John Deere 445 dash blinking

[wwivhobbit]

My 445 has always ran hotter than I'd like but whenever the gauge got up to the red the thermostat would seemingly open up because the gauge would drop back to around halfway and start climbing again. The last time I had it out I noticed the center light started blinking. Its one long followed by 3 short blinks. The today the blinking started in again and the temp gauge went up past the red and stayed there so i got nervous and shut it off. When i raised the hood i could hear and see the coolant bubbling in the reservoir so I'm pretty sure the gauge wasn't lying. Any ideas before i start ripping and tearing?

 

[RandyT]

Long, short, short, short is coolant temperature sensor warning. Blown head gasket possibly pushing exhaust into the cooling system. Or water pump not working. Or clogged radiator.

 

[wwivhobbit]

Long, short, short, short is coolant temperature sensor warning. Blown head gasket possibly pushing exhaust into the cooling system. Or water pump not working. Or clogged radiator.

Thanks! New head gaskets and water pump, but that's not a guarantee that they aren't defective. I guess I'm more puzzled that the blinking started before the temp gauge maxed out?

 

[Spanner]

Try removing the thermostat and running the engine.

 

[arto98607]

Try removing the thermostat and running the engine.

Better yet, remove the thermostat and test it in hot water & thermometer to see at what temperature it will start to open and close back again?

 

[bigtiller]

Are the air inlet screens under the dash open and clean?

Are the radiator fins clean and open? You may need to remove the battery to see them.

 

[beenthere]

Is the radiator clean, and not full of mud. Happens when people think washing with a garden hose and water turns the dust to mud. Also there is the hyd. oil cooler adjacent to the radiator that needs cooling.

 

[wwivhobbit]

Thanks! New head gaskets and water pump, but that's not a guarantee that they aren't defective. I guess I'm more puzzled that the blinking started before the temp gauge maxed out?

Try removing the thermostat and running the engine.

Ok i just tried that. The temperature gauge climbed clear past the red and stayed. I checked all over with an infrared thermometer and the top of the cylinders was about 250 in the front and 220 in the rear. The thermostat housing was about 190 and the radiator hoses both read about 187.

 

[wwivhobbit]

Is the radiator clean, and not full of mud. Happens when people think washing with a garden hose and water turns the dust to mud. Also there is the hyd. oil cooler adjacent to the radiator that needs cooling.

Well, when i got it the poor thing had been brutally misused and neglected so this has been a long journey. The radiator was so caked full of mud that it took me hours with a pressure washer to clear it out. We had a big yard job with the loader during a hot dry week so dust has worked into everything including the radiator so i just flushed it all out again. I don't really know about the inside but there aren't any radiator shops around here anymore and a new one is unavailable so my best bet is a good flushing out...again.

 

[Richard001]

The radiator was so caked full of mud that it took me hours with a pressure washer to clear it out.

I'm guessing that the force of the pressure washer flattened all the cooling fins.

Richard

 

[beenthere]

Will air blow through the radiator fins without blockage?

 

[wwivhobbit]

Will air blow through the radiator fins without blockage?

Yes! As it turns out I jumped thru many hoops but i believe I've found and fixed the problem. The tractor had always run hot (not *in* the red but close) since i bought it, and i could always smell antifreeze when i ran it, so a couple winters ago i pulled it apart and went all thru it with all new gaskets and seals, etc. I resurfaced the heads and tops of the cylinders and thought that should take care of the coolant smell. Bzzzzt! Wrong! I could still smell it, though i couldn't find any leaks anywhere and i was certain that the heads were sealed properly, so i just ran it and kept topping off the coolant when needed. Ok, so here's where the latest round of trouble began. I acquired a couple gallons of antifreeze and decided to top off the reservoir with this new antifreeze. As i poured it in i noticed that it was kind of purple instead of the normal green. I called my brother who told me that it's probably not a good idea to mix them and long story short he turned out to be right. That's when it went from running hit to pegging the temp gauge and staying there. Ok, that's the back story!
The steps i took to fix it...
To diagnose it i began by checking head gaskits with a kit that Harbor Freight sells and it showed no exhaust leaking into the coolant.
Next, I drained the coolant all out and removed the thermostat and filled the system with distilled water and ran it. With it like this the temperature hardly even got up to the green and even mowing up and down the hill behind my house only got it into the green a third of the way.
Next i got a bottle of cooling system flush from Napa and drained the system and refilled it with the flush, topped off with distilled water and ran it for a couple days with that in, still without a thermostat.
Next I drained that out and flushed it with distilled water again till it was clear, installed a new JD thermostat and filled it with new 50/50 mix and the temp comes up to about a 1/4 to a third of the way and seems to stay there. Sadly, i can still smell antifreeze when it gets warmed up but I can't see any anywhere unless it's just some that got spilled in the process.
Anyhow, thanks! I think its useable again!

Oh, and the dash lights stopped blinking!

 

[Richard001]

Hum - Does the coolant system have a reservoir that is vented or is it a completely sealed system ?

My car does the same thing, after driving on a hot day, and then parking it in the garage, I can smell coolant, but I can never see any leaks. The car has a reservoir that is vented.

Good Luck and keep an eye on the coolant level.

 

[wwivhobbit]

Hum - Does the coolant system have a reservoir that is vented or is it a completely sealed system ?

My car does the same thing, after driving on a hot day, and then parking it in the garage, I can smell coolant, but I can never see any leaks. The car has a reservoir that is vented.

Good Luck and keep an eye on the coolant level.

The reservoir cap has holes in the fiber washer and the overflow tube just lets excess coolant drip onto the ground. Maybe that's all I'm smelling but it seems quite pronounced to just be that..