GC2600 tachometer/squealing noise

piercedtiger · Nov 28, 2014

Today I had been using my GC2600 for probably at least 20 minutes after letting it warm up around 10 minutes. After using the loader to make several passes on my yard to move snow into a pile for the kids I heard a squealing noise, and the tach shot up over red line. The engine RPMs did not change, and I could throttle up/down without issue. I shut the engine down, did a quick visual inspection, and couldn't see anything wrong so I started back up. Engine sounded normal, however the tach needle is still pegged all the way to the right, past red line, hitting the bottom of the cluster. I used the tractor for another 15-20 minutes when the squealing came back, fluctuated in tone a bit, then faded away.

I can live without an RPM readout, but the noise concerns me. Any thoughts?

I'd been having trouble with the throttle cable freezing up until I sprayed Lock-Ease on both ends and worked the throttle for several minutes last weekend. Could the cable for that have started to freeze up too? I noticed it was about 20F when I went inside after putting the tractor away, and I know my knees and hands were starting to freeze!

irvingj · Nov 28, 2014

Search this forum for threads involving the dreaded "squealing tach" on 2600 series tractors-- there are a number of folks who have had this problem. Seems like it doesn't do any harm, other than the noise and maybe hour reading being off. IIRC, most fixed the problem by cleaning/drying the cable, applying lube, then sealing the ends (and maybe re-routing it) so moisture can't get into the cable. ijk

Toddao · Nov 28, 2014

Mine does it when is cold, I disconnected last winter, hooked back up once it warmed up, just wire tied it up so it wouldn't slap around

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piercedtiger · Nov 28, 2014

Great. Thanks guys! I feel better knowing it's a common issue now. I wasn't even sure what the heck to search for! I figured I'd look into how to get the cable off once it warms back up a bit. Down to 14 now, but it's only Friday so I still have a couple days for it to warm up and play with it.

I know this is probably a dumb question, but why do all the cables on these things wrap around the engine at least once? Throttle, tach, etc. *sigh*

Ed of all trades · Nov 28, 2014

Not just in GC 2600. My GC2400 is doing the same thing.

piercedtiger · Nov 28, 2014

Yeah, I see it's a very common issue now. Guess I'll be pulling the cable tomorrow, and maybe the tach for the **** of it and take them in the house to thaw and see if there's anything I can clean. My impact wrench stopped working this summer, and when I opened it up the air tool oil looked like vaseline. Once I cleaned that out and re-oiled it worked again. Kinda hoping this will be something similar.

piercedtiger · Dec 7, 2014

Well, I pulled the gauge cluster out today. When I took the tach drive piece off the needle snapped back to 0. I cleaned out the old grease, put in some new, put it back together, and it works again. Will keep an eye on it, but it's fixed for now!

irvingj · Dec 8, 2014

Great! :cool2:

Just in time for the NEXT round of "wintery mix"? I'll be glad when it gets cold enough --and STAYS cold enough-- to just deal with snow!

Egon · Dec 8, 2014

Squealing speedometer cables were very common in the past. Regular lube or a silicon one worked well.

piercedtiger · Dec 8, 2014

irvingj said:
Great! :cool2:

Just in time for the NEXT round of "wintery mix"? I'll be glad when it gets cold enough --and STAYS cold enough-- to just deal with snow!

Yup! We're supposed to get another 6" or so by Tuesday I think. I'll get to see if loading the rear tires makes a difference too since I did that on Saturday. Need to get some more washer fluid to do the fronts next, and I think that will have a bigger impact on steering. That was definitely questionable last time it snowed.

Egon said:
Squealing speedometer cables were very common in the past. Regular lube or a silicon one worked well.

Well now that I know how to get it off without taking the whole gauge cluster out I'll be able to keep it lubed. Also, I think the gears jammed or something because the needle was stuck beyond red line until I took the gear drive off the back, and then it snapped back to zero. Surprisingly nothing looked damaged so I just put it all back together again. :confused3: Although thinking about it now, I should wrap some electrical tape or a zip tie around the cable so the nut doesn't slide all the way down under the battery again. I'm getting tired of fishing for that thing!