4310 Ehydro doesn't move...checked for wires ??

[Rob-D]

I'm an electronic engineer and these parts should be designed for the heat range they will be working in, I'm sure Deere specs them out that way. Sometimes things happen like a freak circuit board brake or the like. Not knowing exactly what went wrong in the box it's hard to figure what the real problem was. A mechanic at Deere is problably not capable of diagnosing the trouble beyond the black box itself if that. It could have been something simple that got unplugged or became loose when you were working in the brush.

Usually the last thing to go is an electronic device these days. I've sent out literally hundreds of designs with zero failures. Think about it this way, what breaks down in a VCR the belts or the electronics? The mechanics break down well before any electronic problem. Your car is likely full of electronics, what goes? Wheel bearings maybe and other mechanical parts.
Don't be afraid of the electronics, it was probably something simple especially since no one else is complaining.
Rob

 

[mfreund]

Well I finally got my 4310 fixed. I had noticed that every time I tried to start
the engine, the fault light was not lighting on the initial power on cycle. Each
time that the fault light did the initial flash, the tractor would move normally.
After it got hot the initial flash did not happen, and no move.

I finally called my dealer to pick up my tractor. The mechanics there diagnosed it as
a HST controller. They replaced the $530 controller, and off it went ops normal.

So, what could cause this non-wear item to go belly up? I think it's heat related.
The controller being behind the engine really gets warm, as evidenced by the hot
foot and legs when operating this tractor.

I'm just aggravated that this $530 controller would go bad so early in it's life.
The tractor has only 190 hr. on it and has always been stored dry as bone
in my basement. Only mows5 acres, and light loader work spreading mulch and
such.

Do any of you believe that I should write Deere a letter asking for some compensation
on this expensive part that only lasted 190 hrs. ?

I'm kinda dissatisfied with this tractors ehydro...it seems very trouble prone.
Maybe I should go for 4720 with a 400cx loader or kioti or kubota.

Your basement may be dry to you but I suspect it has higher humidity than a shed outside. I am not connecting the two, only pointing out electronics do not like moisture. If Deere had a problem with HST controllers you would know it from here.

 

[arrabil]

Sometimes things happen like a freak circuit board brake or the like.

All parts fail on a bell curve. This one just happened to be an early one. A microscopic manufacturing defect that happens 1 in a million is all it takes sometimes. Its why materials science people are all the rage nowadays.

 

[Rob-D]

Arrabil,
You can make designs almost bullet proof today. You can have a bad chip but those failures usually show up in beta or early on formthe customer. I'm sure Deere comes close. the last thing they want is for electronics to constantly break down. Look at Agilent, most of their stuff has a 20 year MTBF rate.
Mechanical failures, now that's way more likely.

Rob

 

[arrabil]

Look at Agilent, most of their stuff has a 20 year MTBF rate.

All they've done is move the bell curve further out. The parts will still fail in the same pattern.

 

[Rob-D]

You're right in a way but it's a non sequitur at that point because the instrument has outlived its useful life and new technology has superceded it. So we never see or know about the parts failures, nor do we care to.
The premature failure, 1 part in 100,000, is an anomoly that is outside the curve.

Rob

 

[arrabil]

The premature failure, 1 part in 100,000, is an anomoly that is outside the curve.

No, its the long, flat part of the curve that represents just that.... the anomalous failures that don't fit within the big part of the bell. Just like the other long, flat side that represents the few anomalous parts that just refuse to die.

But again, my point is just that this piece of electronics might have had a microscopic manufacturing defect and Rjpilot was just unlucky to have gotten stuck with it. While any of the other ideas are just as equally possible, I'm saying its possible there is no answer anyone can find and the replacement part will last the lifetime of the tractor under the exact same conditions as the original part.

 

[Rob-D]

1/100,000 = .001% That's some bell curve you're looking at!

http://www.ascd.org/ASCD/images/publications/books/marzano2001a_fig1.1.gif

 

[arrabil]

You did notice your picture doesn't include every part right? Just the ones in the "normal" failure range. Not the anomalous parts we're discussing?

 

[Rob-D]

Yea, that's why I called it an "anomoly outside the curve"! Because that's what it is and that's why a bell curve is shaped like a bell and not like an octopus!