Kubota L2900

[longo]

I recently bought an older L2900. Runs good, but decided to have the hoses (hyd) replaced if needed and to change all fluids. Went to local dealer to have serviced. OUCH! Now my glow plugs are acting crazy. Youtubed the problem, and found it could be either the control or the relay or both. No blown fuse. Glow plug light comes on sometimes, mostly not, or stays on. I can wait till the weather warms up during the day and it will crank up immediately, but not on cool mornings. I live in La. so, weather is always changing. I purchased both parts mentioned above(ouch again) but gonna try to tackle myself (dealer charges 100 bucks an hour). Any pointers or advise would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Longo

 

[Roadworthy]

Acting crazy isn't a real good description of your problem. I'm guessing that for some reason the glow plugs aren't warming the engine as you expect. You can begin by putting a meter or test light on the glow plugs and see if you get voltage or illumination when the glow plugs are supposed to be activated. If you get power every time you can check each glow plug to see if it's good. It should present a low resistance but not a dead short - really close, though. They are wired in parallel so they must be disconnected and checked individually. If you're not getting power to the glow plugs you'll need to determine if the problem is your switch or the controller.. You can also try pulling and reseating your fuse. Clean your battery terminals and cables well. Pay special attention to where your ground terminal connects to the frame. Remove it and ensure you have clean, solid contact then tighten securely.

 

[PoTreeBoy]

A better description of your tracror's behavior would help. But, I think your L2900 is similar to my L35. Last summer, I noticed the preheat lamp flashing on and off while I was running it. A little probing revealed the relay was also turning on and off. I didn't want to risk burning out the glow plugs, so I unplugged the relay until I could get a new controller. After replacing the controller, the system works as it should. I've never started it below 40 defF or so, but the light stays on 5 seconds or so when cold and barely comes on at all when the engine is warm. It never blinks after the engine is running.
I think the controller was failing when I bought the tractor used about a year ago. The preheat time seemed inconsistent and was never long, but it was summertime so I didn't think much of it. Then it started coming on while normal running so I knew something was wrong.

 

[longo]

Acting crazy isn't a real good description of your problem. I'm guessing that for some reason the glow plugs aren't warming the engine as you expect. You can begin by putting a meter or test light on the glow plugs and see if you get voltage or illumination when the glow plugs are supposed to be activated. If you get power every time you can check each glow plug to see if it's good. It should present a low resistance but not a dead short - really close, though. They are wired in parallel so they must be disconnected and checked individually. If you're not getting power to the glow plugs you'll need to determine if the problem is your switch or the controller.. You can also try pulling and reseating your fuse. Clean your battery terminals and cables well. Pay special attention to where your ground terminal connects to the frame. Remove it and ensure you have clean, solid contact then tighten securely.

Thanks, and yeah I know "acting crazy" isn't accurate. However; sometimes it would work and sometimes it wouldn't. Thanks again for the advise, now that I know some other alternatives.

 

[longo]

A better description of your tracror's behavior would help. But, I think your L2900 is similar to my L35. Last summer, I noticed the preheat lamp flashing on and off while I was running it. A little probing revealed the relay was also turning on and off. I didn't want to risk burning out the glow plugs, so I unplugged the relay until I could get a new controller. After replacing the controller, the system works as it should. I've never started it below 40 defF or so, but the light stays on 5 seconds or so when cold and barely comes on at all when the engine is warm. It never blinks after the engine is running.
I think the controller was failing when I bought the tractor used about a year ago. The preheat time seemed inconsistent and was never long, but it was summertime so I didn't think much of it. Then it started coming on while normal running so I knew something was wrong.

Thanks, much appreciated advise!