John Deere 2010 crawler won't start; blowing black smoke

I hate to be captain obvious, but does it have fuel?

Yes, it does. Put 5 gallons of fresh diesel in it the morning this happened.

when was the last time you changed the fuel filter
does the glow plugs work

john

I believe the glow plugs do work, yes. Is there a test for this though?

I have not changed the fuel filter. I thought of that also. It was the change of the exhaust color/volume that really had me worried.

Perhaps something got in the air filter and is blocking the air flow to the intake..black smoke means its getting plenty of fuel probably,but maybe not enough air..(maybe a rats nest in there,seeing it sits a lot?)..

You can test glow pugs with a test lamp,thats is the same voltage as the battery--so if its 12V,use a 12V bulb...take off the wire to one glow plug and hook the test lamp to the glow plug,and touch the other wire from the test light to the positive battery terminal..if it lights up,the glow plug "should" be working ok..check the rest of them the same way..

Some guys prefer to remove the glow plugs and clamp them in jumper cables (negative to the outer shell,and positive to the wire terminal),then connect the cables to the battery for a few seconds,and see if they glow..dont leave them "on" too long !..

The glow plugs need to be getting power when you go to start it also--I am not familiar with your machine,but most have a ignition switch with a cold start position that sends power to the glow plugs,or a separate switch to turn them on,usually a momentary one so you wont forget and leave them on and burn them up.

You can use the test lamp to see if power is getting to them by grounding one lead from the light ,touch the other to the wire connected to the glow plug with the switch that operates them "on"...it should light up..

I kind of doubt it is the glow plugs,they may be causing hard cold starting if some are dead,but once its been run awhile it should fire up without them...


I'd resist the temptation to try using starting fluid on it,it can do nasty things to internal engine parts..some engines get "addicted" to it and wont start without it once its been used often too,even if everything seems to be in good working order..

Snowmojoe engines need three things to run besides oil for lube and water to cool if liquid cooled fuel , air and spark no matter the the motor gas or diesel so check your air filter and fuel filter first and check your water level too depending on age of what ever has the motor in it , there may be a safety device too if water level is to low

Sounds like a thorough check of the air intake system should be done first. Black smoke usually means insufficient air supply. At this point in time judging by your local temps I doubt it would need much glow plug use. If the air supply is OK then checking glow plug function would be next. Is there a mechanism on the air intake system to manually shut off the air supply in case of a runaway??
Mike

Check over here JDCrawlers.com - The Enthusiasts Site for John Deere Crawlers

Upper5Percent said:

Check over here JDCrawlers.com - The Enthusiasts Site for John Deere Crawlers

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Mike you could be right about a emergency shut the older detroits had them and if on shut down you pulled the wrong lever you either need a mechanic or know how to fix the problem of pulling wron lever your self