EMERGENCY!! Kubota KX91-2 Bad electrics

[jackpreacher]

John, my farmer neighbour, got his Kubota 91-2 stuck in a trench today - we spent 5 hours pulling it out with my EC15B and his Massey Tractor.

To cut to the chase, the engine bay was swamped in mud and water and the fuel circuit became clogged with muck [steep angle in trench]- sorted the fuel circuit out.
Got the engine working.......managed to drag it out of the trench....and then the electrics died.
Nada.
Nowt.
No lights or owt.
Tot.
Dead
ex-parrot........you get the picture.......


Got my trusty meter out and;
[i] 12V from battery.
[ii] 12V at the solenoid.
[iii] Nothing else. No lights at all.........
[iv] No clicking from starter......a complete shut down of the electrics.
[v] All the easy to find fuses under the seat are good. [there is still a lot of mud around those block connectors and relays though....]
He has no service manual [naturally....]
There's mud everywhere.
I pressure washed it from one of the fell water supply pipes that he had just cut by accident.
The engine was totally choked in mud...top to bottom.....exhaust had been submerged....yet it still ran........well, until it died......oddly, when the exhaust wasn't submerged
I've applied contact cleaner at the alternator and solenoid spade connections.

I've no idea why it's died.

1. Can anyone help with some suggestions as to what to do next ?
2. Is it worth calling a service engineer?

I need to get John moving so I can get back to my uber-urgent projects.....

cheers people..........

[Muz]

Theres a main 40~50 Amp fuse on those machines, in varying places but if its blown everything will be down

1900-1005s.jpgimageview.jpg



Should look like one of these .. if its shorted due to water ingress it kills the electrics .. see if you can find that first .. I only ever had one of those machines and I cant remember where it was ... but I'd hazard a guess at the pull out door beside the fuel tank where the fuel filter was or taped to the dipstick area

Just short the terminals together if its a panic situation to get you out of trouble

[jackpreacher]

Theres a main 40~50 Amp fuse on those machines, in varying places but if its blown everything will be down

Thanks Muz, I would never have known......and John wouldn't have for sure....



Ill try looking for that in the morning and post back some photos..you won't believe the mud....yuuukkk..yeuchhhh....


....and I ripped my waders on the latch on his &@!!?&&@ digger....

[Muz]

....and I ripped my waders on the latch on his &@!!?&&@ digger....

Ya gotta love mud in this job .. at least it wasnt sh^t

similarly ...... You know ..... every time I got called to a thrown track on a tracked dumper .. it was always in the middle of the biggest deepest mud bath there was on a site sods law I'm afraid

[B4D2USA]

Dead
ex-parrot........you get the picture.......

Was that in Bolton or Notlob?

[Stock]

[jackpreacher]

..nice one Stock


Thanks for Muz's tip I got the KX91-2 back online. There probably was a fuse there years ago but all,I could find was a bit of wire hanging loose...

However.


...if our ever seen a vehicle dredged up from a river bed....?......well, the engine bay was totally covered in mud and this had Got into the starter motor.

TBC

[jackpreacher]

quick upload of photos

The hole Bertha was stuck in.jpg

Dragged out by Doug and Massey Ferguson Tractor.jpg

The busted 25mm water line from the fell converted to a powerwasher.jpg

This was after the engine had been washed for 20 minutes.jpg

This fuse is an ex-parrot.jpg

The bodge fuse - just some 2.5mm copper.jpg

The new 'fuse' in-situ.jpg

This was the best I could clean it on-site - not very good but it worked.jpg

The mudded up starter motor released from its casing.jpg


This is the stator assembly -after quite a lot of initial cleaning.jpg

I had to take the starter off totally and strip it down.jpg


Refitting the commutator block contacts - yuk.jpg

[B4D2USA]

Oh my! I bet that 40A fuse went up in a spectacular puff of smoke.

[Muz]

I am 'befuddled' as to why so much silt got into the starter ?

[jackpreacher]

Muz, if you'd been there you wouldn't have been befuddled........imagine a digger sank in mud up its backside at about 25 degrees - the only part not sunk was the front boom joint, mud was slopping into the cab. Seriously, when I opened the starter up goopy mud poured out - I was surprised it ran for as long as it did. Still, Farmer John got me to fix the horn and the fuel gauge, both of which have never worked.

God knows how we pulled it out of the hole.........my only regret is that there aren't any pictures of Bertha in the mud.
BTW, after all was sorted out he then got my little Doug stuck - he usually so good but even he admitted he should have stayed in bed

Many thanks for your fix BTW.....

[Muz]

Muz, if you'd been there you wouldn't have been befuddled........imagine a digger sank in mud up its backside at about 25 degrees -

Oh Ive been that soldier .. and worse ......... submerged in peat is a hard one to beat .. usually as the whole area around the machine is jelly ... and you struggle to get anywhere near them

Still, Farmer John got me to fix the horn and the fuel gauge, both of which have never worked.

Aye .. he sounds a canny farmer right enough

Many thanks for your fix BTW.....

Hey no problem fella .. I just tipped you the wink .. sure you would have found it soon enough

[jackpreacher]

Ahhhhhh....bless him.......

Farmer John brought us around a dumpy bag of split logs yesterday as thanks for helping him....
Yeah, he's canny but also a great neighbour............
......
...oh, hang on a bit -.......then a minute later he dumps his old chainsaw on me to fix.......

[jackpreacher]

The starter motor finally gives up...

Well, it had to happen - Farmer John's starter motor has packed up. After removing it from the engine I checked for continuity from the ignition and that checked out ok, then checked for 12v on the HT cables...all fine.
The starter will fire up with direct 12v fed into the terminals so I guess the solenoid is goosed. I think the solenoid is part and parcel of the starter and can't be replaced separately??

So, can anyone suggest a reputable supplier for a Kubota starter motor?

[Muz]

Yes theres a guy I use and I send him my old ones, and he does service exchange on all Jap starters so that will save you about £150 over the cost of brand new.. im not near my office so cant lay my hands on the info .. se if I can find it