I was able to get to the hay barn and get a couple of roll out to the cattle yesterday. It was a day ahead of my ‘every three days’ schedule mandated. I could feel the tractor sliding on the hills so I did use the alternate route I mapped out and posted earlier. No warning lamps or error codes on the New Holland, that’s a relieve as the previous use had me staring at a dash that looked like this:
a=power takeoff RPM b= warning light c=hours d= DEF system performance e= error code
Simply read what the panel says is there is a non-critical problem with the engine and the error code is 17359. Now, I’ve got an operator’s manual for the New Holland and no where in the book is there a list of error codes and how to fix them; no where. If you go online you find exactly the same information you find in the operator’s manual: none. As fortune would have it, when I started the machine yesterday the fault and the lights associated with the fault had cleared. Another mystery to go along with the mystery from last week. The machine went down hard and ‘de-rated’ and so I had to borrow a Kubota 108 from my neighbor. The mechanic came out from Huntsville and said ‘I don’t have a clue, I’m going to have to dig into it’. I haven’t got the bill yet, but I’m sure Huntsville Tractor is going to make the trip well worth their time.
The coon hound (Maggie) absolutely loved the snow and once she hit the door she was gone for a couple of hours. I could hear her up and down the valley treeing squirrels and running deer. That attitude changed today as the partial melt from yesterday refroze the top layer of snow and created a pretty significant ice layer on the surface. She, and our other border collie (Rusty) struggled to get to a spot where they could stand and take care of ‘serious’ dog business.
We got to 6 below zero day on the Tuesday morning with no major problem. I did have the pipe running to the downstairs toilet freeze and the down heat unit would not hold 68 degrees: the auxiliary heat was on and the temp was 65. Not bad for a cabin with 23 ft. ceilings. I built this cabin using ‘pex’ vice pvc or copper so there was no busting of the pipe, it just froze. Tonight will be 9 degrees and I really should be more worried than I am, but just can’t seem to get there when its going to be 15 degrees warmer than it was two nights ago.
The coming week promises a warm up and hopefully a little time on the river is in the cards.
Dont know if you have one, but buy an OBD reader that will clear codes. From many years of shade tree mechanics, this has worked for me more times than not. Done it for a few other farmers also. If the connector will not fit your tractor, and zon does not have it, Ingram Micro will. You can even send phone pics and they’ll tell you what you need. Of course none of this will work if there is actually something wrong. Meaning something dont work. I’d still try it because you never know.
Thanks Jason, what I really needed to buy was a tractor that wasn’t built in Turkey! I don’t know if you noticed the gauges (or not) but they, with the exception of the engine RPM, read backward. A hot engine is when the needle on the gauge is to the left. Same with the fuel indicator.
Every (and I mean every single one) of the non-critical faults have cleared themselves within an hour or two without human intervention. What won’t clear and is ‘deadly’ are DEF system faults. There is a process to clear the fault before it ‘De-Rates’ (de-rate=engine will not run above 500 RPM BUT if the dealer does not address the issue (reset the codes) within 250 minutes of run time it will de-rate.
I’ll check into a reader/code-scrubber. Who makes them?
The skies the limit on that one. Lots of choices in every price range. I got a really good one a couple years ago at O’Reillys for 150. On sale. Bosch. If you’re only gonna use it for tractor 20$ for a cheap one on amazon. Mine also clears and check brakes, seat belts, air bags etc. Has all the codes and what they are for vehicles and updateable. You might be able to clear the DEF but I really dont know. Also, using an OBD, very simple one, you have to keep clearing faulty codes X number of times before it stops popping up and that can take a while depending on how often it comes up. Didnt notice the backward guages till you pointed them out. At least their guns are’t bass ackwards. Are you putting off road diesel in it? Maybe not enough DEF or draining the resevoir enough? You’re obviously not an idiot. Just spitballing. The fuel one sometimes people dont think about.
OK, thanks. I’ll look into it and see if it makes sense. The DEF faults are definitely DEF faults and not caused by other components or fuel. I’ve drained it and replenished a couple of time, replaced the DEF heater twice, and had it hauled into the dealer twice. Like I said, Turkish made.