I purchased a used EC 45 Volvo (mini) excavator about two years back. Volvo had just replaced the control panel in it. The machine is an open canopy unit but over the last year or more has been about 100% parked either under shelter or under trap. About a month or so back the control panel began to fail to light up properly when machine was switched on. You may can switch it off and then back on and it might power up or light up properly or not. Last few times have cranked it up and just let it run at fast idle and in a couple of minutes it is working fine. Until it lights properly none of the hyd for boom will work. Blade works and travel work. This past Saturday pulled the control panel out and had plans to open it and see if moisture was in it. That is one sealed unit and quickly realized to open it up meant to destroy the box like it is sealed in so reinstalled it. Sprayed all connections with contract cleaner but issues was not there for switched in on and same thing. Started the machine and in a couple of minutes it was operating fine. If it would remain running fine after about two minutes of fast idle that would be great with me but have a friend who recently purchased a CD 35 (model size under mine) and he is having same issue only he can not his machine to run, sort of a problem as the best I can track the electrical for the fuel pump it comes from the control panel. Open for any and all suggestions even a source for control panels outside of the $1,800 or so from Volvo or an option to control panel. Thanks much.
Well it has been a couple of weeks since I posted this and no one has made any suggestions. That is understandable but just in case someone who might have a suggestion or more may happen to see this time.
ive only just seen this so il try help you if i can there are 2 types of dash on these mini diggers i no that the ec25 and the ec35 dash are two different dashes alltogether i have an ec35 but with a fully glazed cab if your dash is the same as mine that it bleeps when push the 180* button is pushed or when you lift the arm rest those dashes are sealed like you said naw sometimes while im digging away and i push the 180*button and nothing happens so i turn it off and start the machine again and evrythings fine the thing is when i turn it off when this happens there is no beep noise on the key but second time is fine ive had water on my dash while cleaning the cab and mine is still fine i have a few questions has yours got a antitheft keycode on it is your dash as im describing or whats on like a ec25 looking at my manual it should be like im describing if you pull fuse fc1 out turn key on it should beep and come up on screen fc1.1 i was just wandering by this would the dash light up better then also it could not be moisture in the dash but but like a faulty live wire curroded under the key. you could also just try another live wire into the dash just to try and see what happens then let me no haw you get on
I would love to help but have nothing wise to tell you other than maybe keep the machine indoors in future to keep the moisture at bay:beatsme
Thanks to both of you. My machine for at least the last year has seen very little none working time not under shelter. The first few months I had it slept mostly under trap but not 100% of the time. But it can be very humid here. Volvobl; What is the 180 button? No I do not have the anti theft control panel. My control panel in the right arm. The key is the rear most item in that arm and the control panel, then in front of it is 3 removable plug for optional switches (at least that is what they seem to be for) and then the control panel is in front of that. As to does it beep when the left arm is raised or lowered...I can not remember right off. It will be at least Thursday afternoon but more likely Saturday before I will be back to the machine. So far either turning the machine off and then back on or just letting it run the control panel does light up properly and all systems begin to work. So far once it does regards of how many times that day it is switched or of how long it runs there is no more issue. I really do appreciate both of you with the suggestions.
on top of the joystick on your left offset button if you like. See what happens i think your dash is the same as mine like a digital readout dash
Button on top of left joystick switches form the superstructure rotating to the boom only. Button on top of right is horn. Yes display is digital and mode button you can have either hyd pressure displayed or engine rpms or hours on machine think that is all. The fuel shows all the time also in digital with vertical bars at the rear or right side of the display. Has warning of flashes to point of will shut down machine if engine oil pressure gets too low or temp gets too hot. All I remember right off.
Kthompson maybe a picture would help resolve any issues.....
Stock, that is not only a good idea but a great one. Here are the steps: Honey, can I borrow your camera to take some pictures. Oh, of the excavator. Thanks. Snap snap snap. Hey son in law who writes program code, can you help me down load some pictures. Of excvator. Cause some friends want to help me. Who want so to see pictures of machines? Football games, computers yes but machines? father in law why do I have lumps on my head? You men, nice picutes, here is the problem. OK, all steps are not required but close. Stock, that really is a good idea. Should be able to do so this weekend.
And my other half accuses me of being dottie and rambling.....
I trust this works this time. If not may really have to get son in law to do it. Your help is appreciated. This about whipped me. I sure trust those pictures are there. For some reason pictures that had been edited would not upload for me. I do have more pictures if they are needed but think these show the control panel very well. There is a switch with light symbol on it to the right. I added it for a fan in the cab.
that dash is identical to my ec 35. Try and put a different live wire at the bottom of the sealed unit and see if the problem is still there if it works there is a dodgy wire coming from the key! if not then your back to square 1. They are a very good digger i wouldnt part with my ec 35 mine is a 2001 model 6000 hours on it a couple of fanbelts and hydraulic hoses and a seal on top of the slew pump and looks briliant for its age
I see you have the optional ant-theft system sitting in the cab! LOL
yeah she lick you to death
I pulled my excavator out yesterday from shelter to drain the engine oil. Ran into a problem with tools and machine got caught in thunder storm. The control panel had been fine when crank to move it for pictures and oil change...today following thunder storm it was cut off and back on and let idle and such for about 15 minutes before the display went to working properly. It just might be in the ignition switch. Will try cleaning those contacts next week. This is a nice anti thief system.
