# JD 3038E will not start. Just clicks.



## Pat E (Oct 1, 2020)

The 2013 JD 3038E tractor is currently at a local Brookside (70 miles north of Houston, TX) for the second time. I will include the timeline for the downtime below. My questions to all of the experienced folks on this site are:
Is this (over 3 weeks) considered normal for time to get a part?
Is there any way I can contact JD directly to push them on shipping the part?
How likely is this repair to fix the issue?
Do we have any other avenues to get this fixed or is Brookside the only authorized service organization?

Timeline:
9/1/20 – Tuesday - Called Brookside – Tractor won’t start. We scheduled a pickup.
9/10/20 – Thursday – Brookside picked up tractor. Brookside replaced 2 of the 3 identical relays.
9/25/20 – Friday – Brookside returned tractor. It started and ran. After using tractor for 3 nonconsecutive days, it would no longer start – same issue of clicking, but not starting. 
10/1/20 – Thursday - Called Brookside – Tractor won’t start again. We scheduled a pickup. No charge this time.
10/6/20 – Tuesday – Brookside picked up tractor.
10/7/20 – Wednesday – Brookside called and said they would have to replace the entire Instrument Cluster wiring. Part No. LVA14586. It should take about a week because they had to order the part.
10/14/20 – Not having heard from Brookside in a week, we called them, and they said that they were really busy, but it should be ready next week. No mention of the fact that they still didn’t have the part.
10/21/20 – Brookside called and instead of telling us our tractor was ready as we expected, they told us the part has been on backorder this entire time and they didn’t know when they would receive it. 
10/23/20 – Brookside called again to let us know that they have a promised ship date and the part was expected to arrive next week on Friday, October 30, 2020 and that they would get on it the following week. We still have no idea when we will get the tractor back and if this repair will actually fix it. In the meantime, we need the tractor for a project that has been delayed over two months as well as routine work that we have had to delay or pay others to complete for us. 
11/2/20 – Called Brookside. They still do not have the part. Now, the same guy is saying that it was expected on Saturday (when they were not open) instead of Friday as he said on October 23rd. Now, he expects that it will come today and when it does, he will check with the technician to see what he is working on to give us a better estimate of when they will be able to do the work. We will call back tomorrow.
11/2/20 – Brookside called back. They still do not have the part and it is on backorder again with no definite receipt date. They will call John Deere directly to see what can be done and get back to us in a couple of days!


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## jd110 (Nov 23, 2015)

There is no way to tell if the instrument panel will fix the problem without testing myself, but it is entirely possible. The instrument panel controls the ground for the starter relay. Transmission needs to be in neutral and pto needs to be off. If those two signals are going to the instrument cluster, then it provides a ground to the starter relay so tractor will start. It does appear there is no stock in any John Deere warehouse. Hopefully your wait won't be much longer. I assume they have done a dealer search to see if anyone would have one in stock? Possibly a used one could be found?


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## Pat E (Oct 1, 2020)

Thanks much jd110. I don’t know if they have done a dealer search, but maybe JD will when Brookside’s manager calls them. I will ask. Appreciate the info on how to check.


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## sixbales (May 18, 2011)

Your instrument cluster is obviously in high demand, which tells you that there are problems with it. It might be that JD has told the manufacturer to fix the problems before producing more of the SOS.


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## Fedup (Feb 25, 2014)

It always amazes me how tractor makers seem to go out of their way to complicate things with electronics. This would be a prime example. If the start signal passes through the required safety switches and then goes to ground in order to energize the start relay, fine. That's as it should be. Why should it need the approval of the instrument cluster? I think I would be looking for that wire, connecting it to a good ground, and put the tractor back to work. If you have other issues with the cluster that justify replacement, that's another matter.


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