It's been a while since I have been on this forum, but I have recently been having troubles with my Bobcat 825 and am near my wit's end.
A couple weeks ago, we had a fair bit of snow and then it got cold. I think there were many nights of -15F and maybe -20F. I tried to get my Bobcat started so I could get rid of the snow. But the positive battery cable end burned itself off at the starter solenoid. The cage motor would not do anything at that temperature, so I could not get to the battery to replace the cable.
So I had to hold the end of the cable against the solenoid terminal with one hand and the main electric wire with the other. It took a couple days of trying, but finally the engine started limping along with the starter for a couple minutes, and then it started running on its own. For the next few minutes, I saw the most tremendous and umbelievable cloud of black smoke from the exhaust. Then it turned clean and the engine was running beautifully. It ran fine for a good part of an hour before it got dark and I had to stop. At this point, I have an inconvenience due to the battery cable and the lack of a working electrical system, but the engine is running fine.
Then a day or two later we had more snow, followed by more cold temperatures. (This next part is probably irrelevant, but it is part of the story.) I replaced the end of the battery cable, but when I started removing the nut on the solenoid, the whole post spun with the nut and cracked the back of the solenoid. So I was not going to get the cable back on, but I could still turn the starter by holding the battery cable onto the solenoid terminal with one hand and the main electrical wire with the other (I was using pliers to hold the starter switch "on").
Over the few days or so, I tried cranking the engine, often with a half-second spray of ether (starting fluid), but with no luck. I was not even getting black smoke out the exhaust. I finally covered the whole Bobcat with clear plastic sheeting and put a small heater in the engine compartment overnight. The next day, it was nice and warm in there and the engine started immediately. So I spent about forty minutes or so clearing snow on the flat part of my driveway and then went down the part that is a fair downhill slope. After a few minutes on the slope, the engine quits. It was very smooth, just like I had intentionally pulled back the throttle to kill it. So my Bobcat is on a downward slope (I just mention this because it never seems to have a problem when I am working on flat ground).
In the next few days, I have cranked it as much as the battery and charger can handle, and twice I got it running. Both times, the engine started, ran very nicely for about thirty seconds, then just die. In between, there was no black smoke or other indication that fuel was getting to the injectors. So I suspect that maybe I am just at the bottom of the fuel tank, so I add another five gallons. I get one or two more thirty-second run times during the numerous cranking sessions, and I decide that there MUST be some kind of fuel problem.
So I removed the first filter (the water and sediment bowl) and I find a lot of floating sediment and a layer of nasty crud at the bottom. I cleaned this up and decided that if all this crap is in the pre-filter, then the main filter must also be plugged up. So I cleaned the secondary filter and install a new element. It is very dark by this time, and I could not really see what I was doing.
The next day, I went out and after a fair bit of cranking, it starts up again. I wait thirty seconds, then after two minutes I decided that it is not going to die on me, so I get ready to work. But first, I take a look at the filters to make sure they aren't leaking. Well, the secondary filter is pouring out fuel like a faucet. I shut down the engine and remove the filter and look up at the upper housing to see what I got wrong. I did not get the top gasket into the special channel. Now I could see what I had to do, and I put the filter back on again.
After a lot more cranking, the engine starts and I move the Bobcat back up the hill to the flat area and spend maybe a half hour clearing snow. Then I go back down the hill to clear the snow there, and it dies again. I don't believe that I could have lost that much fuel leaking out the filter, but I add another five gallons just to be sure. During the next few days, I have managed to get it running twice, but each time it quits after about thirty seconds. It is much warmer now (actually above freezing), but it seems like maybe my starter is getting grumpy for all the punishment I have given it over the last few weeks and I am a little concerned that I may have to replace that soon.
So it seems that I have some kind of fuel delivery problem, and it seems to have two main failure modes. The first is that it dies after about thirty seconds. The second is dying after more than a half hour of operation, and very soon after I start going down the sloped driveway.
When it is not running, I don't get any smoke from the exhaust while cranking. When I see smoke, I can expect it to start. Also, in case this has any connection, last summer I had a few times when the engine would start dying for no apparent reason. Sometimes I could get it back to full power by immediately letting back on the controls for a few seconds (to decrease the load) and sometimes it would just die and I would have to crank for ten seconds or so to get it running again. This seemed to happen mostly when I was on a slope, and never when I was using it on flat ground with the backhoe or using at as a hydraulic pump for my log splitter.
So I have cleaned out the fuel filters, am using fresh fuel, and when it is running it behaves perfectly. I suppose there may be a problem with the lift pump, the injector pump, the fuel pickup, or maybe a curse on that part of the driveway. I would be grateful to hear any good ideas! Thanks!
