Hi, My CAT 277C began throwing an intermittent lockout code. flashing orange triangle, movement but no boom controls. The issue will go away if i cycle the key a few times usually especially when the machine is warm. I had a buddy with software plug into it and it showed RH joystick voltage low code. i traced the wares in the cab and ended up pulling the left stick today and swapping them. Immediately had the opposite issue. No travel but boom controls worked, so I'm pretty confident the issue is in the stick. I pulled the stick apart today (P/N 269-0262) and around the circular magnet that moves over the sensor there was a broken zip tie in there between the magnet and the sensor. I immediately thought that was the issue. So i reassembled the stick and reinstalled but the code/lockout came back after working fine for about 3min. Now to my question. This is an intermittent problem that seemed to have progressively gotten worse over a month. The code is always there now when the machine is cold but after it warms up i can usually cycle the key and it goes away. When the boom isn't locked out from the fault it works perfectly, with no issues until the ecm locks the boom out. Could this be a calibration issue? My friend is coming back tomorrow to plug back into it with his laptop because we foolishly didn't write down the actual code. And i asked him to try recalibration when he comes. These sticks aren't easy to find and they are not cheap when you do. The Aux hydraulics always work. left stick always works. There were no other codes present when we had the laptop on it. The code is immediately flashing when the machine is keyed on, i know if it's locked out before i start it. Ive never seen the code go away while the key is on. i have to cycle the key off and back on. But i have seen the code come on during operation of a few seconds after starting.
What's happening is that the joystick position sensors in the base are slowly breaking down with age. It won't heal itself and it can't be fixed except for replacing the base. The complete joystick assembly does not have to be replaced , only the base - Part Number 269-0257 (which updates to 456-0166). Cat have a Reman part available under P/N 20R8912. If you get the Code please post it up and also mention the machine Serial Number.
Please post up a photo of the dash panel in the upper RH corner of the cab. If you happen to have one of the optional panels installed there may be a way to look at the joystick position sensor signals from that panel.
My machine isn't equipped with the screen, however here is a shot of the laptop readout. So we re calibrated. machine accepted calibration but now i have boom and no bucket. so side to side on the stick is dead. Never did that before, intermittent code is still present as well. I think it's time for a new stick.
also here are pic's of the wire tie i found inside the joystick and damage it caused to the sensor face while living in there. It's probably been in there since assembly. Looks like a cat tie and all factory ties were present inside the stick.
Time for a Reman base........ Complete sticks are far more expensive and unecessary in this situation.
yeah there is some sticker shock for sure. I've also seen wildly different pricing on complete sticks not from CAT dealers so who knows if it's Chinese or actually CAT. Searching for 5 different Part numbers doesn't make things easier either. I show 269-0262 replaced by 460-5347, plus the 3 base P/N's you mentioned. I'm still not sure which is the way to go. https://hoiparts.com/product/460-5347-control-group-joystick/ comes up high on a google Search listed at $999.99, but who knows if it's legit. I think i saw the Reman bases in the mid $800's range. My local CAT dealer doesn't have one in stock.
I thought the prices might make you draw breath just a tad.... If you want to roll the dice go aftermarket, if not then an OEM Reman base is the cheapest option.
Yeah i wouldn't gamble on an aftermarket base. Top maybe... I didn't know i was looking at aftermarket there. Everything is so vague. Thanks for your help on this Nige! I'll start trying to track a reman base down tomorrow.
Call your dealer. Tell them what you want and ask them to get one. Shouldn't be hard although you may have to wait a couple of days. The reman base shows at somewhere around $600 at my local dealer.
Went to the cat dealer and asked for the Reman Base. They handed me 456-0166 and hand wrote the reman part number. Cost was $460 so i cant complain about that. Installed the new base and my bucket tilt was still dead. Something went wrong with the calibration on the old stick. Got my buddy back over to calibrate again and everything is good. Thanks again Nige!