When searching the internet via Google etc. for complaints, repairs or troubleshooting a Bobcat 2300 I get NOTHING. It leads me to believe that I am the only person who has had significant repeated trouble with this machine. I don't want to get into the history of all of the mechanical problems I have had in the last three years but there is one I am hoping someone...anyone can help me with: Every once in a while, regardless of use (sometimes it happens during use, sometimes it happens after the machine has sat for a bit) the rapidlink hydraulics (not the dump bed) just go dead. Replacing fuses does nothing. Last time it happened the dealer had to replaced the wiring harness from the joystick, another time the entire pump (it caught fire shortly after the hydraulics died). The dealer doesn't have answers as to why this occurs and when I suggest that this sort of thing can't be normal, he gets defensive. I've written Bobcat and never received a response. Any ideas? I'd be interested in hearing about other issues people have had with this machine as well (and any solutions!)
Bobcat 2300 Hydraulics
- Thread starter jurz
- Start date
Rottresq
New member
Sorry to hear of your issues. Have owned the BobCat model you have since May 2006, and never had a problem like that. Parking brake ratchet wore out, thats it.
A fire or smoke says electrical to me, not hydraulic. The BobCats are hydraulic over electric in operation. And with your wiring harness replacement at the dealer, I would look for a bad ground connection, a hot wire too close to ground that shorts out, something like that. You mentioned fuse replacement, that also indicates a short somewhere. Go to the fuse that blows and get an electrical diagram and follow that hot wire to everything it controls and look for a bare wire, or a hunk of metal crud arcing, thats my best guess. If all else fails and the dealer will not help, get it to an experienced electrical shop and have them do the wire tracing I suggested. Pay them and then contact BobCat Home Office directly, tell them of your troubles, show the documentation and how the local would not help, in the interest of good customer relations, they may pick up the tab.
A fire or smoke says electrical to me, not hydraulic. The BobCats are hydraulic over electric in operation. And with your wiring harness replacement at the dealer, I would look for a bad ground connection, a hot wire too close to ground that shorts out, something like that. You mentioned fuse replacement, that also indicates a short somewhere. Go to the fuse that blows and get an electrical diagram and follow that hot wire to everything it controls and look for a bare wire, or a hunk of metal crud arcing, thats my best guess. If all else fails and the dealer will not help, get it to an experienced electrical shop and have them do the wire tracing I suggested. Pay them and then contact BobCat Home Office directly, tell them of your troubles, show the documentation and how the local would not help, in the interest of good customer relations, they may pick up the tab.
Thanks for the reply. I suppose I am letting my various complaints combine when they really are separate issues, which have the common affect of my hydraulics going out. That said, I should have clarified that the original fire was indeed electrical in nature. What the dealer told me after the first fire (but before the latest, seemingly random, total failure of the hydraulics) was that for whatever reason my Bobcat (I assume he meant my particular unit as to the model in general) had wiring that was rated to handle less current than what the fuses were rated. That is what allowed the fire to occur. This is why (I assume) the entire harness was replaced.
The bigger issue is that of the random hydraulic failure that doesn't seem to be related to the wiring, fuses, etc. No question that the fire is included in my frustration with these failures, and I can't help but think it is related, but even after the wiring was replaced the failures still occur occasionally. Oh and that is another fact I didn't mention...the hydraulic functioning returns after a day or so.
One more thing: I recently took it in to a new mechanic and he can find nothing wrong. Needless to say this didn't help my sanity much.
The bigger issue is that of the random hydraulic failure that doesn't seem to be related to the wiring, fuses, etc. No question that the fire is included in my frustration with these failures, and I can't help but think it is related, but even after the wiring was replaced the failures still occur occasionally. Oh and that is another fact I didn't mention...the hydraulic functioning returns after a day or so.
One more thing: I recently took it in to a new mechanic and he can find nothing wrong. Needless to say this didn't help my sanity much.
Rottresq
New member
If I follow you correctly:a new wiring harness rated at the amperage that is required has been installed, and no more fuses are blowing, but you still experience intermittent hydraulic failure in the front end hydraulics. My bed dump is electric-worm gear, not hydraulic and I assume yours is the same.
Therefore the bed will always work as long as there is voltage.
I'm thinking your problem might lie in the the joy stick control contacts. If when the underrated harness was still in use (which sounds like a factory defect to me and should have been a recall issue) possibly the joy stick contacts got burned or those contacts are also defective-maybe underrated harness, underrated joy stick? Unless the joy stick was also replaced with the wiring harness.
Its a simple system, 12v pressurizes the hydraulic pump, and the fluid flows to the hydraulics, if there is voltage & the hydraulic system is full with no slow leaks, or blocked lines, it should work. One last thought, intermittent operation when a componet gets warm then works after cool off, sounds like a thermally sensitive componet on a circuit board, bad resistor, capacitor etc. Get some electronic componet cool spray (Radio Shack) open the joy stick box and when the hydraulics quit, give a short spray to a circuit board componet, then try the hydraulics, if it suddenly starts working you may have found the culprit
Therefore the bed will always work as long as there is voltage.
I'm thinking your problem might lie in the the joy stick control contacts. If when the underrated harness was still in use (which sounds like a factory defect to me and should have been a recall issue) possibly the joy stick contacts got burned or those contacts are also defective-maybe underrated harness, underrated joy stick? Unless the joy stick was also replaced with the wiring harness.
Its a simple system, 12v pressurizes the hydraulic pump, and the fluid flows to the hydraulics, if there is voltage & the hydraulic system is full with no slow leaks, or blocked lines, it should work. One last thought, intermittent operation when a componet gets warm then works after cool off, sounds like a thermally sensitive componet on a circuit board, bad resistor, capacitor etc. Get some electronic componet cool spray (Radio Shack) open the joy stick box and when the hydraulics quit, give a short spray to a circuit board componet, then try the hydraulics, if it suddenly starts working you may have found the culprit
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Johnstown Industrial
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Posting this so I can find it later (Just in case) when I'm searching for info on a Bobcat 2300 hydraulics. Had one come into the shop with a hydraulic pump missing coils, bad coils, disconnected hoses, mangled wiring, etc.. The factory service manual DOES NOT label ports or coils for the pump manifold. I had to manually test the manifold to find out which function is what port. Anyway, This diagram will save me or someone else a lot of time. It can also be used to identify bad coils when a function is not working.
