PT woes..... 1850 wiring

[MossRoad]

Yeah, if you're still running incandescent lights, get rid of them. Mine came with two of the standard old tractor lights. I think 35 watts each. Mounted down low, about operator waiste height. I mounted two more of the same up under the ROPS and thought that was just great. Then several years ago I got a deal on some little LED floods. Put two of those under the ROPS and WOW!!!

I promptly rempoved all 4 of the incandescents and just went with the two LEDs under the ROPs. Two of those pull less than half the AMPs of one incandescent. Plus, they are smaller and don't get knocked around/off/damaged as much.

 

[AVIVIII]

LEDs are going to be one of the first mods I do once I get all the other garbage sorted out.

I was actually thinking about running a power line up overhead the ROPS to a switch bank up high to control high forward facing LED floods, amber strobe on top of the canopy (so I don't have to see it every time I turn around), and a small LED light under the canopy so I can find the stuff that I drop at night. I'm thinking about an LED light bar or LED fog lights for the rear.

 

[ponytug]

I love my LED lights under the ROPS, and I recently added two rear facing, inside the engine hood. Night and day. My only regret is that I didn't do it sooner. It is great.

Unless you have no overhanging trees or brush, I am not sure that you want a beacon on the top of the ROPS. I pretty regularly drive my tractor under overhanging branches. How about some aluminum foil, or paint, inside the existing dome, so that you don't have to see it?

I have found more than a few PT wires that fail just at the crimp, which is why I switched to low temperature solder/heat melt adhesive crimps. They make a better bond to the wire and to the insulation, and provide better stress relief. (I get mine from DelCity, or West Marine). I also ran bonding straps/ground wires to the front dash, the rear tub, the hood and the engine, and the battery and pulled them all back to a single ground point. It is cheap and helps make sure that every circuit has a good ground.

I'm glad that it is working now. I suspect that solenoid was just jammed on a particle of dirt, or from inaction, and manually moving it up and down freed it up. I have an air powered fan on one of my big diesels that is an end run, and gets sticky with inaction. A little driving and it vibrates free.

All the best,

Peter

 

[woodlandfarms]

Do not put anything on the top of the rops. Its not that it is bad, it is just goingto be on the ground sooner than you think. So the yellow flashing light. At first i was quite excited about it, then I was bummed about it as you said, when you turn around welcome to being blinded. I put in a piece of aluminum foil so it only projects back (and not toward the cab). but honestly, if you are using it for just your farm and are not on a road, chuck it. I too have a little LED light to illuminate the dash.

Do some searching here on wire running for the ROPS. I use Silicone to hold the wires in place. A lot of good ideas on LED lights and wire running if you search.

 

[AVIVIII]

Thanks guys.

Unfortunately, the town is pretty strict about anything in the road having hazards/beacons. I have about 1400' of road frontage to maintain and 2 driveway cuts, so I will be in the road a fair amount. Even through its only a 25mph town back road, they still treat it like the highway. The only time I plan on being out in full night darkness is plowing snow, so I'll probably just forget the beacon and put a magnetic one on the ROPS in the winter.

I love my LED lights under the ROPS, and I recently added two rear facing, inside the engine hood.

I was looking for more places to put lights, and actually considered putting one under the hood that will face down at the engine bay with the hood open.

 

[MossRoad]

Maybe get a magnetic mount rotating beacon with a curly cord. Then install a 12V socket up under your ROPs, next to your future switch box.

 

[SpringHollow]

I just turn on the yellow light when I am near the road.

Ken

 

[jfh28]

I had a magnetic one....it didn't last the first winter.......to much vibration on the machine and the circuit board inside the beacon split and came loose......wasn't made to withstand the shocks that run thru our machines......Jack

 

[twin50]

Hello, I am in the process of replacing my cooling fan. Keith sent one with a re-wire kit and solenoid to hook it up. 230 degrees is what the machine is supposed to run at according to Tazwell.

