Much easier than working on a modern car, that's for sure! Have room to work! Nice being on a farm rather than in the city, IMO. Can't beat the sounds of spring. Finches, geese, and redwing blackbirds (must be a swamp or pond nearby) I heard there. Love it. Never heard of that brand skidsteer before. Those things are little workhorses. Amazing what you can do with one. We did the whole foundation and drainage in my yard here for the shop addition, with just a tiny 6,500 lb. excavator and a Bobcat! Crazy - I didn't think it was possible until I saw it happen. They definitely need that thing around the farm! Great vid Ivan. Thanks! 👍
Ivan your so unconventional when it comes to finding the problem with a piece of machinery that's why I love watching your channel and I get to benefit from your diagnostic process. I learn a few things that help me in my own mechanical work. Thanks alot.
Drilled out the pop rivets on an outboard motor starter solenoid one time and cleaned the contacts and it stayed working for years. Don't know if that would have worked on this or not. Great video and diagnosis.
Interesting diagnosis!! But I've never heard of the that plunger pulling in once you start. But I learned something in this!!! I think it's sad for me as I didn't work or learn on Kubota diesels, as when I was younger, we had Ford's, Rover, Peugeots, Citroen mostly etc. Since you know I'm from England!
Now that's different to the vehicles you normally repair, simplicity is nice for a change :-D. I'm sure it worked like a champ once you replaced that double coil solinoid. Logically the higher resistance coil is the hold in. You do look like a Ninja now :-D.
Ah the old fuel cutoff plunger!! Crazy how tight that is in there. At least its not in sideways like a Bobcat!! Now you can add "diesel" to your knowledge base!
At the beginning of Winter, check cars for codes and ALL important systems to prevent trouble during the freezing Winter. Do tuneups and oil changes and other things to get them thru the Winter.
Ivan I am proud to say I bought that same amp clamp and its great. The L.e.d back light stays on when you press the button. I take it on the road with me. It was becoming difficult to find that meter in the store's. Found mine on craigslist.
If you cut that solenoid apart you'll see a set of contacts on the pull in coil.As soon as the coil is energized it opens the contacts on the pull in coil to keep it from burning out.Power is maintained on the hold in coil until you turn off the key.Iv'e burnt out two of these coils and haven't found the problem yet.For some reason the contacts don't open on the pull in coil therefore frying the whole coil.I have a fuel shut off cable on this machine so I'm using that to stop it for now.Anyway from one gear head to another keep the videos coming Ivan.
It wasn't so scary for us as it was for you, since the Hero usually turns out OK in the movies! I wonder if the original solenoid could work if the mounting holes are enlarged?
Just like a GM starter solenoid! There should be a three wire replacement solenoid or an adapter to go from three wire to 2 wire and external case ground. Part 2 coming?
when key is on run/start, the hold coil should always have power! "key start" supplies power to the pull in coil, that is when the solenoid actually opens. So a low/weak battery or out of spec. coil may not pull in when cranking(chinesium!) bad connection, wire, weak ignition switch or relay could cause low current and no pull in also. just things to keep in mind :)
as soon as you said engine swap i knew what was going on. willing to bet they got a wholegoods engine which is less expensive. they typically are the same base unit yet the "accessories" are often configured differently. then i seen the old sollenoid. that one was set up for an external bracket and linkage that operated an arm on the governor cover not an internal one like that engine had. when swapping those engines EVERYTHING that is not identical needs to be swapped over. those pull in coils are notorious for frying if juice is applied for too long of time. most likely the original was a gehl part not kubota. it could be that the original engine configuration was no longer available. but still everything needs swapped. just because a pigtail fits doesnt mean its right lol
Use De-Oxit on bad solenoid, then retest. Might get the loader back to work while waiting for the new solenoid, which may be back-ordered for weeks, if Murphy’s Law is still in effect in your locale.
I deal with that engine in trailer refrigeration units and get that problem from time to time, it shorts out the pull in coil and normally blows the fuse. the old engine that came out was a older model that had the kill lever external
You're called out to service some of the darnedest equipment -- cherry pickers in the Midwest, a skidloader on a farm, ... I doubt that Eric O. ever deals with stuff like this. His exotica is limited to the occasional snowblower.
I worked on heavy equipment for 7 years. Lots of skid-steers, dozers, loaders, dump trucks, excavators, tractors, backhoes. I just choose not to these days....
I stand corrected. Your shop is so full of cars nowadays -- and you seem to have such a detailed knowledge of them -- that it's hard to imagine that you ever worked on anything else.
