I have a cat 303cre mini excavator that started not shutting off with the key only by pushing the solenoid shutoff plunger. I have pulled the wires apart at the solenoid and put 12 volts to and solenoid worked fine. I have seen a reply to similar question on this forum and saw some good advice to check timer. my wire colors seem to be different however and i am hesitant to go further without more advice. My serial number is dma02829 and there is no labeling inside the compartments for fuses or relays. I am also trying to avoid purchasing a manual if possible. Any information or help would be greatly appreciated, thank you.
Zillah, Welcome to the HEF! It’s just hard to stop a Cat. They are all go and no stop. That’s just a sign that you need to keep digging. I’ve also seen weird issues where the diode trio in the alternator fails and back feeds the solenoid, keeping it energized. You can remove the field wire from the alternator or remove the belt and see if the solenoid unlatches.
There is a timer for it when you **** the key off it is in with the fuses that is most likely your problem. Assuming it is not a wiring fault
Are you talking service manual or O&M Manual.? The latter is only about $50 and would give you good info regarding fuses, etc. I can send you an electrical schematic. Keep an eye on your messages. There is also a change to the start switch and associated wiring for machine up to 3507 which applies to your machine. It may or may not be relevant but I include it here just in case.
Here is a Link to a genuine Cat O&M Manual for your machine just in case you don't have one.