Snow Blade J Deere Gator snowplow

[wrede]

The plow works great but the control stops working occasionally when pushing hard, especially with a big load in front of the plow. It returns to normal after about 1-2 minutes. Is there an overload device on the hydraulics? Is it adjustable?

 

[yankeerider]

When you say it stops working occasionally, do you mean after trying to lift the blade when it's buried in the load of snow? Mine doesn't like to be in that situation, but it's easily fixed by backing up slightly to relieve the load before lifting. Mine has never "stopped working."

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[RoyJackson]

Is this a plow mounted on a Gator?

If it is, the winch rises and lowers the plow...unless you have the Boss plow with it's hydraulic power pack.
You want to raise that plow a bit before you stop....otherwise, there's quite a strain on the winch to lift the plow...even if you back out a bit.

If it's a plow mounted on the front of your 4300...well, same thing....try raising the plow before you stop.

 

[wrede]

Yes, this a plow mounted on a 4WD J Deere Gator, and sold by J Deere. The plow is hydraulically actuated, both raise and lower, and angle left or right. I'll have to pay more attention to exactly when this happens, that is, trying to raise it when it's in the snow bank or beforehand when pushing hard. In any case, when it happens the plow will not move in any direction, and then after a short time it returns to normal operation. That's why I was asking if there is an overload feature. Thanks.

 

[wrede]

Today it snowed and I had a chance to try the Gator plow again. It is a Powertach sold by JDeere, and is a full hydraulic package. Once again, when pushing the snow, the blade frequently stopped moving at the end of the "push". Waiting maybe a minute or less, it returns to normal operation. It's frustrating to have to frequently wait for the control to be reactivated. Is there an adjustment on these plows? Thanks

 

[yankeerider]

The Powertach website (look at "Troubleshooting") says that activation of the thermal breaker is caused by continued pressure on the controller while plowing. You can look here-> POWERtach

 

[wrede]

Thanks for the note. I had seen that in the manual, but I'm not holding on to the controller at all. I actually spoke to Powertach today, and they say the thermal overload is in the wiring harness. I'll have to check out the operation some more. The blizzard has started here in NJ and so I'll have plenty of snow to test it on. I'm also thinking that if the breaker is in the harness, it would be easy to bypass to see if it's the culprit.

 

[wrede]

Problem solved. It was the so-called thermal breaker. In checking the operation, I noticed that the relays clicked, but the pump didn't activate. I checked and found no power at the 12v input line to the harness at the relays. I pulled the harness apart and found that the 12v line from the battery splits into three feeds, and was dead. The relays clicked because they are apparently fed from the main Gator electrical harness, not the harness that comes with the plow. The dealer said it could be the control stick, pump, or relays, and was unlikely to be the thermal breaker. The harness with the breaker costs $215, and the pump is over $800. The thermal breaker is in the 12v battery line very close to the battery terminal. I could see two terminals under a rubbery casing. I opened it up, bypassed it, and voila, the plow works perfectly. I searched for a replacement 12v 40 amp breaker, and found that they are used in automotive and marine applications. I found essentially identical breakers ranging in price from $2.29 to $7.99, including some that had a manual reset. I'm going to buy a few. The defective breaker, probably sourced from India, is just a bimetallic strip with welded on electrodes, similar to points in a distributor. The bimetallic strip was off center, and the points were burned. I decided to replace the breaker, rather than just leave it bypassed, as the breaker is there for a purpose, that is, to prevent a short circuit from causing a fire or other calamity.

 

[yankeerider]

Thanks for updating us. Glad you got your problem fixed!

 

[riggsjr]

Problem solved. It was the so-called thermal breaker. In checking the operation, I noticed that the relays clicked, but the pump didn't activate. I checked and found no power at the 12v input line to the harness at the relays. I pulled the harness apart and found that the 12v line from the battery splits into three feeds, and was dead. The relays clicked because they are apparently fed from the main Gator electrical harness, not the harness that comes with the plow. The dealer said it could be the control stick, pump, or relays, and was unlikely to be the thermal breaker. The harness with the breaker costs $215, and the pump is over $800. The thermal breaker is in the 12v battery line very close to the battery terminal. I could see two terminals under a rubbery casing. I opened it up, bypassed it, and voila, the plow works perfectly. I searched for a replacement 12v 40 amp breaker, and found that they are used in automotive and marine applications. I found essentially identical breakers ranging in price from $2.29 to $7.99, including some that had a manual reset. I'm going to buy a few. The defective breaker, probably sourced from India, is just a bimetallic strip with welded on electrodes, similar to points in a distributor. The bimetallic strip was off center, and the points were burned. I decided to replace the breaker, rather than just leave it bypassed, as the breaker is there for a purpose, that is, to prevent a short circuit from causing a fire or other calamity.

I have the same issue. Can you post some pictures of what you did?
Thank you