hey guys, I have a cat 420d with the 3054c engine, approx 4500 hrs (meter stopped working). Has been an excellent machine. Lately when driving around it doesn’t have near the power it once had. For example I used to be able to go into a pile of dirt in 3rd and now it won’t. Driving up the road it’s very slow in 4th and often have to go to 3rd to climb any small hill. Hydraulics still seem strong, could it be an issue with tranny or torque converter? Change fluids? There is also a yellow fuel warning light on the right hand dash I don’t know how to turn off? Changed fuel filters numerous time. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
First up, a Serial Number would be a good place to start. When did you last change the transmission oil & filter..? Is the fuel warning light on the dash#1 in this photo..? If so that is the light for a plugged fuel/water separator. You may have been changing the wrong element but until we have a Serial Number it's impossible to tell. Do you have an Operation & Maintenance Manual for your loader..?
So when you're in 3rd or 4th and it won't go, is the engine bogging down or rpm increasing and it's slipping?
Engine is bogging down so we downshift to climb a small hill that we used to be able to climb in 4th no problem. I took a picture of the serial number, and yes the fuel light is on that dash. Fuel/water separator I believe.
Have you ever changed the transmission oil & filter..? Does your fuel filter look like the one in the illustration below..? All the elements you say you replaced. Did you use genuine Cat or "will fit" parts..? Have you ever drained the fuel tank to check for the presence of any water or sediment..?
Yes we’ve changed the transmission filter last year, and no not cat filter. Baldwin filters, and no we’ve haven’t drained the tank. Is there a suction screen in there?
I was referring to the fuel filter when I asked if you used genuine or will fit. Some will fits don’t have the correct sort of filter media to pull water out as well as filter the fuel. OEM elements do. Regarding Baldwin I don’t know, maybe someone else who uses them can chime in. The light may be staying on due to a wiring fault or maybe the moisture sensor on the bottom of the housing has failed. IIRC that sensor has been updated and now has a new Part Number. You’re supposed to drain the fuel tank from the bottom at least monthly to ensure that dirt and water don’t get sucked into the fuel lines. If you haven’t been doing that then it’s perfectly possible that you have a fitting in a line somewhere that’s at least partially blocked up with crap. Back to a question I asked earlier. Do you have an Operation & Maintenance Manual for it and if you don’t, that pdf versions of the manual can be downloaded from the web for the princely sum of US$45. Probably the best $45 you’ll ever spend.....
No I don’t have that manual, any recommended links? I didn’t know your suppose to drain the tank, is there away to reset that light? Or does it go off on its own?
For the manual, go to this web site https://catpublications.com/ When it opens, select "Continue as a Guest" from the popup window. When the window disappears, type SEBU7821 and hit the search button. You have 3 options to purchase. A paper book for $55 and a pdf on CD for $46. If you select either of these options there will be shipping & handling charges on top. The 3rd option is a downloadable pdf (same file as on the CD) for $46. Most people select the downloadable pdf because it becomes instantly available. Regarding your water separator light. If you drain the water from the bowl the light should go off by itself if the switch is working correctly. As I said before you could have a defective switch or even a broken wire in the harness to/from it. The switch is Part # 193-0618, but personally I wouldn't just go out and buy one until I'd checked the wiring. Your next question is going to be about an Electrical Schematic. It's attached below ........ you'll find the water separator switch on Grid H-1 on Page 17. It looks fairly simple, it has battery power when the key switch is on (wire 113 Orange), it has a ground (wire 200 Black), and when the switch activates it has a wire (493 yellow) that lights the lamp on the panel. Testing it shouldn't be hard. My bet is that it is corroded and/or stuck internally because at some time the bowl has been full of gunk/water that was never drained regularly.
Great I’ll give this a try. Another problem that is happening is when we shut the machine off it will slowly idle for 30secs before it dies. We replaced the fuel shut off solenoid but it didn’t help. If we push the fuel pedal down it speeds up the shut off. A cat mechanic told me he’s seen newer machines do it and they don’t know why. My machine just started doing it at the same time it seemed to be loosing power. Basically when we shut the key off it seem to run till there no more fuel in the line maybe?
Possibly a Plugged return line.
Any idea wish line is the return line?
Looks like #22 on the attached, although TBH when I look at the number of fittings listed I'd be pulling every line off one at a time and checking every fitting, connector, etc, to make sure it's clear. Especially that quick connect fitting #4, and don't forget the other half of it which isn't shown on the illustration.