JD 4310 ehydro prgraming question and how long it should take.

[davidki]

I searched the various threads on the 4310 and most of them were really old, so I figured I'd start this one so it will be easy to see by others.

I have a 4310 ehydro, it's a 2004 I think I purchased it in 2006 with low hours. In general, it has been a good tractor, I only have about 1300 hours on it and it's mainly used for general around the farm tasks like bush hogging, finish mowers and trailer pulling... I brought the unit to our tractor guy for a general maintenance, oil change, lub and what ever it needed... I mentioned that for some reason the cruise control has quit... so.. he noticed that it was throwing off some codes and he found a (switch potentiomiter) don't recall which one was bad and he replaced it... he followed the trouble shooting guide on manual reprogramming. ( I knew going in he was not really experienced on the ehydro but he was trying to help me get the cruise control back... so I can not fault him for anything.

After spending house on trying to get it reprogrammed manually (which he will probably not charge me for) he just could not get things working right so, I just told him to take it to the local JD dealer and let them deal with it. He said that he thinks they hook it up to a computer to reprogram it and I figure that at least he is honest to admit that.... I do not fault him for that, he was just trying to help me out...

So, we take it to JD... They said they found something to do with a Speed Sensor and had to replace that part..(about $90.00)for the part.. but then they said it took them 10 hours to reprogram the tractor that they do not hook it up to the computer but it is all done manually and they ran it to issues and had to start over a few times.... OUCH! $1,000 labor.

So my question to the group..do you know if JD (Trigreen in this case) would be able to use a computer to program this tractor? Or is it all done manually? And is 10 hours to reprogram an ehydro out of line... Like I said, I"ve had it since 2004, never an issue with the ehydro until this. I thought I'd ask here what your thoughts were on the amount of time it took and if the 4310 can be hooked up to a computer for programing or not. Is there a number for JD tech support I could call and ask as the dealer just said they had to do it manually and that is what took so long.


Actually while I was there I looked at upgrading to a new 4066 m but, now I have a real concerned on these ehydro's... and I have put the purchase off until I can get some answers ....

Thanks so much for any comments you might have on how long this should have taken for a reprogram.

 

[TractorGuy]

I just quickly browsed the Tests and Adjustments:Hydrostatic Power Train, and Repair:Hydrostatic Power Train sections of the Tech Manual and didn't see any reference to a diagnostic reprogram routine other than mechanical adjustments aided by the use of pressure gauges and a breakout box. They do list special John Deere connections and gauges for doing either.

The fault codes are all read by counting the long and short light flashes in the switch panel mounted on the right fender.

When I bought my 4310 the cruise control was intermittent and I found the brake linkage and switch were both sticking. Lubricating and adjusting was pretty common sense simple as I recall. The brake linkage has grease zerks on both side of the shaft and the switch is located under the right side cowl.

I wasn't happy with the response of the forward/reverse potentiometers and could not find the necessary JDG1575 Test Kit needed to make the adjustment on them so I made my own breakout harness. Here is the link to the thread I wrote about that. https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums...ing/409098-built-ehydro-breakout-harness.html

John Deere lists the same breakout box for adjusting pretty much everything. My homemade set will connect to the motion pots but I don't know about the other items.

Function:
To set the initial voltage readings on the potentiometers
and test and diagnose the potentiometers, pressure
transducers, speed sensors, and solenoid coils.
Equipment
JDG1575 Test Kit

Looking through the section on the eHydro flywheel speed sensor it appears there is no adjustment other than adjusting the engines low and high idle settings prior to testing. Somehow the JDG1575 Test Kit enables you to read frequency through the DC volt setting on a multimeter. If the sensor is out of spec you just replace it. It is a fixed mount magnetic pickup type sensor that just goes in a hole and is secured by a bolt.

 

[davidki]

I just quickly browsed the Tests and Adjustments:Hydrostatic Power Train, and Repair:Hydrostatic Power Train sections of the Tech Manual and didn't see any reference to a diagnostic reprogram routine other than mechanical adjustments aided by the use of pressure gauges and a breakout box. They do list special John Deere connections and gauges for doing either.

The fault codes are all read by counting the long and short light flashes in the switch panel mounted on the right fender.

When I bought my 4310 the cruise control was intermittent and I found the brake linkage and switch were both sticking. Lubricating and adjusting was pretty common sense simple as I recall. The brake linkage has grease zerks on both side of the shaft and the switch is located under the right side cowl.

I wasn't happy with the response of the forward/reverse potentiometers and could not find the necessary JDG1575 Test Kit needed to make the adjustment on them so I made my own breakout harness. Here is the link to the thread I wrote about that. https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums...ing/409098-built-ehydro-breakout-harness.html

John Deere lists the same breakout box for adjusting pretty much everything. My homemade set will connect to the motion pots but I don't know about the other items.

Function:
To set the initial voltage readings on the potentiometers
and test and diagnose the potentiometers, pressure
transducers, speed sensors, and solenoid coils.
Equipment
JDG1575 Test Kit

Looking through the section on the eHydro flywheel speed sensor it appears there is no adjustment other than adjusting the engines low and high idle settings prior to testing. Somehow the JDG1575 Test Kit enables you to read frequency through the DC volt setting on a multimeter. If the sensor is out of spec you just replace it. It is a fixed mount magnetic pickup type sensor that just goes in a hole and is secured by a bolt.

TractorGuy, thanks for your reply... I have to say I am not a mechanic and I know nothing about tractors other than to use them until they break I don't have the infoice here right now, so I don't know what part they replaced other than it was $89.00 for the part alone I suspect that is JD list. Thanks for checking on any computer connections I appreciate that, so it sounds like they were teling me the truth about having to deal with it manually. But, 11 hours, that just seems like a long time and expensive at that!

I am sure that the tractor was throwing codes that I just didn't see before.

In a situation like this, could these issues lower the power of the tractor...It lust seemed like it was bogging down more that when I had firsts bought it.

I don't know when I will get the tractor back, possibly latter this week from my tractor guy once he does all the oil and lub services.... It will be interesting to see if I feel any power increase from before it went in.

Dave

 

[TractorGuy]

If your tractor is bogging the first thing to check is the load match switch. I've noticed if I use the load match and forget to turn it off then the next time I start up and press the pedal it has no power. Turning the switch back off makes it work like normal. To use load match you HAVE to have the RPMs set where you want them to stay before turning the switch on.

 

[TractorGuy]

Without knowing what all the dealer did it's hard to say if they over charged. At that cost I would inquire about what tests they performed and what was adjusted.

I wonder if Deere has a flat rate manual for the different procedures?

You might be paying for some on the job training.

 

[davidki]

So, I decided to post the explanation of the service on the Ehydro on the tractor and the cost...as it states they could not hook up to a computer to diagnose the issue and as you can see, they had to re-calibrate more than one time... it is amazing that it took 11 hours labor.... they did find another part to replace as well.

I have the tractor back and spent 4 hours on it yesterday and it seems to be working just fine.... so, what can I say... it works and now know that JD labor is $120 per hour...

I knew the tractor was sick... but I got a kick out of the $1.13 for a screw... I guess they get hospital rates for parts....

I was about to pull the trigger on a new 4066 but after having this issue... I've decided to use this one for a few more years.... Oh well...

Dave