TC34DA, Mid Pto Problem

mjonesnh · Sep 2, 2007

I have an new TC34da with 19 hours on it that has suddenly developed a problem with the mid pto system. Today while dismounting the tractor while the engine was running, transmission in neutral, and parking brake set the enigine shut down like it would if the transmission had been left in gear.
I got back in seat and checked if gear was in neutral. Everything looked correct for engine to remain running without operator in seat but no dice . Engine would shut off every time so I checked instrument cluster to see if PTO light was lit. No light lit except parking brake.
I asked my son to check rotation of Rear pto shaft as I could not see it from seat. Rear pto shaft only turning when lever moved to energize. PTO light goes on and off and it should. Just for the heck of it I asked himto check mid- pto shaft.
Here lies the issue, the lever is in the off position and the pto light is not on but the shaft is turning and I cannot get it to disengage no matter how hard I pull back on lever.
Appearently the tractor senses the mid pto is engaged even though I have no pto light lit and this causes the tractor to shut down just as if the pto light was energized.
Has anyone ever experienced this issue with this model or another class II boomer? This is quite puzzling because as today I have never even used this lever before.

daTeacha · Sep 2, 2007

It sounds to me like the linkage to engage the mid PTO is out of adjustment. You have pulled the lever back, but down below, the various linkage parts are not moving far enough to take it out of gear. With only 19 hours on it, you can rightly expect the dealer to come out and fix it since it was probably not set up correctly at the factory or the dealership or not tightened sufficiently and has now come loose. Even if it's something more serious, they should be pretty good about coming out to fix it or get it and take it into the shop.

Or, you could tell them about it at the store, get general instructions on how to fix it, and do it yourself. It's probably just a matter of loosening a nut or two, adjusting the same nuts some or maybe turning a rod or two, and then tightening everything again. If you're mechanically inclined, it's going to take you about 10 minutes. If you're absolutely and totally non-mechanical, maybe 1/2 hour and you will learn a lot in the process. If you lean on the service guys or your salesman, you might get a free hat or gallon of expensive hydraulic fluid or something for saving them the expense of sending a guy out.

BarnStangz · Sep 2, 2007

You might also want to check your mid-pto stupid safety switch. Mine came loose from all the tilling that I did (vibration and whatnot). I can't stand these safety switches! You have the same tractor as me, so the picture should be the same. I agree with the other post, call your dealer, 19 hrs. NOTHING should happen to that! I'd be slightly angry. There we're a few "rushed" items on my TC34DA that I had to check twice... Good luck!

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Max

mjonesnh · Sep 2, 2007

I checked the linkage and looks to be OK. I noticed the linkage is moving but the lever at the mid pto case does not seem to be moving up and down which seems to indicate that something is jammed inside the case. This is all very strange as the tractor and safety switches were functioning correctly this morning at 10:00 am, parked tractor and restarted about an hour later. MID pto had not been used and for that matter has never been used. Tractor just started shutting off when it shouldn't be.
According to the owners manual the tractor should not start with mid pto engaged, whether in seat or not. I do not have a pto light on in the dash but tractor will not start unless I am in seat and then will shut down if I leave seat. The manual shows only two conditions that will shut down tractor if you exit seat, transmission not in neutral and mid-pto engaged. I believe I have to pay my New Holland dealer a visit Tuesday.

BarnStangz · Sep 3, 2007

mjonesnh said:
I checked the linkage and looks to be OK. I noticed the linkage is moving but the lever at the mid pto case does not seem to be moving up and down which seems to indicate that something is jammed inside the case. This is all very strange as the tractor and safety switches were functioning correctly this morning at 10:00 am, parked tractor and restarted about an hour later. MID pto had not been used and for that matter has never been used. Tractor just started shutting off when it shouldn't be.
According to the owners manual the tractor should not start with mid pto engaged, whether in seat or not. I do not have a pto light on in the dash but tractor will not start unless I am in seat and then will shut down if I leave seat. The manual shows only two conditions that will shut down tractor if you exit seat, transmission not in neutral and mid-pto engaged. I believe I have to pay my New Holland dealer a visit Tuesday.

Yes, it sounds like you should call or visit your dealer, esp. if you have warranty on the tractor. Let them figure it out. One thing that you might want to do is jump your safety switch. I had MAJOR issues with mine. I'll post some pictures for you. You might also want to jump the seat switch to rule out if there is a problem with it. The pictures are pretty easy to follow.
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Good luck,

Max

daTeacha · Sep 3, 2007

mjonesnh said:
The manual shows only two conditions that will shut down tractor if you exit seat, transmission not in neutral and mid-pto engaged. I believe I have to pay my New Holland dealer a visit Tuesday.

My DX29 will also shut down if the brake isn't set and the light for that operation isn't on. I have had some issues with the little lever that sets the brake and turns on the light. Did you just forget to mention that above, or are you overlooking the need to have the brake set when you get off the tractor if you want it to keep running? No offense, but with only 19 hours, that is a step you could have forgotten in your frustration. Heck, I forget that or the neutral tranny position every now and then with over 200 hours, and then am rudely reminded about the time both my feet are on the ground and the engine stops. It's really annoying when I'm planning to use the hydraulics to hook or unhook something on the 3 point.

