A Project I Had Not Planned On Doing

[bindian]

I have a Mitsubishi MS070 excavator. Caterpillar rebadged it as a CAT E70 when they bought out Mitsubishi. Anyway, I am forced to rewire the whole machine because of old wiring that got too hot and melted. Some wires are just so old, the insulation is falling off. I have burnt steaks showing through the electrical tape, in the harness, all the way back to the battery relay and arcing on the relay. It had been sitting by the barn for about a month while I had the local hyd. shop rebuilding the cylinders. While I was running it to hook up the last cylinder pin, smoke started coming out of the pedistal.

No (new) evidence of rodents, but they ate all the poison I left for them last year. You can bet I have more poison there now! Since I started rewiring it, I found out on Heavyequipmentforum.com that the Japanese used to use soy in wire insulation. This soy based insulation crumbles away when old......just what I had.

I have a new battery relay, starter switch. starter relay, and safety relay along with the heater relay shipping in from CAT. I know that is a lot of parts to replace blindly, but I would rather have them and not need them, then need them and have to wait another week to get them shipped in.
hugs, Brandi

 

[bindian]

July 5th, after working on it nonstop over 4 weekends, I fired it up with shaking hands. I kept thinking it was gonna smoke again, but she started right up and just purred. Only squawks I had after running was the thumb relays trigger hot wire fuse needed some cleaning and two boom lights also need replacing. All in all, a very focused project because I just can't see wiring in my head. If I see it in my head, I can build it or repair it. But wiring needs diagrams, which means wearing 2x cheaters to understand the diagram and feed those fine wires into the splices. The alternator wasn't hurt. I am glad for that because parts may or may not be available I am told.

Anyway, I wrapped all wiring in split plastic conduit. I love the stuff. It's cheap when bought online in bulk!
hugs, Brandi

 

[bindian]

I also installed a fire bottle that was suppose to go on the Mahindra. My friend told me I didn't need it now, as everything is new. I laughed outloud at that statement.
hugs, Brandi

 

[Wagtail]

Good stuff! :thumbsup:

 

[bindian]

Good stuff! :thumbsup:

Thanks Wagtail. How's the weather down under?
hugs, Brandi

 

[Wagtail]

Thanks Wagtail. How's the weather down under?
hugs, Brandi

:wave: It's the middle of Winter, so I've got a comfy fire on in the wood-heater.

I'd whinge about the cold but, to be honest, it really doesn't get that cold here. It was 1C this morning with a wee frost on the ground that quickly melted away. A cloudless high of 14C for the rest of the day. (we don't see snow where I'm at, only on the ridges/tiers or mountains)

We've had good rain during Autumn and into Winter... my water tanks are all full and the late Spring hay crop is looking good so far.

 

[Ford850]

Those are impressive before/after pictures. Nice job!

 

[oosik]

My God girl - - I am humbled before your project. It is something I would NEVER feel capable of doing myself.

Not only are you wise, but obviously very patient.

Well done - very well done!!!

 

[woodlandfarms]

Pretty impressed, but as you are concerend about shorting. On your relay (upper Right corner) did you use connectors that do not have plastic all the way over the tab? It loks taht way (Plastic only on shank). Those will short out if that is the case. I would replace all lugs of that nature with something like this... Amazon.com: Yueton 1pcs Female Fully Insulated Wire Crimp Terminal Nylon Quick Connectors Wiring Spade: Home Improvement

 

[EddieWalker]

Outstanding. I replaced every wire on my small tractor to get it to run and understand what a huge job that was for your excavator. Glad that you got it done and won't have to deal with it in the future!!!!

 

[bindian]

:wave: It's the middle of Winter, so I've got a comfy fire on in the wood-heater.

I'd whinge about the cold but, to be honest, it really doesn't get that cold here. It was 1C this morning with a wee frost on the ground that quickly melted away. A cloudless high of 14C for the rest of the day. (we don't see snow where I'm at, only on the ridges/tiers or mountains)

We've had good rain during Autumn and into Winter... my water tanks are all full and the late Spring hay crop is looking good so far.

Glad your tanks are full and crop looks good. I love a wood stove fire.
hugs, Brandi

 

[bindian]

Those are impressive before/after pictures. Nice job!

