Dead ToolCat

yooperdave · Dec 27, 2008

For no apparent reason, my 2003 toolcat is dead with ZERO electrical getting to the various systems.

The ToolCat has been used almost daily for several years, and this has never happened.

I will say the battery is almost new, and the battery charger indicated that the battery is fully charged. I also make sure everything is turned off prior to shutting down.

The only thing different is that we have had a record snowfall for December and very cold temperatures, and all of a sudden the temperature really rose to 40-45 degrees. Maybe some packed snow melted and shorted something out?

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

TIA

Yooper Dave

Spudgunner · Dec 27, 2008

Probably already did this...but get it inside and defrosted. After it's defrosted, go over it with the proverbial fine toothed comb...maybe you can get at least enough power to check the diagnostic codes. At least it's not an intermittant problem. Mixed blessing, there.

yooperdave · Dec 27, 2008

I have always kept the machine inside a metal shed, and it is now defrosting for the next day.

There is no electricity to make diagnostic codes - DEAD.

I am trying to find the service manual to see where the fuses are.

Regards,

Yooper Dave

DEWFPO · Dec 27, 2008

yooperdave said:
I have always kept the machine inside a metal shed, and it is now defrosting for the next day.

There is no electricity to make diagnostic codes - DEAD.

I am trying to find the service manual to see where the fuses are.

Regards,

Yooper Dave

I think that's a good start. If the fuses are good, then check your power from the battery to the various components (ign. switch, ecu, etc...).

DEWFPO

dsb5610 · Dec 27, 2008

Yooper Dave,

I been running my 'A' regularly too either blowing or pushing snow. Went to start it up a couple of days ago and it counted down from 20 to maybe 18 then the dash went dark. Now it's dead. I haven't had a chance to look into it yet but probably will tomorrow.

dsb

radman1 · Dec 27, 2008

I remember reading somewhere in my manuals, about a main fuse for the TC. Maybe a 50-100 amp fuse near the battery if I remember correctly. Maybe it got wet.

Spudgunner · Dec 27, 2008

radman1 said:
I remember reading somewhere in my manuals, about a main fuse for the TC. Maybe a 50-100 amp fuse near the battery if I remember correctly. Maybe it got wet.

On the "D", there is a 100A master fuse. It doesn't look like a conventional fuse...it's a black plastic square with metal tabs on both ends. On my TC, it is located near the battery. The lettering on it says "MEGA" in large letters, and "LITTELFUSE" in smaller letters. It also has "100A" right underneath the "MEGA" label. It might be under a little black plastic housing. In the service manual there's a pic on pg. 60-10-6. ("D" service manual)

radman1 · Dec 27, 2008

Spudgunner said:
On the "D", there is a 100A master fuse. It doesn't look like a conventional fuse...it's a black plastic square with metal tabs on both ends. On my TC, it is located near the battery. The lettering on it says "MEGA" in large letters, and "LITTELFUSE" in smaller letters. It also has "100A" right underneath the "MEGA" label. It might be under a little black plastic housing. In the service manual there's a pic on pg. 60-10-6. ("D" service manual)

That's the one!

groundcover · Dec 27, 2008

Hope that cat has nine lives!

dsb5610 · Dec 28, 2008

I took a look at my unit and determined the fuse (littelfuse mega 100) is blown. Will check around for one and post again once I have it replaced.

dsb

dsb5610 · Dec 31, 2008

Replacing the fuse fixed the problem on mine. I bought an extra one for a spare. This is the first time in over 400 hours this has happened since I owned it. It has over 650 hours total. I assume it had to do with running it in snow combined with the freezing and thawing. We've had over 33 inches of snow so far which is a record along with temps below zero to almost 50.

dsb

timm9 · Jan 1, 2009

Thank you for posting the issue and the fix. I'll be ordering 2 master fuses in the morning!

dsb5610 · Jan 2, 2009

These fuses are used in a number of applications. You can get them at Napa, O'Reilly, etc. Cost is $7.

dsb

Spudgunner · Jan 2, 2009

For those of us far from "civilization"...and more importantly, parts stores, following is a link to "evparts" and their Littlefuse 100A part.
Fuse, 100 amp, 32 VDC, Mega Fuse

These folks are located in western WA. I went ahead and sent in my first order to these folks today for 5 fuses.

yooperdave · Jan 2, 2009

My 2 service manuals have gone missing, and I was hoping I could get some help locating the fuse in question on my 'A' series.

Do I need to remove the battery to locate the fuse?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks fo all the help.

Yooper Dave

dsb5610 · Jan 2, 2009

Dave,

You may be able to replace it without removing the battery but it would be easier with it removed. I removed mine so I could clean the posts. When looking at the battery the fuse is located up and to the right. You can follow one of the red battery cables to it. It has a black protective cover over it that is a pain to remove. Once the cover is off use a 13mm to remove the nuts. Same size you need if you remove the battery cables and holding strap. Hope that fixes it for you.

dsb

yooperdave · Jan 4, 2009

Thanks for all the help.

I am now back online and working.

I started with the 100 amp fuse. 3 national chan stores did not have the fuse - but NAPA had 1 left and I was more than happy to buy it from him.

After the installation, the ToolCat was still dead - now I got concerned...

It turns out the 16 month old battery that the dealer installed went dead and would not take any charge. The battery worked well with the temperatures at -10 to -20. When the temperature outside warmed up, the battery died.

I put a new battery in with more than 1000 CCA and the ToolCat started right up.

Yooper Dave

radman1 · Jan 4, 2009

It is weird how batteries do that. My p/u was 3 months old. Tried to start it one morning - nothing. It was under warranty, dealer came and picked it up. Dead battery. Sometimes they internally short out.

DEWFPO · Jan 5, 2009

Spudgunner said:
For those of us far from "civilization"...and more importantly, parts stores, following is a link to "evparts" and their Littlefuse 100A part.
Fuse, 100 amp, 32 VDC, Mega Fuse

These folks are located in western WA. I went ahead and sent in my first order to these folks today for 5 fuses.

32 Volt?

DEWFPO

Spudgunner · Jan 5, 2009

DEWFPO said:
32 Volt?

DEWFPO

Yep, that's the one....or were you surprised by the voltage rating? I was surprised it was that low, actually. I remember alot of those glass-cartridge fuses used in cars were 250V rated.