Stock, trust my post on taking pictures did not offend, if so sorry. The taking of pictures was easy but learning how to post here..about got me.
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Stock, My step by step on asking to use my wife's camera and so forth. THe asking to borrow her camera I knew was no issue but the posting it was my concern and proved to be well founded. Such to me is easy...if you do it often. Which I don't. I did not think it offended you but wanted to be about 23% sure.
Hardly good enough you know, now that your awake it should be "ta be shure ta be shure :bash
Spoken as a true Southern Gentlemen KT. Now stock...I ain't gonna' let ya' start learnin' a fellow southerner how to speak the Irish ta be shure, ain't gonna' let ya'! :tong
First a thank you to Atco for looking out for me. I need all the help possible. Second, anyone know what the push in switch on the bottom rear of the left arm is for? There is a cable in the same general area that runs to safety switch under the floor. No doubt it is a safety switch of some sort, probably what keeps it from cranking if the arm is down. Still playing with the console. Again thank you gentlemen.
No problem bro. Stock has decided to join the "old buzzard club" along with me and OCR. I just have to catch him when he gets too far out on the limb.
EEH! whats da young feller? You bloody whipper snappers gittin uppity? I learn ya when I git ya.
A few years back learned a great lesson, ony when a person is comfortable with you with they joke with you. I love it.
Ahh, Tis good for I there's a fair pail of water betwixt me and thee, else, my learnin should happen upon me hastily ta be shure. Nevertheless, I got my eye on ya. :tong
I found missed you guys in looking back at this post. Think I found the issue with display not working properly by happen chance. Had to replace the battery and for a while no problem at all. One day it dawn on me no problems and so went into trying to figure out what changed...the new battery. It worked fine for months and then let it sit for a while due to weather and time to do the work. Oh the issue was back. Then realized it must be there is a voltage need from the battery itself for the display to work. For did testing and if it sat and placed battery charger on it first for a while the display worked fine, if not it normally did after running 10 to 30 minutes which I feel was the time it took to bring the battery up to the voltage the display requires. Hope this helps someone else. I can live with this now have a reason for it. KT
I have a very similar problem with my Volvo EC45 as described above. It is really intermittent - yesterday it wouldnt work at all & today suddenly its Ok. When not working, when the ignition is switched on, none of the electrics work - there are no ignition lights lit up and wipers and fan etc dont work - BUT the engine will start, will idle for a while and will then quit just like as if I had switched it off - but during this time none of the electrics work and the joy sticks are dead. When working, and the ignition switched on, all the ignition light light up and wipers fan etc work fine. Really annoying problem - what could cause this to happen one day and then its fine the next? And then the next day its gone again? And on the days it works (when the dash lights up and everything else works) it works great - will work all day. But next day, nothing. It hasnt been going now all week (engine starts Ok but electrics and levers dead) - when the igition is switched on, it lights only the green strip at the bottom of the dash and nothing else. By the way, all connections fuses etc fine and have been cleaned . Anybody come across this before and what was the answer?
faulty volvo ec35 control panel Hi All I have a 2006 volvo EC35 ,problem is sometimes the control panel wont fire up properly,the digits come up all funny or not at all,causing machine not to start,then the problem will go after you leave it for some time or sometimes if you give it a light tap,problem might go away and not happen for months or it could keep happening now and again for days ,it can also happen when your digging away then all power goes and comes backs couple seconds later but engine will be still running but nothing else works. I have contacted volvo but they don't know either what is wrong apart from trying a new control panel at a cost of £1500 + vat! which i don't want to do unless its 100% that causing fault. Has any one else had this problem or heard of it as i am completly stuck !?
Here is what I have learned from my machine. It seems to do with the voltage. If the battery is the least bit down in voltage is when it has the issue. Had mechanic for another brand agree with my thoughts on that as the brand he worked on did same at a lower voltage than I am finding it with my machine. I first noticed it when I replaced the battery did not have the issue for a good while and then when did not use it for a month or so maybe two months it did it again. Tried putting battery charger on it the night before or even a few hours and had no problem. Also notice if had to run longer (at 1000 or so rpms) the longer it had not be used. It has been said maybe there is issue with the machine not producing the voltage needed, or some relay or such is now requiring higher voltage than it should. Try the batter charger over night before you use it and see if solves the issue, if so at least it will give you idea where to look. I do not think it is the control panel myself. I can switch mine on and wait for the display and if it will work when cranked up it displays properly. If it comes up odd then switch it off and sometimes just switching it back on will work. kt
Thanks for reply I think if it was a voltage issue it would be a constant problem ,because you would have to switch something on (extra lights etc ) to cause a problem as machine is factory spec and nothing else has been added and only done 700hrs,one Volvo mechanic told me they suffer from bad earthing issues?think he said there is 6 earths but I could'nt find them all as handbook diagram is dreadfully so I'm hopefull this might be still a issue. The fault is so random it is hard to say what is causing issue as you can go for months with it working perfect then one day in that couple months it start/stops all day, so annoying
I have the same problem with my EC 35! Glad to see I'm not alone! We have experienced 2 instances where it faulted so severely that it wouldn't run, the second of which was cured by a swift smack to the control panel, but it happens nearly every time the machine is started, nothing but --_-_--_ dashes, and sometimes other garble on the display... I am convinced it is moisture, because in the severe cold we had this winter, it worked fine, which led me to believe that when it gets cold enough even the moisture in the panel freezes, which causes the fault to vanish... but that's just my thought. I am also beginning to have another issue: the controls are getting a little stiff, or resistant, and there is a slight delay between actuation of the control, and the prescribed motion... I'm thinking hydraulic filter... any thoughts?
