4400 Instrument Panel

[mikeober]

Hey there! I just bought a 2001 4400 with a 430 FEL and 48 Backhoe. Machine is in impeccable shape but only downside is that the LCD hour meter and the Temp gauge are not working. The LCD meter is showing random parts of numbers. Hours are estimated in the ~700 range (meter went bad ~580 supposedly).

I intend to open it up and get to back of the instrument panel to ensure all of the plugs etc are tight and free of dirt and corrosion. Otherwise, any ideas? Anyone know if this is a common issue? Thanks in advance! This forum has been a huge help in getting me over the hump of my first John Deere buy.

 

[RoyJackson]

Biggest instrument panel problem the 4x00 series tractors had was fogging. I suppose it was bad enough, some owners couldn't see their gages at all. There was a service bulletin on this (a decade ago).
As far as instrument failures..no, I haven't read or heard of any particular problems.

 

[dfkrug]

Mike, it is good news that you see some parts of the digits in the hour
meter display. That means it may be salvagable. If it is totally DOA, you
may want to install an external hour meter as I did with my first 4300.

You need to pull the panel back, remove the connector, and clean up all the
terminals. I give it an excellent chance that at least the temp guage can
be fixed by doing this.

The LCD display's contacts can be cleaned, too.

How many hours on this machine, to the best of your knowledge?

Finally, the newer displays have a sprayed-on coating that looks like
a varnish, on the inside of the glass. You can remove the glass and
scrape off the coating with a razor blade scraper. This makes the
intrument glass much clearer. I did that for my current 4300. (Roy,
that may be contributing to your fogging.)

 

[cottermac]

I've worked on my father inlaws 4300 once when the fuel gauge stopped working, and I found the the needle just needed to be push back on the stem of the cluster. This maybe what's wrong with the temp gauge. As for the hour meter, sounds like a good place to start with the connection. Please let us know what you find, I'm sure soon or later I will be getting a call to fix something similar on his tractor. By the way if you take the cluster out be careful tightening the screws when you put it back together I broke the glass the first time.

 

[RoyJackson]

This makes the
intrument glass much clearer. I did that for my current 4300. (Roy,
that may be contributing to your fogging.)

My 4400 never had the fogging problem, but the previous owner may have had that update several years back.
Worst I get is a bit of condensation now and then.

 

[mikeober]

Thanks all! I will let you know what I find. Hoping to get into the instrument panel and clean her up next week. Cheers!