John Deer 250 Skid Steer

[trganey]

I have a JD 250 skid steer that is just about to get on my last nerve. It is very hard to start and once you get it started it'll be running along just fine and then go to skipping and missing, reving up and acting all kinds of stupid then it will settle down and go smoothe again. At other times it will be going along smoothe then start stalling down like it's running out of power, almost as if you were throttling it down until it completely quits. Back to the hard starting, it turns over very slow unless you boost it from another vehicle with a good set of cables.

I have,

Installed a new battery and cables
had the starter re-built by a reputable builder
put on a new electric lift pump
removed the injector pump and had it tested and replaced it
taken the hose from the suction side of the lift pump and entered it directly into the fuel tank via fill cap
all filters have been replaced

Not that it matters but I put 4 new wheels and tires on this thing also and I'm about ready to set fire to it and warm by it so that I can feel like I've gotten some good out of it. LOL

 

[trganey]

Bump?

 

[mister laugh]

How old is the fuel in the machine? By all filters do you mean both air filters, both fuel filter and an oil change (you wouldn't believe how many people don't know about there being two fuel filters). Did you use john deere filters? What kind of fuel pressure is your new transfer pump putting out? Have you tried putting a fuel line into a jerry can of new clean fuel? Does the machine sound like it is missing at all? Does it act up at any particular time? (sidehill, uphill, downhill, high load, ETC) How many hours on the machine? How well taken care of is it?

 

[RCTech9]

At other times it will be going along smooth then start stalling down like it's running out of power, almost as if you were throttling it down until it completely quits.

We had this problem with our John Deere 250. we apparently had bad fuel changed the filter and drained the bad diesel and put fresh diesel in.

 

[trganey]

How old is the fuel in the machine? By all filters do you mean both air filters, both fuel filter and an oil change (you wouldn't believe how many people don't know about there being two fuel filters). Did you use john deere filters? What kind of fuel pressure is your new transfer pump putting out? Have you tried putting a fuel line into a jerry can of new clean fuel? Does the machine sound like it is missing at all? Does it act up at any particular time? (sidehill, uphill, downhill, high load, ETC) How many hours on the machine? How well taken care of is it?

Fuel in the machine is fresh.

I changed the inline filter between the lift pump and the fuel/water seperator. There are no other filters in the fuel system on this machine.

I used Baldwin filters.

electric lift pump is putting out between 5 and 7 psi.

I have not tried putting the fuel line into a can but it is run into the tank via the filler neck. Should be the same difference.

At times when it acts up it does miss, rev up, and act all kinds of stupid and at other times in just begins to smuther down as if it were running out of fuel.

There seems to be no rime or reason as to when or where it is when it acts up.

Don't remember exactly how many hours there is on the machine but somewhere between 2 and 3 thousand.

Machine was not well taken care of before I got it. It had been used in a salvage yard so you can imagine.

I've had the machine for appx. 3yrs and don't use it very often. When I have used it there seems to be no clue to when it may act up. I have run it for several hours at a time with no problems then again it will act up every few minutes and sometimes it will completely quit running. One of the things that bothers me is that even with new cables and battery and a rebuilt starter it will still turn over slow. It seems slow to me anyway. I have never been around another JD250 so I have nothing to compare it to. I know I'm tired of messing with it. I'm ready to trade it for a new loader for my Kubota tractor and be done with it. I will add that when I got the machine it had a skid plate missing under the machine and a hole in the fuel tank. I repaired the tank with a plastic welder and then replaced the skid plate. At that time I made sure that I got the tank clean on the inside and I've put clean fuel in it since.

 

[mister laugh]

As you can imagine its quite difficult to diagnose a machine without seeing it. What kind of condition is the wiring that goes to the electric fuel pump, and the injection pump in? I would be more concerned with the condition of the wiring to the transfer pump with these particular symptoms. Another possibility is a air leak in the fuel system. Perhaps replace the hose between the tank and the transfer pump, and make sure the hose clamps are extremely tight. I have also see issues with the pickup tube in the tank getting partially blocked, or perhaps there is something floating around in the tank, I have also seen that with machines that work in a dump or recycling environment. If you drain your fuel out into a clean Pail you could look inside the tank and see. You can use air to blow out the pickup tube if it is clogged. Where in the northwest are you located?

 

[trganey]

As you can imagine its quite difficult to diagnose a machine without seeing it. What kind of condition is the wiring that goes to the electric fuel pump, and the injection pump in? I would be more concerned with the condition of the wiring to the transfer pump with these particular symptoms. Another possibility is a air leak in the fuel system. Perhaps replace the hose between the tank and the transfer pump, and make sure the hose clamps are extremely tight. I have also see issues with the pickup tube in the tank getting partially blocked, or perhaps there is something floating around in the tank, I have also seen that with machines that work in a dump or recycling environment. If you drain your fuel out into a clean Pail you could look inside the tank and see. You can use air to blow out the pickup tube if it is clogged. Where in the northwest are you located?

Granted the wiring isn't in great shape but I have examined it and no located a problem. I have taken a VOM and checked at the IP when it would die to make sure I still had power going to it. If there was a screw I could screw in to overide the electric part of the IP that would be a nice way to check it out.

I have replaced the hose from the inlet side of the lift pump and ran it directly into the tank via where you put the fuel in. Don't believe I have any air leaks there.

I am located in the North West 1/4 of the state of Alabama.

Thanks for taking the time to reply!

 

[mister laugh]

I has been a while since I have worked one a 240/250.( I work at a deere dealer, we tend not to see the older machines much). But I believe that there is only one or two wires running to the injection pump on a 250 this would be the fuel shutoff circuit. You could just jump power and ground to these terminals appropriately if you wanted to bypass them. However being that it still runs when it acts up I would suspect that this is not your issue. I would be more inclined to suspect issues with the wiring to you lift pump being the issue.

 

[trganey]

Thanks again I'll run a wire for the lift pump directly from the battery to eliminate that being an issue and go from there.