Battery Cable Problems
Battery Cable Problems:
Lately, several Kioti owners experienced "no crank" problems that were
eventually traced to problems with the battery cables. In some
cases the problem was a poor (corroded) connection at the battery or
where the ground cable connected to the chassis. These are
classic cable problem areas and most owners know how to look for them.
Isolating Cable Problems:
Engine "no crank" problems are caused by either (1) a problem with the
battery, battery cables, and starter moter or (2) a problem with the
start logic. Start logic is the system of switches, relays,
diodes, wires, and connectors that energize the starter solenoid when
the is turned, providing the safety conditions are satisfied (e.g.
transmission in neutral, clutch disengaged, PTO disengaged, etc.)
If the tractor engine will not crank, you first want to determine if
the problem is in the start logic or in the battery/cables/starter
side. There is a quick-and-dirty brute-force test to see if the
battery/cables/starter are OK: Brute Force Starter Test.
If your tractor fails this test, check the battery (measute terminal
voltage duting attempted cranking). If the battery tests OK,
check the battery cables next/
The Hidden Corrosion Problem.
In addition to the preceeding typical issues, several cases were
reported where corrosion inside the cable insulation prevented the
tractor from starting. This is insidious because the cable looks
completely normal on visual inspection. Furthermore the problem
can be intermittant. It can cease or return for "no apparent
reason" especially if the battery cables get movedduring "troubleshooting."
Diagnosis: This
problem is normally revealed when bypassing the defective
(internally-corroded) factory cable with a jumper cable allows the
tractor to start normally.
Repair: The
normal fix is to replace the entire cable with a new cable from an auto
parts store. In a few cases where the corrosion was very near the
connector, a new connector did the job.