3300SU has only 389 hours but has provided 10 years of flawless service of which I am thankful for. I used it for 15 minutes yesterday, but today it won't start. The starting lights on the dash don't light up (including the glow plugs light). It won't crank over. The battery terminals are clean and it registers 70% and 12.4 volts. I cleaned the clean terminals and charged the battery anyhow. The fuses are all good. I looked at the seat switch, PTO switch and neutral switch for the fwd & reverse pedals which are depressed as required. I tried to get the dash off but am stuck figuring it out and don't want to break anything. I could see in under it well enough to notice spider webs but no sign of mice using it as a condo. I am puzzled and have no dealerships or repair men around my area. Any advise would be greatly appreciated, including how to get that dash off so I could check other things. Even better, would be if you know of what might be the problem and how to fix it without removing the dash.
Thanks again!
Lars

 

[Mark_BX25D]

The starting lights on the dash don't light up (including the glow plugs light).

This suggests a power problem, rather than a safety switch.

Clean terminals don't prove good cables. Check the other end of those battery cables. If the ground connection is grungy, it can prevent starting. Same for the battery cable. And the cables themselves can be bad, and look fine.



Do you get ANY lights at all?

 

[85Hokie]

Take battery to an autoparts store - have them do a load test on it.

Eliminate the obvious and easy problem.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Frame ground connection is the #1 culprit for these type of failures.

 

[Lars Pleines]

This suggests a power problem, rather than a safety switch.

Clean terminals don't prove good cables. Check the other end of those battery cables. If the ground connection is grungy, it can prevent starting. Same for the battery cable. And the cables themselves can be bad, and look fine.



Do you get ANY lights at all?

No, I don't have any lights at all. Thank you for your suggestions SO much! I will those things tomorrow. I looked at the negative ground wire where it attaches to the frame and it is very clean. However, It might be worth loosening it and taking a wire brush to all surfaces. I will also take the battery to a parts store and have it checked. A 10 year old battery could have a problem although the green in the sight glass on the battery suggests it is good. It's always worth checking and rechecking out the easy things first.
Thanks again for taking the time to try and trouble shoot this.

 

[Lars Pleines]

Frame ground connection is the #1 culprit for these type of failures.

Thanks! Although it looks really clean, I will disconnect it and wire brush all the surfaces. That would be SO nice if that is the problem!!

 

[Lars Pleines]

Take battery to an autoparts store - have them do a load test on it.

Eliminate the obvious and easy problem.

Load test coming up tomorrow morning! Thanks, I really appreciate your help.

 

[85Hokie]

Load test coming up tomorrow morning! Thanks, I really appreciate your help.

Sometimes a "good" battery will .... quit for no real good reason

 

[Lars Pleines]

I can't wait to get that load test tomorrow! I will let you know the results...

 

[Mark_BX25D]

..... A 10 year old battery could have a problem ...

It's always worth checking and rechecking out the easy things first.

Agreed and agreed!

 

[S-G-R]

Any news?

 

[Lars Pleines]

Any news?

Thank you SO much for your help!! I had too many chores at home to get to town yesterday. However, today I went to 3 places to check the battery. All 3 said the battery was bad, that the voltage was 12.4 as I read but the problems was with the low ampere. I learned it is worth your while to check around. The first place want $200 for the battery, the 2nd was $180 and the 3rd was $140. That worked for me so I came home and put it in the tractor, said a prayer and I saw the light, 3 of them! Praise the Lord! I also gave thanks for YOU for taking the time to share your knowledge.

A Big thanks from me and the girls to you and everyone who was willing to help!

 

[S-G-R]

Glad it was a somewhat simple fix. Lots of great members and advice on here.