Loader FEL loses up / down power temporarily

rarvesen · Apr 1, 2011

If it's doing goofy things for both then check to make sure the 3PH lever is not in the "UP" position going into relief not allowing return to move FEL cyls...

There is generally a moveable "stop" on the top of the lift lever shroud that people sometimes remove, (for no good reason). With that stop set above the top limit, the lift lever is able to overrun the top limit and has the lift circuit trying hard to overextend the lift cylinder.....

Try letting your 3PH control lever down just a tad, & see if that fixes it. Mine was doing almost the same thing, & it turned out the 3PH was "bottoming out" at the very top of its travel, dead-heading I think it's called, causing the hydro pump to bind up or go into its bypass valve .. I don't know all the terms, but that's the gist of it.

Thanks for all of the replies. I had the dealer look at it and they did not find any problems, but said it could be a problem with the 3PH control like several people suggested. They said the 3PH can be adjusted too high which can reduce pressure to the FEL. They made an adjustment so it will be harder to put the 3PH in this mode.

I have a 5' box blade attached which is lifted all of the way when using the FEL, I have not been lowering and lifting it back up. Do you think this still could be the source of the problem (only lifted once, and the problem happens hours later)?

Hopefully the problem does not return, I might be back with more questions if it does. Everyone has really been helpful, thanks again.

rarvesen · Apr 1, 2011

Is hyd fluid level at the full mark?

It has ranged from 15% - 60% within the fluid window. I was told there is enough fluid as long as you see any fluid within the window, do you know if that is correct?

rarvesen · Apr 1, 2011

Try letting your 3PH control lever down just a tad, & see if that fixes it. Mine was doing almost the same thing, & it turned out the 3PH was "bottoming out" at the very top of its travel, dead-heading I think it's called, causing the hydro pump to bind up or go into its bypass valve .. I don't know all the terms, but that's the gist of it.

I forgot to ask, do you recall if you only had reduced power to the up / down cylinders, and dump / roll back worked fine?

beppington · Apr 1, 2011

rarvesen said:
I forgot to ask, do you recall if you only had reduced power to the up / down cylinders, and dump / roll back worked fine?

Yes ... I was just replying to your post #11 ... Mine did the exact same: up / down very slow, but dump & roll-back normal.

Check my upcoming response in a moment, though, about it causing over-heating :shocked:

beppington · Apr 1, 2011

rarvesen said:
Thanks for all of the replies. I had the dealer look at it and they did not find any problems, but said it could be a problem with the 3PH control like several people suggested. They said the 3PH can be adjusted too high which can reduce pressure to the FEL. They made an adjustment so it will be harder to put the 3PH in this mode.

I have a 5' box blade attached which is lifted all of the way when using the FEL, I have not been lowering and lifting it back up. Do you think this still could be the source of the problem (only lifted once, and the problem happens hours later)?

Hopefully the problem does not return, I might be back with more questions if it does. Everyone has really been helpful, thanks again.

My guess is that it will return once in a while, but now you'll at least know what's wrong & what to do - Drop your 3PH lever just a smidge.

My dealer adjusted mine, too, but mine still does it once in a while anyway ... I guess the geometry & weight on the 3PH has to be "just right" to cause it.

Just like yours, mine affects the FEL's lift & lower speed (very slow) but doesn't seem to affect the bucket's dump & roll-back speed at all.

You should really pay attention to it at all times, though: While driving my tractor on the 4-mile trip from its home to my vacant property I noticed the tractor's speed wasn't as fast as usual, & then I saw the temp gauge going up. When it go to about 3/4, I pulled over thinking, "What the h3ll's goin' on??". Finally figured out the 3PH was riding at the top & the pump was dead-heading, or whatever it's called.