Hoping I didn’t bite off more than I can chew on this project... Guy I’m working for has a cat 226 with a Perkins that sat outside for a few seasons, and squirrels or mice got inside and ate a lot of wires out of the harness. Turning on the key I can hear a small relay click from the fuse panel, but no other sign of life. Looking like harness replacement. The owner wants it fixed or at least loaded on a trailer to be taken in for repair. From my reading there’s no way to unlock/freewheel the tires short of taking down the drive chains, and it is parked on such a slope that the tractor couldn’t begin to move it. Is it feasible (or a good idea?) to externally power the stop solenoid on the injection pump and jump the starter to get it running and driving? What solenoids/interlocks on the hydro system would need to be powered to allow this? The left/driving control stick seems to operate directly with no electronics, is that right? Thanks for any input!
With wiring that bad I would not even turn the key on!!! in fact I would disconnect the battery to be safe because all it will take is one shortout in the right place to inflict a lot more damage to the machine... or burn it up I don't know specifics on a cat 226 so sorry I can't be of more help...
Running jumper wires on equipment usually causes more issues you don’t want, like shorting out your ECM or VCU and who knows what else (providing your machine is equipped so since I’m not familiar with a 226). How much slope is this machine on? Sitting on grass, rock and how much of it? How far would it need to be moved to get it on a trailer or a flat area there?
That's just a small PFR type pump w/ the sol. screwed into the L hand side.?? Yes, its ok to hot wire it.. it should be a 1 wire solenoid & it grounds thru the body.. Sorry, no help on the hydros.. Good Luck.
As your working through that, maybe I can tell a story and make you feel better. Couple years, I was building a retaining wall up in the hills. I parked my CX160 for the weekend came back on Monday. Checked the machine out, but did not see the Rock Chuck (AKA Marmot, about the size of a really fat cat) that took up residence next to the radiator on the fan side. Fired the machine up, the rock chuck was sent into the radiator at about 1500 rpm. Just like that I was 7K poorer.
I’m not overly concerned with shorting or otherwise damaging anything, I think I will pull all the fuses and leave the key off for that reason. As long as I have power to the cut off solenoid I believe the machine will run and drive without electric power. The only thing I’m not sure of is the two hydro solenoids I could see with the cab lifted. Or maybe just one, the other one could be a pressure sensor. That sounds right. The pump solenoid has three wires, red green and black. If I’m not mistaken I want 12v at both the “start” and “hold” wires, just need to figure out which is which.
Black is - ground.. Red is + Hold White is + start {pull in..hi amp}
If it is that external solenoid, you could just skip wiring it and just tie it back in the run position.
It won't be too difficult to make the engine run but you can't easily defeat the interlock system. Just from memory you at least need to activate two solenoids on the joysticks, and the parking brake solenoid, and they may be PWM actuated. The first step would be to lift the cab and if it's on a steep slope that may be easier said than done, and that's provided the gas struts are still OK. Without seeing your situation, my gut feeling is I would rather devote time and effort to recovering it to a workable site first.
If a wiring schematic would help post the full S/N and I'll see if I can get one off SIS.
Deleted duplicate post!
As Ken stated above there are so many different prefixes of 226 (and breaks in some of them where there are different schematics above a certain serial number) that with a S/N it's impossible to determine what is the applicable schematic. They are ALL available by the way, just need to narrow the field down a bit.
Did some reading on 226's and the two versions I looked at both said the only options to move a dead machine were lift it of drag it to where you could lift it on a trailer. No mention of disabling parking brakes. Know anyone with a bigger tractor or how about some Amish farmers with some work horses? That would make a good YouTube video! Got a sheet of say 1/4 steel plate you could jack it up and work under the tires? It would slide a bit easier that way, less strain on the horses!
Maybe these guys are available? All kidding aside what ever you do be careful and I would clear it with the owner. Not knowing what is chewed through and possibly shorting out even just turning the key on is taking a major risk. Either more wires burnt of possibly causing a major fire. Just wondering if a certain someone is looking for another project, he likes burnt up Cat skid-steers!
Oh my God no, not again. Enough drama with the first one ........!!!
