L3540 shuts off while running chipper

[JOHNINMA]

I bought a Bearcat SC5540B chipper for my tractor today and it works great, but on several instances the tractor shut down without warning as if a safety switch is kicking in. I followed the owners manual procedures on running the pto while out of the cab and I checked the electrical connections to the seat etc, but it still shuts off after say 15 minutes on its own. I checked the dash and everything reads fine no indications of any trouble. I think it has something to do with the seat switches and I noticed the seat has wires going into the bottom of it, but I don't know what kind of sensor is actually inside the seat. Does anyone no if there is some sort of mercury switch etc. inside the seat itself and how to adjust it if possible?

 

[arsenix2001]

I bought a Bearcat SC5540B chipper for my tractor today and it works great, but on several instances the tractor shut down without warning as if a safety switch is kicking in. I followed the owners manual procedures on running the pto while out of the cab and I checked the electrical connections to the seat etc, but it still shuts off after say 15 minutes on its own. I checked the dash and everything reads fine no indications of any trouble. I think it has something to do with the seat switches and I noticed the seat has wires going into the bottom of it, but I don't know what kind of sensor is actually inside the seat. Does anyone no if there is some sort of mercury switch etc. inside the seat itself and how to adjust it if possible?

There is a pressure switch and a mercury switch i believe for off tractor pto operation. Rule out the seat by jumping the two wires coming from the seat. You can disconnect the harness and use a small jumper there.

 

[slowzuki]

I had problems with my L5030 seat safety and had to bypass it. All our tractors on the farm do not have seat safeties so we are used to the safety precautions required.

 

[canoetrpr]

I guess this has been encountered by others before. I have a variant on my L3400. A while back I noticed that sometimes when I got up from my seat with the tractor running (no PTO in operation) it would sometimes shut off.

I didn't diagnose whether it was the seat safety switch (I'm guessing not) or one for the PTO or something else.

I've just permanently tied the seat safety down as I had to get the tractor going. I ought to go back and diagnose this. If anyone has any suggestions - let me know.

 

[KU Gator]

Canoetrpr,

I suspect it is the HST pedal not centering. Look for a grease fitting under the deck where the fwd/rvrs pedals pivot.

 

[Chilly807]

I don't know about the 3540, but the 3400's have a three position switch and a tab on the seat bottom that presses against the switch lever. I had to bend the tab slightly on mine to make it work properly.

With the DT model, if it's in gear you must be in the seat to keep it running. That's the full down position of the switch. The middle position tells the system you're NOT in the seat. The upper position (seat raised), allows you to run the PTO with a pump, chipper, etc. There's a few second delay to give you time to get your butt out of the seat and flip it forward before it shuts down if the PTO's engaged.

I assume mine's right now, but it still allows you to start the engine as long as the shuttle is in neutral even if you're not in the seat, which surprises me. I would have thought the starting circuit would be broken unless you were in the seat.

Sean

 

[Chilly807]

Canoetrpr,

I suspect it is the HST pedal not centering. Look for a grease fitting under the deck where the fwd/rvrs pedals pivot.

I agree, but that should give starting problems as well if the HST pedal isn't centered.

Sean

 

[canoetrpr]

Mine's got to be related to the seat position somehow no? The tractor only goes off once I get off the seat. Or is it the case that the HST pedal is allowed not to be centered so long as the operator is in the seat?

 

[JOHNINMA]

Thankyou everyone for the suggestions. I will try jumping out the safety to see if I can isolate the source of the problem. I tried centering the hydro pedal and shifting into gear and back to neutral again to make sure those switches are engaged with no difference. I strongly suspect the trouble is in the seat switch.

 

[Quebeker]

I'm curious to know how old and how much hours on your L3540?

I have one that is 3 years old and that have 800 hours.

I experienced problems with the seat switch. While mowing the horses pasture, the tractor bogged down several times and I had to jump on the seat to revive it.

The dealer suggested to bypass the seat switch as a work around to this problem. I didn't search forward to find the real problem but it seem to be a common problem on these models.

It's too bad because it is a good tractor.