New 4300 is dead! :-(

Bob_Trevithick · Feb 11, 2002

Hi Folks,

Ran into a weird problem the other day. Was working the tractor pretty hard, but not abusively. Using the front blade to push down a hill of dirt, grown over with small (1 inch dia) trees and brush. It was going slowly, but it was working. I kept the RPMs up around 2000-2500 range, figuring let's give the fairly new machine (approx 30 hours on it) a bit of a workout as part of the break-in process. I was geared down sufficiently that no change in engine RPM occured no matter what I did.. sometimes it would spin it's wheels, but the engine certainly wasn't being lugged down.

Well, at one point I idled it down and decided to get off and take a break for a few minutes. In neutral, parking break set, not PTO engaged, in fact nothing on the machine but the front blade and a dirt scoop on the back.

The second I got off the seat, it died. Now it won't even turn over. Normal lights illuminate on the dash when the key is turned, no fuses are blown, the seat switch appears to be fine, nothing obviously wrong with any wiring I can get to. But it simply won't engage the starter motor no matter what I do. So there it sits, out in the middle of a field, slowly getting covered with snow. /w3tcompact/icons/sad.gif

The dealer will be coming out today, and I sincerely hope my wife will be awake to give him the keys.

Anybody got a guess as to what might be wrong? Believe me when I say I've tried every combination of in gear, out of gear, clutch in, brakes on, me on seat, PTO turned off, etc., etc.

The dealer's theory is that something is wrong with the parking brake wiring. He said it isn't something I could get to myself. At least not easily. Sound plausible?

Thanks,
Bob

hoghead · Feb 11, 2002

Bob
Do you have a hst or gears?If the tractor will not even turn over i would suspect some thing electrical is wrong.Unfortuationally(sp?) that could involve timeconsuming tests to each of the starting systems.If you suspect any of the swithces are bad then bypass them with a jumper wire and that will elimimate the switch in the circuit.You can also test the switches without voltage on them with an ohmeter to se if they are working.

Bob_Trevithick · Feb 11, 2002

Hoghead,

I have a SyncReverser. Unfortunately, I'm at work now and can't run any tests. I'll have to hope the dealer stops out and figures it out. If he can't, presumably my warranty will cover whatever has to be done. But I'd like to get it running today.. so will try you suggestions when I get home if the dealer fails.

Thanks,
Bob

Anonymous Poster · Feb 11, 2002

...The second I got off the seat, it died...

Bob... my gut feeling on your new tractor is an interlock switch problem... try bouncing up/down on the seat while turning the key... hopefully they will correct/adjust this problem on-site without transporting it to the shop...

bigpete · Feb 11, 2002

You might try continuing to reverse the process, i.e. disengage and re-engage the parking brake. It might be possible that the brake appears to be set but is disengaged depending on the coordination of the foot pedal and hand lever. Don't try this while bouncing or you could jam your fingers or twist your ankle /w3tcompact/icons/grin.gif.

RichZ · Feb 11, 2002

...try bouncing up/down on the seat...

John, sometimes your answers are so technical, that the rest of us have trouble understanding them!!!/w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

Rich
"What a long strange trip it's been."

Bob_Trevithick · Feb 11, 2002

...my gut feeling on your new tractor is an interlock switch problem... try bouncing up/down on the seat while turning the key...

Hi John,

The dealer had the same gut feeling.. but believe me, I bounced and bounced. Actually, the dealer feels the seat switch is working correctly.. but that one of the other interlock switches has failed.

It might be my own fault.. I was trying to push down brush and small trees with the front blade. This resulted in a lot of small tree wood getting jammed into the underside of the tractor. I suspect they will find that one of these damaged a switched on the brake pedal. Don't know if warranty will cover that or not. And, I'm not sure what to do differently. Maybe I should pull all the trees out with a chain before using the blade. Or maybe I should use the dirt scoop instead of pushing. This is a case where a FEL would be perfect. But I just can't justify the cost for this one job. I wonder.. can you rent a FEL? Or maybe I should just hire a bulldozer guy to come in and do it the right way? Problem is, it's fun doing this work! :-/

Thanks again.. Bob

forestcreature · Feb 11, 2002

a little late for this now, but you could try to lift up the seat and pull UP on the seat cutoff switch and see if that works.

on the 4100 this switch is pulled up to allow you to run the tractor while not being in the seat.

i am assuming the 4300 has the same mechanicals.

Bob_Trevithick · Feb 11, 2002

Yeah, I read something about that, but haven't had occassion to use that feature yet. If the tractor doctors can't figure it out, I'll try that when I get home. Thanks for the idea!!

hermit · Feb 11, 2002

I had a similar problem with my 4300 w/synchreverser. There are 3 switches that have to function to start or run off of the seat. One on the seat , one on the reverser lever inside the dash and one under the tractor that is operated by the 4 speed transmission. It sounds like you might have knocked the connector off of this last switch with some brush. If so plug it back in and tie the wires up out of the way.