1772 Glow Plug Stays On

[Imaddy]

Just went out to move the tractor in to the barn and the glow plug indicator came on and stayed on despite me switching off the started key. I had to disconnect the battery to turn off the light! any ideas?

I guess I can expect a few teething issues since the tractor remained unused since the 90s until I rescued it from a farm barn last year.

[Sam Mac]

Ian

My guess is the key switch may have seen better days. Not sure on the 1772' s but it may have a Kubota switch, if that's the case your better off buying it from a Kubota dealer than from Cub.

I took a look at the Cub parts site, it does have a Kubota switch, here is the Kubota part number
66704-55120 Switch, Key
It also shows some sort of timer, no idea what this does but this is the part number for it.
15694-65990 Timer, Light

I also sent Oak a PM and asked him to check in on this. I'm sure some of the other diesel gurus will chime in.

[R Bedell]

It also shows some sort of timer, no idea what this does but this is the part number for it. 15694-65990 Timer, Light

I am guessing, once engaged, it keeps power to the Glow Plugs for a pre-determined amount of time (ie: 30 seconds, etc.)

[red56turbo]

Ian,

Sam's correct on the switch. It's a Kubota switch. Just bought one couple months ago for my 1512. Priced it from CC, it was over $60. From Kubota, $29. Same ignition switch. My CC dealer is also a Kubota dealer so my parts guys are great.

Roland,
Yes, the timer glows the plugs for a set amount of time. When it times out, the glow plug indicator in the dash should go off. If you want to cycle the plugs again, turn the key to the "off" position, then back to the "glow" setting and it starts the cycle over.

Ian,
When you glow the plugs, you can hear the timer "click" on, then off when it times out. Can you hear it click? Does the glow plug light come on with the key off (when you hooked the battery back up), or does it come on when you glow it, and then stays on? Could be the switch or the timer.

[Oak]

Ian, I'm thinking that the timer was dealer added or installed after they started producing the 1772's because it does not show in any of my schematics.

Here is what the timer looks like.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Cub-Cadet-Ku...item2edf65fff0

This timer only energizes the indicator light and not the glow plugs. I'm thinking that people were not heating the gp's long enough or too long and destroying the plugs so Cub installed the timer to tell them when to start cranking the engine.

As others have said, you could have a wiring problem or it could be your timer or switch is bad. I install a 12 volt LED in the dash so I know for sure when 12 volts is on the plugs. I run one of the LED wires to a plug and the other to ground.

Josh is right on getting your parts from Kubota and not Cub Cadet.

[red56turbo]

Hey Todd,
Thanks for the clarification/correction on the timer. I always thought the timer controlled the plugs. Haven't done the glow plug update to the 1772 yet and was wondering how to get around the timer. Guess I don't have to worry now. Always been a good starter! Classic case of not enough coffee this am and too many tractors. I was thinking of the B3300 and the glow plugs/click scenario. Hey, it's a Kubota.

Ian,
Always price your parts through Kubota on these diesels. If they are Kubota parts, they are almost always cheaper, sometimes quite a bit cheaper, than CC. You'll need to check and see if when the glow plug light is on, that the glow plugs are energized or not. When tractors sit, corrosion occurs, and so do electrical gremlins.

[Oak]

Guys, I'm pretty sure that's how it works. I can't find a good schematic that shows how the relay works. Looking at the size of the wires, it doesn't look heavy enough to handle the current. It would be possible if they used a relay and wired it parallel with the indicator light. I pulled all that stuff off of the 1772 I did so I will look back at the pictures I took to see if that is what they did.
Here is the only thing I can find on the wiring.
http://www.partstree.com/parts/cub-c...99/electrical/

[J-Mech]

I'd suggest replacing the glow plugs and doing the conversion over to a relay. Take the switch out of the picture altogether. Junk the timer, keep the indicator light. If you need to know how to do that conversion, I'm sure Oak can supply pics, I can draw a wiring diagram if that is needed.


Basically, you run a heavy wire from either the batter, or the battery post on the starter to a glow plug relay (see note 1). Then from the relay to the glow plugs. Wire the old glow plug wire from the key to excite the relay, and hook the indicator light up to the glow plug side of the relay. That takes all the load off the switch, and will feed full battery voltage to the glow plugs.


Note 1: Use a glow plug relay from a 1986-1992 Ford F-250 pickup. You can get them at a parts store. Here is a link to a company here in the US, so that you can see what it looks like. Glow Plug Relay That relay is an easy one to get. You can use any style as long as it is a continuous duty relay. So, NOT a starter relay.

[Imaddy]

hi again everyone,

Thank you for all the great advice, its most useful and appreciated.

I attempted to reconnected the battery earlier with the ignition switched off and the ignition key removed. The circuit was instantly live (sparking at battery), the fuel pump began pumping and the glow plug light cam on. So, I'm assuming that the ignition switch has failed.

A replacement is very expensive in the UK ($75) but need must.

Kind regards

Ian

[Imaddy]

By the way, I don't think mine has a glow plug timer as I can't find the little black unit anywhere on the tractor.
Ian