 

[woodlandfarms]

Does the Solenoid have a part number? And what machine are you working on?

 

[twin50]

I will check the solenoid and I have a 1850.

 

[twin50]

The solenoid # is...E340X2 The 30 amp circuit breaker Tazwell sent with the new fan and wiring kit trips so they are sending a 50 amp breaker for it. Will update.

 

[woodlandfarms]

Hmmmm.... Very intersted in the new breaker results. Seems like a very sketchy solution to me.

 

[AVIVIII]

I'm still looking for a good running 12v source to trigger the relay in place of the thermal disk. Right now, I've resorted to Moss' alligator clip method and a direct wire. I can't believe how great PT is at hydraulics and how bad they are at electrical....


I also made a handy little tool out of a piece of 3/16 copper bent at the end, a compression fitting, and a blow gun to clean out the cooling fins without taking the shroud off. Temps are still running a little high for my liking, so a full oil and filter change are next. Its a little grimy under the shroud, so I was thinking about washing it. Engine cleaner and a hose? Pressure washer? Please tell me there is a drain so that that tub doesn't fill up with water....

 

[ponytug]

There are lots of drains in the tub.

I use a pressure washer, once a year or so. I do take the precaution of having the engine cold, and taking the air shroud off so that I can spray up as well as down, and it also improves the draining. In between, I use the compressed air trick on an as needed basis (weekly/bimonthly). For me, with my dust/chaff, that's all I need. Others here do use detergents. There are some nice products for cleaning AC evaporators that you spray on, and let drain through. It's simple, and solves the problem if you have sticky gunk in there.

I agree with you 100% on Tazewell. I would ditch the thermal disk. This isn't what they were designed and intended for. Just google radiator fan sensor. You will find a bunch out there. I don't think that the temperature really matters, as all of them are set below the factory setting. Those sensors are design to control a relay, usually included, and just use that to open the PT relay.

I know that you have the BIG machine, but 50Amps into a fan is way too much. Most of the big fans draw 20-30A. I don't recall every seeing one that drew 50A. That would be 85%+/- of your alternator output. If the Tazewell fan does draw that much, I would replace it with a SPAL high efficiency fan for the lower draw.

All the best,

Peter

 

[woodlandfarms]

One caution on the pressure washer is that it will bend fins of the hydraulic oil cooler. Just be a bit gentle.

Agreed with Peter on all the rest. I pressure wash with a bit more frequence, twice to 3 times a year, but I have either mud or dust with all the clay. I also built a 90 degree attachment for my pressure washer to get in the engine oil cooler fins.

Oh, let the engine dry before you move it (assuming it is dusty out). It was an idiot move on my part, couldn't figure out why it was runnign so hot after a good washing on a hot and dry day. All the dust turned to mud in the fins.

 

[SpringHollow]

I replaced the thermal disk on mine - pretty easy to do and useful in the winter.

Ken

 

[AVIVIII]

I replaced the thermal disk on mine - pretty easy to do and useful in the winter.

When mine failed it fried a bunch of wiring too. I'm not looking forward to removing and replacing that all again if/when I loose another disk. I like the idea of the automotive style switch, but I'm not particularly interested in drilling and tapping my oil cooler to install it, Unless there is a removable plug somewhere that i'm not seeing.

 

[MossRoad]

Why not just hard wire the fan to a relay, and control the relay with a switch on the dashboard? It does no harm to have the fan on all the time. The fan probably never cycles off once it turns on anyway, does it? On my PT425, once it comes on, it's on for the duration. That's why I just connect it to with the alligator clip, start the machine, and off I go. Someday I'll run a dedicated wire and switch, but I see no need for the thermostatic control, except to turn it on after 5-10 minutes of operation of you forget.

 

[AVIVIII]

I'm all about automation. I'll find a good circuit to trigger it, its just a matter of figuring out that wiring nonsense that I need a mirror to see. Plus, in my opinion, the fewer things crossing the pivot point, the better.