How badly did I break it?

[Danger18]

While crossing a fairly steep ravine, to see if I'd be able to cross with the bush hog attached later, I bottomed out pretty badly on my 3 point lift arms that I had left down when I dropped off the bush hog. I heard a loud report, which I shrugged off when it climbed right out. I later found that I could not raise or lower the 3 point. Called a dealer service tech and he talked me thru a few checks. I backed off the raise/lower speed knob and heard the lever move. I then found that one of the stabilizer bars was bent around 20 degrees. I straightened it in a press and put it back on. Everything worked normal again. I picked up the bush hog, climbed the ravine with no problem and then bush hogged a quarter acre. Just as I finished up the pto shaft stopped on its own while the switch was still engaged. I don't have a service manual, and can't find one online. 2015 xr4046hc. I found the pto 15 amp fuse blown. Used a multimeter to check the switch, and then the pto solenoid after taking it off. I'm assuming the dead short reading is correct to show it's good. Also checked the pto relay. I let things cool down then went out to tinker with it. I put a new fuse in and engaged the pto switch and the shaft started to turn, maybe half a rotation, and then stopped. Weird thing was it didn't blow the fuse this time. So now I'm thinking the loud bang I heard was internal breakage from when I bottomed out. That, or the solenoid can't be good. Any ideas?

 

[LD1]

Gotta get to the bottom of that bang you heard.

Dont know why bottoming out on lowered 3PH arms would hurt anything. They arent held down by anything other than gravity. They should have been free to raise to full height when you bottomed it out.

 

[N80]

PTO shaft too long?

 

[Egon]

How easy is it using hand power tractor off to:

Lift the three point arms
Turn the PTO shaft.

 

[Danger18]

Gotta get to the bottom of that bang you heard.

Dont know why bottoming out on lowered 3PH arms would hurt anything. They arent held down by anything other than gravity. They should have been free to raise to full height when you bottomed it out.

The bang happened right after my rear wheels crossed the bottom and started uphill. I think there was a lateral force applied, as the left stabilizer bar is what bent 20 degrees. I'm thinking the loud noise was when it cleared the obstacle that bent it. I didnt notice the bend until after the lift arms unjammed. Now, I'm able to lift the arms by hand, pretty much just the weight of the arms. I guess the next step would be to drain the hyd fluid and see if there is any debris.

 

[Danger18]

As for the pto shaft... it has a about a foot of travel available and doesn't come close to its limits in either direction. What stinks is having two issues and not knowing if they are related. Not much of a believer in coincidence. With the bush hog attached and raised with tractor off, pto shaft does not move with force applied to stump jumper. Also, I rechecked the last 15 amp fuse in the morning light, .... blown.

 

[k0ua]

We are still having a hard time understanding how the bending of the 3pt stabilizer has anything to do with the PTO not work. BUT the fact that the PTO fuses are blowing would indicate a high current draw from the PTO solenoid or its surrounding circuitry. You need to examine the wiring to make sure something didn't get smashed or pinched when you crossed the ravine. I think you have two problems (the bent stabilizer) and damage to PTO solenoid wiring that both occurred at the same event (the ravine crossing). Look it over carefully. was the solenoid housing damaged in any way.?.. Look for scrapes bumps and bruises.

 

[ericm979]

With the bush hog attached and raised with tractor off, pto shaft does not move with force applied to stump jumper.

If your LS has a PTO lever in addition to the switch it may be normal to not be able to turn the PTO shaft with the PTO lever engaged. That's how my Branson works.

 

[k0ua]

If your LS has a PTO lever in addition to the switch it may be normal to not be able to turn the PTO shaft with the PTO lever engaged. That's how my Branson works.

I am pretty sure the PTO shaft will have a brake, so the not being able to move the PTO shaft is probably normal

 

[Danger18]

Thanks much for the prompt replies. k0ua, heading out now to do a more thorough inspection. Great advice. I didn't consider the possibility of breaking two separate things at once.

 

[N80]

I'm surprised at how much of the wiring on my Kubota is exposed.

 

[scdeerslayer]

The PTO probably has a brake on it. That's one thing I completely don't understand the purpose of. Anyway, back to your problem, if you're blowing fuses you likely have a short somewhere, likely a damage wire.

 

[k0ua]

If your LS has a PTO lever in addition to the switch it may be normal to not be able to turn the PTO shaft with the PTO lever engaged. That's how my Branson works.

He won't have a PTO lever on his LS. It is most likely an electric/hydraulic unit like is on my Kioti. The electrical part is a switch activated solenoid, that controls a hydraulic valve that actuates the PTO.

 

[Danger18]

The solenoid is bad. Next question is why did it fail. I inspected and see no evidence of wiring damage and the solenoid is unmarked. I'm still looking for a service manual. When I take it off I'd like to inspect the valve the solenoid operates. Looks like I'll have to remove the power beyond line at the filter. I remain skeptical that the 3 year old sealed electric solenoid failed after so little use without an external cause.

 

[ericm979]

He won't have a PTO lever on his LS. It is most likely an electric/hydraulic unit like is on my Kioti. The electrical part is a switch activated solenoid, that controls a hydraulic valve that actuates the PTO.

I know his LS is electic over hydraulic. So is my Branson. Yet the Branson also has a PTO lever.

 

[N80]

I know his LS is electic over hydraulic. So is my Branson. Yet the Branson also has a PTO lever.

My Kubota is the same. Little lever on the right. Really nice because you can activate the PTO incrementally (slowly) when need be.

 

[k0ua]

So the lever engages the PTO incrementally? Is it digital proportional? Or for that matter some analog proportional control? I am confused. My Kioti just has a switch on the dash.

 

[N80]

So the lever engages the PTO incrementally? Is it digital proportional? Or for that matter some analog proportional control? I am confused. My Kioti just has a switch on the dash.

There is nothing digital on my tractor. ;-) I suspect it is analog proportional. I love it. So when I'm starting my rotary cutter I will slowly ease the lever forward and the PTO will start up super slow. Ease it forward and it comes up to speed. Makes starting thins like the RC very smooth with no shock. For a spreader or something low mass like that I just throw it forward. I'm assuming that if yours is a push button it must have some automatic incremental activation. In other words its not like dumping the PTO when you pus hit is it?

Also, my tractor does seem to have a PTO brake. If you turn off the ignition of the tractor and the PTO is still spinning under the momentum of the implement it slams to a stop. Too hard in my opinion and this happens even with the clutch pressed and/or in neutral (I think). Because of how abrupt it is I do not ever do it.