Thank you all for the advice! I ended up wiring the stop solenoid to the battery with appropriate fuses and switches, and it does run (not that this is surprising). I pulled every fuse and relay from the panel in the cab first to be on the safe-ish side, and I didn't turn the key on (disconnected the solenoid wire and hotwired it). Obviously doesn't drive, but hearing it run felt nice! I got lucky and came across a wiring schematic that seems to apply to my serial number. I still need to sit down with some coffee and study it (and the machine) to identify the ruined harness segment. The damage appears localized to a single harness visible directly aft and to the starboard of the hydro pump with the cab up. Probably about a dozen or so wires gone where they continue below and branch off. If it wasn't so hard to reach (can't even see most of the damage, just felt by reaching under) I think I would buttsplice/heatshrink new wires in. This is the option I'm considering, before resigning myself to physically recovering it to be repaired by somebody who knows what they're doing! It's definitely not impossible to move it, but the biggest machine otherwise on the property isn't even 1/3 the weight of the cat. It would save a lot of effort if I could bypass the parking brake & hydro interlocks and get it to drive onto the trailer, but I don't understand the system well enough. Just to make sure I have the right schematic, the number from the plate is CAT00226A5FZ10206 and the reference material is marked RENR2863-03, dated december of 2008. I think the machine was built in '03. Thank you all again!!! I would be lost on this one without your help.
Just a thought, A heavy truck recovery outfit may be able to move the 226. A friend dropped his bobcat 430 mini ex into a hole. Looked like a dead animal laying on its side. I thought a crane was required. Called the rigger outfit I had used for several years. Their project manager came out & recommended the heavy recovery instead. They were able to rig and recover the machine at way less cost than a crane... couple of hundred $
Don't get too down-hearted about major wiring damage on Cat machines. Unlike other manufacturers, Cat generally treat wiring harnesses as just another spare part and usually keep at least one in stock somewhere in the world. For example, the main power harness for your machine is available in the USA for around $1500. Removing and replacing the harness, on the other hand, can be a challenge, but in the end you end up with new factory wiring and you can gut the old harness for lots of spare Deutsch plugs and useful multi-coloured cable.
Sorry, it's not. As I mentioned earlier there are certain models of 226 where there are "breaks" in the Serial Numbers, the 5FZ-prefix machine being one of them. The schematic you have found is suitable only for machines up to S/N 5199, you have 10206. The correct electrical schematic is available, drop me a PM (click on my username) with your email address and I'll send it to you.
THANK YOU Nige for the schematic!! And the job is done. After studying the schematic for a while, I determined that the operator interlock control only switches two solenoids related to the hydrostatic: the parking brake solenoid and the “XMSN” solenoid on the left control stick. Neither of these are PWM as far as I could tell, or at least are not listed as such on the drawing (whereas other things are, like the proportional lever on the right stick). I must admit I am not sure what the XMSN solenoid does; my best guess is it closes off hydro pressure to the control stick valves when the armrest, etc interlocks are tripped. I wired 12v to both of these, and the machine drives! Obviously not safe or usable for work with the interlocks bypassed, but good enough to get on the trailer. I made all my connections in a temporary manner, and kept them entirely isolated from the electrical system itself, to avoid doing any damage to the computer(s). After looking at the damaged wiring more closely, it actually appears to have been ripped, especially as the connector is broken where it clips to the frame. This would make sense, as the last time the machine ran it had been borrowed and subsequently returned with the front lower belly plate bashed in. There was a LOT of dirt and branches pushed up inside the belly pan and back into the area where the bad wires are. If the harness was torn during use, it would follow that the “borrower” must have returned the machine by towing it somehow, which would explain the previously mysterious ruts leading back behind the shop.
Good to hear you got it moved hopefully the electrics aren't already toasted from the borrowers antics....
Good to hear. Battling to try to sort something like this without half the necessary info is never fun.
I just hope the owner is smart enough to not let the guy who borrowed it touch it again!
Wow ! The cheek of someone to return a machine in that condition without owning up to it. Hope the borrower isn't a relative or someone you can't cut out of your life.
Did he actually return it or just park it where it died and put the blame on some poor defenseless squirrel? I hope that squirrel reads this and bites his nuts!