2013 L3200HST cranks well, no start.

RedRiverRambler

New member

Equipment
L3200 tractor; 520RTV
Aug 26, 2025
4
0
1
Clay County MN
First post....thanks to Mods for adding me to your forum. I hope to get more immediate help with my L3200HST issue, but also hope this may be a resource for my new gas 520RTV. As a disclaimer, I've posted my tractor issue on a Facebook forum for L-series as well but hope to get as much information as I can to tackle the problem.

First, the 'no start' is very recent. The were sporadic 'no start' when I removed the tractor from winter storage in April of this year, but that appears to have been related to safety switches (no crank) and was rectified by working the switch levers/buttons. The tractor ran fine in May and early June and was used for several hours (turning off and on fine) across a few days of pasture mowing. Then it was parked under some trees out of the sun for about 2 months with no activity. We are pretty high humidity in summer....worse this year were a few deluge rainfalls that the tractor sat out in. After one big storm with wind in early August, needed the tractor to move brush and sawed up limbs. That's when it refused to start,.....turning over, but not kicking in. Then one day recently, I was messing around with it and it jumped to life when I started it. I kept it running for about 15 min., then used it to haul some brush for about 1 hr before parking it alongside the driveway. I figured I would keep working on it there, but it was also a more convenient location for a moving service to retrieve it if need be. That was the last time it started. I've since replaced the fuel filter and in doing so noticed the fuel bowl readily filled, suggesting no problem with flow from the tank. With safety switches positioned to allow starting, it *seems* as though I can feel the fuel shutoff solenoid clicking properly, although I can't say for sure that the plunger is functoining and not sticking internally. I have a replacement solenoid on order, but will just be guessing with that as a fix. What would be the next steps to take for this problem? I have tried to start with the line bleed screw opened but to no avail? What is the best approach to test for fuel getting to cylinders/injectors?

As my knowledge of diesels is limited, is there only one pump that pressurizes the lines to the injectors? Also, the little rocker arm that sits atop the fuel solenoid has a hole in it presumably for manual shut-off of fuel....I think my older grey-market Yanmar has a fuel shut off of this style. Can the L3200HST be modified to use a manual fuel shut off and elminate the electronic solenoid shut-off? Thanks for any help that you can provide!

FuelIssuePics.jpg
 

North Idaho Wolfman

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Pull the solenoid off the engine and see if it starts.
And use the manual shut down lever if it does.

Not worth the aggravation of only having manual shut down, just fix the solenoid issue.
 
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Russell King

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Jun 17, 2012
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Austin, Texas
To try to answer your question on how many pumps you have you can look at this site:

I see that technically there are TWO pumps. Red #90 is what you indicated above. That is a low pressure pump that feeds the injection pump (blue #20). The injection pump is really what feeds the injectors the high pressure fuel.
IMG_0495.jpeg


xxx
 

RedRiverRambler

New member

Equipment
L3200 tractor; 520RTV
Aug 26, 2025
4
0
1
Clay County MN
Pull the solenoid off the engine and see if it starts.
And use the manual shut down lever if it does.

Not worth the aggravation of only having manual shut down, just fix the solenoid issue.
Thanks for this information and I'm ready to try this as soon as my ordered replacement solenoid arrives next week. Just needing to know as well...can it be started and run with the current solenoid removed and with the resulting hole uncovered? Or should I try to block it with a rubber plug or piece of flat metal? Thanks!
 

RedRiverRambler

New member

Equipment
L3200 tractor; 520RTV
Aug 26, 2025
4
0
1
Clay County MN
To try to answer your question on how many pumps you have you can look at this site:

I see that technically there are TWO pumps. Red #90 is what you indicated above. That is a low pressure pump that feeds the injection pump (blue #20). The injection pump is really what feeds the injectors the high pressure fuel.
View attachment 161465

xxx
Thanks for the schematic and identification of the different pumps involved. If the solenoid does not turn out to be the problem, I will investigate these as well as any circuits behind the dash that may be involved in the issue. Again, thanks to both for for the insights!
 

North Idaho Wolfman

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Staff member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
L3450DT-GST, Woods FEL, B7100 HSD, FEL, 60" SB, 743 Bobcat with V2203, and more
Jun 9, 2013
33,666
8,895
113
Sandpoint, ID
Thanks for this information and I'm ready to try this as soon as my ordered replacement solenoid arrives next week. Just needing to know as well...can it be started and run with the current solenoid removed and with the resulting hole uncovered? Or should I try to block it with a rubber plug or piece of flat metal? Thanks!
You don't need to wait for the other solenoid to try and see if that is your problem.
If it starts when you remove the solenoid then you will know that's your issue.
You can start and run it with the solenoid removed, but if you wanted to use it then yes, you would need to cover the hole.
If the solenoid is bad ( and not just the circuit that feeds it) just cut the stem off the solenoid and reinstall it.
Do you have the WSM (aka Service manual) to help with testing the solenoid and circuit?
 

RedRiverRambler

New member

Equipment
L3200 tractor; 520RTV
Aug 26, 2025
4
0
1
Clay County MN
No-start Update... So I pulled the fuel solenoid (nice location for that....NOT!) producing the usual bloody knuckles and went to work with the diagnostics. I had unplugged the solenoid from the connecting wire and then got into the driver's seat to start the tractor. Turning the key to the glow-plug lit up the usual dash lights and fuel tank gauge. Then turning to "on" and then to "start" produced nothing...no sound from starter solenoid or elsewhere, no lights on dash from what I can recall. Thinking I may need to have the solenoid plugged into the circuit, I added that back....and then with it hanging alongside the engine, added a jumper from the bolt-eye on the solenoid to the bolt on the engine to provide ground. Now, turning the key to start allowed me to see the plunger action on the solenoid which appeared good. Still, no turning over of the engine at this point. Leaving the main connector attached to the solenoid, but removing the jumper, I could no longer activate the solenoid plunger...but then on keying to 'start', the engine fired right up--no hesitation! With it now running, I moved fast to get it up onto a trailer for delivery next week to Kubota dealer for a more thorough examination. Engine was stopped by moving fuel shut-off arm to kill fuel flow.

Just now I went out and started it up again on the trailer...old solenoid still connected to electrical connector, but just hanging by side of tractor. Started with no hesitation. Confirmed that once running, the fuel tank gauge dropped to zero from the 1/3 tank amount it shows when keyed to 'glow plug'. I'm still waiting on the arrival of the replacement solenoid and the shop manual. Is there some reason why a bad solenoid itself would have an impact on the fuel gauge? Don't really want to try to get behind the instrument panel by the looks of it and wish the design allowed for easier access there. Thanks for help and comments so far and more is welcomed.
 

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