3038e - Adding a diverter to the 5th SCV

nikdfish · Oct 19, 2024

I had the JD 4th &5th SCV kit installed on our 2010 3038e to handle a two cylinder offset flail. I also wanted to enable concurrent use of the hydraulic top link I bought. The most cost/time efficient route looked to be use of a diverter.

I picked up a Summit Hydraulics DV-50 kit with couplers, fittings & wiring. It can handle 13 gpm @3600 psi. I planned to have the femaie quick connects fitted to the diverter body at the center and far right positions, using 90° adapters on the far right. The input hoses would attach to 90° adapters on the far left position & terminate in male quick connects for attachment to the 5th SCV connectors.

Once I finally laid things out after receiving the kit, I realized I needed to swap gender orientation to enable directly mounting the female couplers to the diverter (as opposed to having hoses in between). I ended up ordering 4 #8 SAE M - 1/2" NPT M adapters at $3 each from Summit Hydraulics. Use of these results in fittings teminating with the male side rather than female. This made for a cleaner solution than using an NPT male/male adapter which would increased the fittings count and added unneeded length.

The kit I purchased (without the added 4 #8SAE-M / 1/2"NPT-M adapters)

I intend to mount the diverter on top of the shield around the 4th & 5th SCV valve body.

For power I will tap into the unused cruise control circuit I found on the fuse box. The new red fuse (10A) is the F6 cruise control circuit.

Although I originally intended to use a momentary button switch on the 5th SCV lever, after removing the right side cup holder to access the cruise control harness connector, I decided a rocker switch in one of the existing switch knockouts made more sense. This also simplified the wiring. I already had the proper connector to match the harness connector.

When testing the circuit, I found that red connector on the JD cruise control connector is ground, the white is +12v. Testing also confirmed it was a switched power source & off when the ignition is off.

I attached proper connectors to fit a 3 pin illuminated rocker switch on the female weatherproof connectord. The solenoid connector wire harness was cut to length and then terminated with appropriate crimped spade quick connects.

After joining the waterproof connectors I replaced the cup holder panel with the needed switch connectors extending through the knockout opening. the switch will get inserted after the connections are made (still waiting on the switch arrival).

(to be continued when more parts come in)

nikdfish · Oct 22, 2024

All the plumbing parts were in so I got started with that. Ran into a little snag when dry fitting. The A/B couplings were a hair too close together when mounted directly on the front face. The release rings would be touching. The C/D couplings, attached to elbows were OK with a couple of degrees spread between the pair. I ended up adding an elbow prior to the B coupler. The top link would be connecting to A/B and the orientation difference could be handled OK. Orb fittings got their threads & o-rings lubricated with a touch of thin silicon, NPT fittings got a dose of thread sealant (Vibra-Tite 440) prior to assembly.

I had to swap the pair of 18" hoses I had bought for a pair of 24" hoses to handle the "U" shape better when connecting P1/P2 to the 5th SCV couplings. The hoses were stiffer than expected.

Everything connected except the hoses for the connection to the 5th SCV

Everything connected, including the hoses to the 5th SCV.

Still waiting on the rocker switch, should be in later today. The connections need to sit 24 hours for the thread sealant to cure, so can do leak testing tomorrow.

nikdfish · Oct 22, 2024

I should have posted this earlier - a diagram of the DV-50-08S diverter connections, P1/P2 is the input:

nikdfish · Oct 22, 2024

Mailman finally showed up with the switch. Attached the leads & snapped it in place.

Switch installed.

Switch on w/ignition on

LED on solenoid lit, showing it is energized

Tinhack · Oct 22, 2024

I just bought the same diverter to split (actually combine) my top and tilt cylinders so I can use two of my three service outlets for the two-cylinder offset flail I got a few weeks ago. I was having to disconnect the tilt cylinder and use those ports and the one spare set of ports. I left the top cylinder for ease of connecting the mower and for fine tuning the height on the mower

With the new setup, I'll be able to keep the T&T cylinders functional. I never moved both cylinders at the same time anyway, so it was just logical to select the cylinder with a switch on the control lever like I do with the grapple on the other tractor.

