Ventrac 4500 stalling moving out of neutral

[Pacificoast]

I read this in the manual which explains my problem perfectly:

Symptom: The engine stalls whenever the SDLA control lever is moved forward or backward out of neutral.
Possible Cause: The parking brake switch or the neutral switch is out of adjustment.

However nowhere in the manual does is tell you how to correct a problem with the parking brake or neutral switch. Does anyone have any idea how to check this is the cause and then how to fix it?

Thanks, Nick

 

[MountainBuck]

That procedure is in the manual under "service" for the 4500P on pages 66-68 here.

It appears on pages 62-63 of my manual, so be aware of the serial number that you have.

 

[Pacificoast]

Thanks for your reply. I tried the parking brake adjustment but it didn’t help and that does not appear to be a fix for the actual parking brake switch itself. However, I realized I only ran a search on the PDF for the parking brake switch and there are in fact instructions on how to adjust the neutral switch, so I will work on that today and see if it fixes the problem.

I still find it strange that there is no parking brake switch instructions though unless I am misunderstanding those (62-63) pages but that appears to be only to tighten the parking brake spring and does not have a direct impact on the parking brake switch that I can see.

Oh well, I hope the neutral switch adjustment will fix the issue, I’ll report back later on this.

Nick

 

[johara1]

Just bypass the neutral switch and see if it works, also the electric clutch has to be off and you have to be in the seat or bypass it .... jim

 

[MountainBuck]

Bypassing any safety switch is dangerous and in this case unnecessary.

Please refer to page 75 of the above manual and you will find the Tractor Control Module (TCM) will tell you the current status of the safety switches.

The seat switch "D" must be "ON" which means someone is in the seat. This is a critical light.
The PTO switch "C" must be "OFF" or not engaged.
Neutral switch is "B"
Brake switch is "A" Lit means brake is ON. I would start here to see if the brake switch LED goes out when the brake is actually off.

I have known people who would bypass switches and when it worked, left them bypassed.

 

[Pacificoast]

Thanks for the advice. I worked on the 4500P again today and could not find anything wrong with the TCM safety switches. After messing around a little with the parking brake adjustment I can drive a tractor a little but it still quickly stalls. I think I found the problem but don't know how to correct it. I noticed there is a lot of play in the parking brake(perhaps that's normal), if I'm seated in the seat with the engine running and disengage the parking brake completely everything appears fine. However, if then I wiggle the parking brake (when fully disengaged), after a few seconds the parking light comes on and the engine stalls. I'm not sure why it stalls when I am in the seat and the SDLA is in neutral but I'm guessing it is some kind of safety feature? So the bottom line is when I am driving the tractor sometimes the parking brake must wobble or something setting off the parking brake switch and the engine cuts off for safety reasons. I can see why it would do that when I am not in neutral but it doesn't make sense when I am stationary in the seat and I then wobble the parking brake why it would cut the engine then?

Anyhow anyone have any suggestions on a fix? I checked all the bolts around the parking brake and they seem tight. Maybe it is still something to do with the neutral switch? When I removed the pump cover to investigate the neutral switch, I found one loose bolt on the pump arm that I tightened but that did not seem to be the problem. I am still waiting for a call back from the dealer service department, they are over 2 hours away and I don't have a trailer so I am hoping I can fix this myself.

Thanks, Nick

 

[johara1]

Is the light coming on to say the parking brake is off?

 

[Pacificoast]

Is the light coming on to say the parking brake is off?

I'm not sure I understand your question? The parking brake light comes on when I engage the brake. When I disengage the brake that light turns off. When fully disengaged and I wiggle the parking brake the parking brake light comes on after a few seconds of wiggling and stalls the engine.

Thanks, Nick

 

[MountainBuck]

Check the Neutral light "B" while the engine is on, brake off and someone is in the seat and move the SDLA in and out of neutral to see if the "B" light responds properly. Obviously you will need to be careful doing this operation since the tractor will move. Maybe use a mirror or a helper.

I suspect the neutral light will never come on and the tractor never thinks its in neutral then when the brake switch jiggles on, the TCM kills the engine.

So really you have 2 problems. Neutral switch not working (intermittent) and brake too loose.

Is the tractor stored outside or inside? I'm wondering about rain damage or rodent teeth, etc.

 

[johara1]

Yes I got it backwards on the light, if you wiggle the parking brake you need an adjustment on that switch.... jim