Thanks Ford850!
hugs, Brandi

 

[bindian]

My God girl - - I am humbled before your project. It is something I would NEVER feel capable of doing myself.

Not only are you wise, but obviously very patient.

Well done - very well done!!!

Thanks oosik! I didn't wanna do it, but kept thinking how much it would be if I hired someone to do it.
Being an aircraft mechanic for 40 years didn't hurt either. Ya can't take shortcuts with stuff (electrons) you can't see.
hugs, Brandi

 

[bindian]

Pretty impressed, but as you are concerend about shorting. On your relay (upper Right corner) did you use connectors that do not have plastic all the way over the tab? It loks taht way (Plastic only on shank). Those will short out if that is the case. I would replace all lugs of that nature with something like this... Amazon.com: Yueton 1pcs Female Fully Insulated Wire Crimp Terminal Nylon Quick Connectors Wiring Spade: Home Improvement

Thanks woodlandfarms! The relay you are talking about is the thumb's switch relay I installed last year. With the panel mounted, that relay is at the upper forward corner of the pedistal, all by itself. Those wires are ty wrapped to not be bent. It would take a direct hit swung by something to knock the terminals together. If something does bent them over, I'll just put heat shrink over them.
hugs, Brandi

 

[bindian]

Outstanding. I replaced every wire on my small tractor to get it to run and understand what a huge job that was for your excavator. Glad that you got it done and won't have to deal with it in the future!!!!

Thanks Eddie. I found every nook and cranny that excavator has while replacing the wiring. I used a 1/2 inch diameter pvc pipe about 3 foot long to thread the new wiring harnesses through the belly of the beast.

I also found two items that need to be fixed under there for reliable running. One will be easy to fix.

The other, replacing a broken flexible tube for geasing the swing gear (which has me baffled as the swing gear teeth can be greased by hand while someone spins the machine slowly in place) will be fun because that part is obsolete.

That means Caterpillar doesn't have any more in stock. I am thinking maybe some air shock hard plastic hose might work as a replacement.
hugs, Brandi

 

[YLee Kioti]

After viewing the rats nest you had and the after pictures I'd like to say very well done.
The kind of craftsmanship I don't often see around here.
So nice to see others.
As an Avionic guy in another life, this kind of work I can really appreciate.

Should put a smile on your face every time you fire it up!

Regards....

 

[MickeyDBC]

That is very nice work and I like how you wrapped the wires to keep them from chafing. I have an ancient Kubota KX-71 mini excavator that appears to have been rewired by a minimalist after some long ago rodent and other damage. The only electrical bits that work are the starter, glow plugs, and an add-on oil pressure and temp gauge. The way it is wired now you turn the switch to run for 30 seconds to heat the glow plugs, then turn the key to the start position and when it starts you switch it to off and take the key out. When you want to shut it down you pull on the mechanical throttle valve to choke it out. Next project on it will be rebuilding some of the track rollers and making a new track tensioner system. Maybe one day it will have lights that actually work.

 

[MickeyDBC]

Thanks Eddie. I found every nook and cranny that excavator has while replacing the wiring. I used a 1/2 inch diameter pvc pipe about 3 foot long to thread the new wiring harnesses through the belly of the beast.

I also found two items that need to be fixed under there for reliable running. One will be easy to fix.

The other, replacing a broken flexible tube for geasing the swing gear (which has me baffled as the swing gear teeth can be greased by hand while someone spins the machine slowly in place) will be fun because that part is obsolete.

That means Caterpillar doesn't have any more in stock. I am thinking maybe some air shock hard plastic hose might work as a replacement.
hugs, Brandi

I have a couple of big parts tumblers that have centralized grease systems. Of course the lines rot out way too early but have had a hydraulic shop make new hoses for them. Much cheaper than I expected and these will probably outlast the tumblers by many years.

 

[Luke'sScreenName]

Fired first try?! Dude (dudette), that deserves a plaque or something. Super impressed.

 

[bindian]

After viewing the rats nest you had and the after pictures I'd like to say very well done.
The kind of craftsmanship I don't often see around here.
So nice to see others.
As an Avionic guy in another life, this kind of work I can really appreciate.

Should put a smile on your face every time you fire it up!

Regards....

YLee Kioti,
I like your user name. Been catchin' any roadrunners? Thanks for the kind words. What service were you in? Or were you strictly civilian?
hugs, Brandi