A couple weeks ago, we had a fair bit of snow and then it got cold. I think there were many nights of -15F and maybe -20F. I tried to get my Bobcat started so I could get rid of the snow. But the positive battery cable end burned itself off at the starter solenoid. The cage motor would not do anything at that temperature, so I could not get to the battery to replace the cable.
So I had to hold the end of the cable against the solenoid terminal with one hand and the main electric wire with the other. It took a couple days of trying, but finally the engine started limping along with the starter for a couple minutes, and then it started running on its own. For the next few minutes, I saw the most tremendous and umbelievable cloud of black smoke from the exhaust. Then it turned clean and the engine was running beautifully. It ran fine for a good part of an hour before it got dark and I had to stop. At this point, I have an inconvenience due to the battery cable and the lack of a working electrical system, but the engine is running fine.
Then a day or two later we had more snow, followed by more cold temperatures. (This next part is probably irrelevant, but it is part of the story.) I replaced the end of the battery cable, but when I started removing the nut on the solenoid, the whole post spun with the nut and cracked the back of the solenoid. So I was not going to get the cable back on, but I could still turn the starter by holding the battery cable onto the solenoid terminal with one hand and the main electrical wire with the other (I was using pliers to hold the starter switch "on").
Over the few days or so, I tried cranking the engine, often with a half-second spray of ether (starting fluid), but with no luck. I was not even getting black smoke out the exhaust. I finally covered the whole Bobcat with clear plastic sheeting and put a small heater in the engine compartment overnight. The next day, it was nice and warm in there and the engine started immediately. So I spent about forty minutes or so clearing snow on the flat part of my driveway and then went down the part that is a fair downhill slope. After a few minutes on the slope, the engine quits. It was very smooth, just like I had intentionally pulled back the throttle to kill it. So my Bobcat is on a downward slope (I just mention this because it never seems to have a problem when I am working on flat ground).
In the next few days, I have cranked it as much as the battery and charger can handle, and twice I got it running. Both times, the engine started, ran very nicely for about thirty seconds, then just die. In between, there was no black smoke or other indication that fuel was getting to the injectors. So I suspect that maybe I am just at the bottom of the fuel tank, so I add another five gallons. I get one or two more thirty-second run times during the numerous cranking sessions, and I decide that there MUST be some kind of fuel problem.
So I removed the first filter (the water and sediment bowl) and I find a lot of floating sediment and a layer of nasty crud at the bottom. I cleaned this up and decided that if all this crap is in the pre-filter, then the main filter must also be plugged up. So I cleaned the secondary filter and install a new element. It is very dark by this time, and I could not really see what I was doing.
The next day, I went out and after a fair bit of cranking, it starts up again. I wait thirty seconds, then after two minutes I decided that it is not going to die on me, so I get ready to work. But first, I take a look at the filters to make sure they aren't leaking. Well, the secondary filter is pouring out fuel like a faucet. I shut down the engine and remove the filter and look up at the upper housing to see what I got wrong. I did not get the top gasket into the special channel. Now I could see what I had to do, and I put the filter back on again.
After a lot more cranking, the engine starts and I move the Bobcat back up the hill to the flat area and spend maybe a half hour clearing snow. Then I go back down the hill to clear the snow there, and it dies again. I don't believe that I could have lost that much fuel leaking out the filter, but I add another five gallons just to be sure. During the next few days, I have managed to get it running twice, but each time it quits after about thirty seconds. It is much warmer now (actually above freezing), but it seems like maybe my starter is getting grumpy for all the punishment I have given it over the last few weeks and I am a little concerned that I may have to replace that soon.
So it seems that I have some kind of fuel delivery problem, and it seems to have two main failure modes. The first is that it dies after about thirty seconds. The second is dying after more than a half hour of operation, and very soon after I start going down the sloped driveway.
When it is not running, I don't get any smoke from the exhaust while cranking. When I see smoke, I can expect it to start. Also, in case this has any connection, last summer I had a few times when the engine would start dying for no apparent reason. Sometimes I could get it back to full power by immediately letting back on the controls for a few seconds (to decrease the load) and sometimes it would just die and I would have to crank for ten seconds or so to get it running again. This seemed to happen mostly when I was on a slope, and never when I was using it on flat ground with the backhoe or using at as a hydraulic pump for my log splitter.
So I have cleaned out the fuel filters, am using fresh fuel, and when it is running it behaves perfectly. I suppose there may be a problem with the lift pump, the injector pump, the fuel pickup, or maybe a curse on that part of the driveway. I would be grateful to hear any good ideas! Thanks!
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