One thing I see with your install is you seem to be missing the seals under your adapters (shown by the arrows below). On the diverter I got (DV50-08S and the same as yours) the ports are all #8 SAE (3/4-16 ORB) Female Thread. They are NOT NPT. The threads are straight. NPT is 3/4"-14 (1/2-14 NPT), and the threads are tapered. Only the top 1-2 threads on your adaptor are probably catching the threads of the diverter. I'm surprised you were able to even thread them in without stripping the diverter. It caught my attention when you mentioned letting sealer cure and I went back to the photos. Your NPT fittings will most likely start to leak or even blow out. But it's up to you.

nikdfish · Oct 22, 2024

Tinhack said:
... clip...
One thing I see with your install is you seem to be missing the seals under your adapters (shown by the arrows below). On the diverter I got (DV50-08S and the same as yours) the ports are all #8 SAE (3/4-16 ORB) Female Thread. They are NOT NPT. The threads are straight. NPT is 3/4"-14 (1/2-14 NPT), and the threads are tapered. Only the top 1-2 threads on your adaptor are probably catching the threads of the diverter. I'm surprised you were able to even thread them in without stripping the diverter. It caught my attention when you mentioned letting sealer cure and I went back to the photos. Your NPT fittings will most likely start to leak or even blow out. But it's up to you.

View attachment 1664123

The adapters directly connected to the valve body are #8 SAE ORB male -> 1/2" NPT male and #8 SAE ORB male -> 1/2" NPT female. They have o-rings & are screwed in until seated. The o-rings fit into the recess in the valve body. The thread sealant was used on the NPT junctions only.

All threaded connections other than those attaching to the valve body are NPT.

nikdfish · Oct 23, 2024

Turns out the cruise control power connector will not work for this. With the ignition on, the engine off and gear shift in neutral, the switch has power. Put in gear with ignition still on and engine still off & switch power drops. With the engine running, the switch has no power when turned on. With ignition on and the switch on it has power, starting the engine will cause the switch power to drop after about 2 seconds. There is some logic going on with that circuit beyond just being a 12v supply.

Looks like I will have to go the add-a-circuit route & run some wire. Loads of fun as getting the cupholder off/on is a bit of a pain.

On the plus side, no immediate leaks noted using the 5th SCV default path

nikdfish · Oct 23, 2024

At this point it is plan B time.

Made up a wire pair with the connectors needed for the swiitch. Removed the cupholder, disconnected the switch & plugged in the new wire pair. Replaced the cover on the cruise control connector, fed the new wire pair out throught the fender cutout & closed up the cupholder. Removing / replacing the cupholder was easier the second time around.

I ran the new wire pair from cupholder cavity to up by the fuse panel & used an "add-a-circuit". I placed it in the F5 location "all switched power". The "add-a-circuit" has positions for two fuses. One for the original fuse from the chosen location, the other for the lead coming off it.

I picked up a ground from the engine compartment & spliced in the lead from the fuse box

Routed the wires along the hydraulic lines.

The good news is the new switched power feed works fine. Off when the engine is off, on when the ignition is on / engine is running.

Finally got to test the diverter function. It did what it was supposed to. With the switch off, SCV 5 changes the flail angle up/down. With the switch on, SCV 5 operates the top link. Also, no leaks showing! Hopefully none will appear later.

Time to get it over to the acreage & get it dirty.

ETA: fwiw, total outlay for this project, including kit, extra fittings, hoses, thread sealant, switch & add-a-circuit was about $410. This total doesn't include use of items on hand like print filament, wire, zip ties, crimp fittings, etc.

nikdfish · Nov 2, 2024

Turns out the installer put the label on the wrong side, over the levers instead of over the quick connects. SCV 4 does indeed have a float detent. I have the diverter currently connected to SCV 4 and not SCV 5.

I will print up some labels to correctly identify what's what. I don't think the decal would survive removal/replacement.