JCB 1550B no reverse

[foggybottomfarms]

I recently bought a 1987 JCB 1550B backhoe from a local auction it has 4500 hours on it. I unloaded it from the trailer at the house pushed around a couple of things and now it wont go into reverse. Forward drive works fine no prob. but if you pull the selector back to reverse it wont go. I tried for about an hour the other day and got it in Reverse once. It was strong the clutch wasn't slipping and it didn't let go of it till i put it back in forward. WOuld also like to find a in good shape left hand door glass. CAN YA'LL HELP!!!

 

[Gale Hawkins]

Since it still "works" fine when you can get it into reverse I expect you may find some loose/bent linkage when you get a chance to physically inspect it. Hopefully it is external.

 

[horsepuller]

Forward and reverse are selected electrically (I am pretty sure) on your machine. I suggest you disassemble the forward-reverse lever on the left side of the steering wheel. Inside you will find some lever-actuated microswitches, one each for forward and reverse. I have a 1988 JCB 1400B, and have had to replace the reverse microswitch. Sometimes on ebay you can find a whole repacement forward-reverse lever, but they run about $200. Radio Shack has microswiches for $1 each, a better deal (if you can find one that fits). You should check the voltage at the transmission to be sure of your diagnosis. I believe that the left pedal ("clutch") operates by breaking the electrical signal for both forward and reverse to the transmission, so you might want to also check it for continutity in the non-depressed mode. Good luck.

PS: JCB manuals are available on Ebay on CD pretty cheap, and include wiring diagrams.

 

[foggybottomfarms]

Thank you both for the info, i have another question for Horse puller. Did your tractor go into reverse any before you replaced the microswitch or did it not work at all? mind sometimes will go into reverse but not everytime.

 

[horsepuller]

Before I replaced the bad microswitch, the backhoe would go into reverse intermittently. It failed gradually; became less and less dependable. The microswitch actually controls a relay that (on my machine) is under the main dash display on the left side. There is one relay for forward and one for reverse. If you can locate them, you may be able to trouble shoot simply by sensing whether or not the relay activates (clicks) when it should. Electrical trouble shooting is more definitive, of course.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

From your post it seems foggy is going to come out OK. Thanks for the details.