BarnStangz · Sep 3, 2007

daTeacha said:
My DX29 will also shut down if the brake isn't set and the light for that operation isn't on. I have had some issues with the little lever that sets the brake and turns on the light. Did you just forget to mention that above, or are you overlooking the need to have the brake set when you get off the tractor if you want it to keep running? No offense, but with only 19 hours, that is a step you could have forgotten in your frustration. Heck, I forget that or the neutral tranny position every now and then with over 200 hours, and then am rudely reminded about the time both my feet are on the ground and the engine stops. It's really annoying when I'm planning to use the hydraulics to hook or unhook something on the 3 point.

All the more reason to jump that seat switch!

I couldn't stand when I would forget to set the brake or neutral, then I would hop off... and the motor would die, just like daTeacha said

M.

mjonesnh · Sep 3, 2007

My DX29 will also shut down if the brake isn't set and the light for that operation isn't on. I have had some issues with the little lever that sets the brake and turns on the light. Did you just forget to mention that above, or are you overlooking the need to have the brake set when you get off the tractor if you want it to keep running

Parking brake was set as mentioned in my first post. On the TC34DA you do not have to set parking brake to dis-mount from seat as long as transmission is in neutral and the mid-pto is not engaged. Engine will keep running but you will get an audible alarm reminding you that brake is not set, you can even exit tractor with rear pto engaged without parking brake set and engine will still run, just audible alarm sounds.
Thanks for the input I have received!

mjonesnh · Sep 3, 2007

Below are conditions which must be in effect for starting tractor and for exiting tractor if engine is running.

dqdave1 · Sep 3, 2007

Safety switches are there for a reason; safety; I would not reccomend anyone to bypass a safety switch. If an operator pbypasses his switch on his own, then there is no liability on anyone.
I would hate to read that someone on this forum bypassed a switch as per someones instruction and was injured do to the bypass. This is only my opinion on the subject.

BarnStangz · Sep 4, 2007

dqdave1 said:
Safety switches are there for a reason; safety; I would not reccomend anyone to bypass a safety switch. If an operator pbypasses his switch on his own, then there is no liability on anyone.
I would hate to read that someone on this forum bypassed a switch as per someones instruction and was injured do to the bypass. This is only my opinion on the subject.

dqdave1,

I respect your opinion and I agree with you that safety switches are just for that... safety, however (and don't get me wrong mistakes and accidents can and WILL happen) I just pointed something out that I did. If others want to follow they can. I'm not going to force someone to do something that they don't want to do. For me, jumping the switch was done since it was inconvenient for me to have to shift to neutral and set the parking brake just to hope off and move something or stand up when wanting to look over at what I was doing. Ultimately it is going to come down to choice for what will be done by whomever But I do respect what you said, I do not want to start any flame wars here and I would like to say that jumping any safety device isn't for everyone. Just my opinion.

Max

dqdave1 · Sep 4, 2007

Enough said on bypasses.

BarnStangz · Sep 5, 2007

dqdave1 said:
Enough said on bypasses.

Agreed. Us Ohioans have to stick together. I grew up in Geauga County... It's going to start looking really beautiful there, unlike forest-less Wood County...

M.

daTeacha · Sep 6, 2007

As another Buckeye joining the party, I would like to be able to flip a switch to disable the safety switch when needed, otherwise have it working. I find myself rising up off the seat now and then to see just how close I am to something and it's a real pain to have the engine quit. It would seem a toggle switch inserted in the lines should work but I haven't been annoyed often enough yet to cause me to mess with it.

BarnStangz · Sep 6, 2007

daTeacha said:
As another Buckeye joining the party, I would like to be able to flip a switch to disable the safety switch when needed, otherwise have it working. I find myself rising up off the seat now and then to see just how close I am to something and it's a real pain to have the engine quit. It would seem a toggle switch inserted in the lines should work but I haven't been annoyed often enough yet to cause me to mess with it.

An inline switch would be a cool idea. Then you could still have safety, but turn it off if you needed to stand up to look while loading something maybe... I'd do that, but I'm with you...

daTeacha said:
...but I haven't been annoyed often enough yet to cause me to mess with it.

mjonesnh · Sep 7, 2007

Update:

I took tractor to my dealer Wed. for repair. Service found the mid pto case was in a bind. All they did was unbolt case from rear housing and then bolt everything back together. This also took care of the tractor shutting down when it should not have been doing so.
Dealer also installed fresh hydraulic fluid, new HST filter, and new main hydraulic filter just to make sure there was no pieces of metal shavings floating around in hydraulic sump. Everything seems to be back in proper working order now.

BarnStangz · Sep 8, 2007

mjonesnh said:
Update:

I took tractor to my dealer Wed. for repair. Service found the mid pto case was in a bind. All they did was unbolt case from rear housing and then bolt everything back together. This also took care of the tractor shutting down when it should not have been doing so.
Dealer also installed fresh hydraulic fluid, new HST filter, and new main hydraulic filter just to make sure there was no pieces of metal shavings floating around in hydraulic sump. Everything seems to be back in proper working order now.

Glad to hear that you're back in business! Interesting that there was a bind in there... oh well.. werid stuff. At least it's fixed. Did they say what could have caused it, or if there are things you should look for next time, do's, don'ts etc. Thanks.

Max