I was just looking at a 2015 TI paper on 'Detection of Plunger Movement in DC Solenoids'. They were proposing a relatively simple circuit that detects the solenoid current peak and valley to sense the plunger movement and then possibly use that to reduce to a hold current rather than have separate coils. It would remove the hold circuit in the video. And of course, offer up a nice electronic failure point in to the mud and muck environment. This circuit didn't use a computer but it could be something the ECMs start monitoring.
What would your guess be if I don’t get the engine trying to crank but battery is good and it was starting fine. I can hear something behind me on the left side clicking when I turn the key. It kind clicks with the key as I turn the key on it clicks and when I let the key go it clicks, but no fire. Not a mechanic 😕
I have a GEHL 4840 SKIDSTEER it’ll start but then the next day it won’t and this only happens in the winter then when I try again a week or two later it’ll start and then the same thing the next day it won’t start do you know what the problem could be let me know thank you
Good fix, wondering what the cost of the new solenoid was, Kubota is usually pretty proud of their parts. I own 5 of these engines in older machines. Wonder what was wrong with the old pull out kill cable? Everything has to be so convenient anymore. I bet my cable cost a lot less than the double coil solenoid, even sounds expensive huh. Hope your new job is going well.
Hey Ivan, if the new cutoff solenoid with 2 wires is wired to the old 3-wire controller/switch assembly/wiring harness, how sure are you that it's wired correctly? Could it be that Pullin and Hold are swapped around? Normally, initially both go on, then after starting the controller releases Pullin but keeps Hold activated. But if those are swapped, it'll start OK, but then it will release Hold while maintaining Pullin. It looks like Pullin is designed with a built-in limit switch to kill the pullin circuit when it reaches the Held position (normally to be held in place by Hold). So with the swapped wiring, the overall effect will be that the solenoid will oscillate between fully pulled (opening the limit switch) and slightly released enough to close the switch and pull it in again etc etc. Hence buzzing, and an extreme workout that might have messed it up -- eg messing up the limit switch.
I think you're saying that the connector was mechanically a fit? Question: You report that When working, the new solenoid buzzes -- why is that, and is that as intended? I say it should not buzz, and that the improper buzzing indicates that the wiring harness/controller is continuing to activate the Pullin circuit instead of the Hold circuit.
Since there are no spark plugs on a diesel ( just glow plugs) there has to be a way to stop the engine. Fuel is normally off at the valve so to run the coil pulls and lets the valve open. Ivan reached in and manually pushed the valve closed to stop the engine.
I work with reefers and Thermo King has the same solenoid and every one I have changed have failed on the pull in coil. The hold in is fine and if I don't have a new solenoid I manually push it in to get the unit started and to make the unit stay running I manually tell the controller to not shut off the engine when it reaches setpoint. The new solenoid from Thermo King is $170. It is a little more tight spot to change compared to that engine though.
If the belt catches your finger you likely will lose all your fingers, not just one, as the one will pull the others through, if not the whole hand. There was a guy who was at the auto part store almost every time I was there, and that is what happened to him. All he had on one hand was a thumb. The sight of his hand was enough impetus for me to never try something so risky. He could still work a screwdriver with the palm and thumb.
JerseyBoy 34 Probably not in Sioux Falls as they don't manufacture them here unless someone's setup shop here lately. Yankton S.D. has a plant for Gehl loaders and other stuff.....
I THINK YOU ARE LIKE I WAS WHEN I WAS YOUNGER AND IN THE CAR BUSINESS ,ONLY NOW ELECTRONICS HAVE CAME A LONG WAY . ITS GOOD AS LONG AS IT WORKS. IM SORRY IM BACK FROM DECEMBER WITH MY ISSUE WITH MY 2009 GMC 2500HD WITH THE OVER CHARGE QUESTION. I JUST HAD ANOTHER BATTERY INSTALLED LUCKILY UNDER WARRANTY. I THINK IT BOILED THE BATTERY SINCE DECEMBER I HAVE A DIGITAL VOLT METER IN MY DC OUTPUT IN MY TRUCK AND IT NEVER GOES BELOW 14.5 VOLTS. ITS ALWAYS ON 15-15.3 WHEN STARTED AND EVENTUALLY DROPS TO 14,5. FOR SOME REASON FROM WHAT I HAVE RESEARCHED THAT IT IS IN CHARGE MODE ALL THE TIME WHICH GM SAYS IS BETWEEN 14.2 TO 15.5 MY TOW HAUL WORKS JUST FINE.EVERYTHING IN THIS TRUCK WORKS FINE. I REALLY NEED SOME HELP. I WISH YOU JUST LIVED DOWN THE STREET. YOU REALLY KNOW WHAT YOUR DOING. ANY IDEA. FRUSTRATED GARY C.
