New MT573

[TimberFarm]

Interesting thing happened on mine today. Started it up in really cold weather, about 20deg, and the "N" Neutral light on my dash kept flashing. I put the shuttle in "F" forward, and the Neutral light kept flashing. I put it in "R" reverse, and the Neutral light kept flashing. I pulled out the manual and couldn't find anything about flashing "N".

So I put the shuttle back in forward and the tractor drove right along with the "N" flashing too. No difference in performance of any kind.
Then when the temp gauge got up to normal temperature, the flashing "N" went out.

So, is that flashing "N" supposed to tell me it's cold out?

On a side note, the heater in this thing works great!!

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

Sounds like a stuck switch. The cold will do that

 

[1 Old Man]

Always interested in Mt 573. Good or bad. Electronic or mechanical.
Thanks for posting this, good to know.

So I put the shuttle back in forward and the tractor drove right along with the "N" flashing too. No difference in performance of any kind.
Then when the temp gauge got up to normal temperature, the flashing "N" went out.

So, is that flashing "N" supposed to tell me it's cold out?

On a side note, the heater in this thing works great!!

 

[TimberFarm]

Temps were back up to 40's today and no blinking Neutral light.
Going to get really cold again tomorrow and Sunday so I will see if it does it again.

 

[TimberFarm]

Cold again this morning so I went out to start it and see what would happen.
Started and sure enough, flashing Neutral again.
This time I did not put it in gear and just let it sit and idle. After a couple of minutes and the engine started warming up, the Neutral light went out.
So either there is something with the cold and the Neutral switch sticking like Clover said above, or something tied to engine temps.

 

[TractorTYMe]

Glad you're having fun with your MT573, it looks like a beast.

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

It's a physical switch. Before proximity sensors, we had them on the landing gear on the aircraft. In the cold we wouldnt get gear down or up indications. Poor design for cold and outdoor use. Proximity sensors don't have this mechanical weakness.

 

[1 Old Man]

Cold again this morning so I went out to start it and see what would happen.
Started and sure enough, flashing Neutral again.
This time I did not put it in gear and just let it sit and idle. After a couple of minutes and the engine started warming up, the Neutral light went out.

Nice!

It's a physical switch. Before proximity sensors, we had them on the landing gear on the aircraft. In the cold we wouldn't get gear down or up indications. Poor design for cold and outdoor use. Proximity sensors don't have this mechanical weakness.

Both posts: good info to know. Thanks.

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

I miss the little mirror to see under the plane to verify if the gear is down

 

[NetbyTractor]

Interesting thing happened on mine today. Started it up in really cold weather, about 20deg, and the "N" Neutral light on my dash kept flashing. I put the shuttle in "F" forward, and the Neutral light kept flashing. I put it in "R" reverse, and the Neutral light kept flashing. I pulled out the manual and couldn't find anything about flashing "N".

So I put the shuttle back in forward and the tractor drove right along with the "N" flashing too. No difference in performance of any kind.
Then when the temp gauge got up to normal temperature, the flashing "N" went out.

So, is that flashing "N" supposed to tell me it's cold out?

On a side note, the heater in this thing works great!!

This is intentional. It describes it in the manual the N will flash until the fluid reaches a certain temp. It's basically telling you to let it warm up before doing anything crazy.