Well I am back...the issue had been not been that bad, got use to cranking it up and letting it run at fast idle for a few minutes and the issue was gone for the balance of the day. But, it has now gotten to will stop working when it was working. I have asked and asked and moisture if best guess I am getting. One question for the others with same issue, is your cab enclosed or open? Mine is open and the last mechanic said the really confirms it for him. We have gotten a lot of rain this spring and summer and it was in a lot of it. He went on to say the issue is the moisture is moving in the control panel so the display varies. Hard to understand that for me. So here is my now question: can we bypass the control panel? In my limited knowledge but experience it does not control really control anything only completes the circuit to energize the hyd solenoids and also such as has been noted the lights or horn. To me the biggest thing it does is acts as gauges for the functions of the machine. It seems to my limited knowledge it would be possible to install a switch to complete that circuit and then install gauges for the need of gauges and get away from this control panel. kt
I was thinking about this to , Have you try'd this , When the control panel goes funny or machine stops, give the allan bolt that holds the cables plug/socket under the control box a turn or slacken it off and see what happens , this is what i do now when it starts playing up and away it goes, What i have also done is taken control panel out off the cradle that holds it securely in place , therefor when it plays up you just need to lift it out with no stripping down required takes seconds to get going again. Mine has a fully closed cab with no water/moisture getting into cab, i really cant see moisture getting into a sealed unit unless it has already been opened? Hope this helps
Pedrod, if you have fully enclosed cab think we can rule water out. One issue with moisture being issue that bothers me other than as you pointed out if the control box is sealed how does it get in there is: water itself will not conduct electricity. However if there is minerals in the water they will conduct electricity. Pure water is safe, sprinkle a little salt in it and different story. So if it is moisture what is the mineral in there? As soon as I can will begin reviewing the wiring of the control panel and see if I can come up with something. I am at point of willing to taking volt meter and see if I can find which wires have voltage on them and figure it out that way. Pedrod, the way you talk about moving the wires sounds like a bad connection there or broken joint or such. kt
You know I do not believe in ghost, except with this problem. Have had machine under shelter for weeks if not months with not even being run in the rain. Issue went away. Well I ran it a week or so bad was caught in some light rain but not back enough to stop me with about 50 degrees and wind. Then two weeks later the issue is back. Has to be a moisture issue. Saturday while servicing the machine realized not the drive wheel but the one on the other large wheel has issue, either bearings are shot or maybe more as it does not run in "circle"! But did get it under shelter.
I guess I'm going to take the plunge and order the new cluster. I can't deal with this anymore, it's too costly to sit and wait. I will update everyone once it's installed.
Sure understand the aggravation, hard to believe how much it cost, price given me last week was just over $3,000.
Control Panel on EC 35 Hello from NH. I"ve read all your posts and I can definitely relate to the frustration as well. I have a 2004 EC35 with enclosed cab, and been having the same issues as described in different posts here (runs fine and then stops, runs fine and then controls go dead (except the blade) but engine on, won't start at all and control panel looks like a christmas tree, etc.). I did think it was voltage as well because I would jumpstart and it would sometimes work. Replaced the battery with best available....worked a little, then started acting up. Jumpstarted and that did not help (wouldn't even crank, or it would do a 1/4 turn). Called Volvo dealer and requested field service.....It's never good when the guy shows up and he has to look thru the manual for 30 minutes before doing anything.... He eventually verified all earthing (6) and clean them up. Told me it should do it, or else it would be the Puma control..... It worked for a bit and then started acting up again. Now I;ll probably try and buy the Puma control box as well, which was quoted at just a bit over 3k.... A friend that has 3 excavators (small excavation company) says he had a imilar issue with a Cat,and it ended being just a faulty wire....That's a lot of wires to change to go by elmination process...I<ll check the web in France to see if parts could be cheaper...Will post back with findings
Hi All Sorry to hear that every one is having problems with their control units, but guess what .....ME TOO!!!! I have problem with an Volvo EC35, it won't start, on ignition I get 3 beeps, and a warning light below the boom slew indicator/switch, the Hydraulic Oil Temperature and the Engine Temperature lights are flashing red. There is No Error code on the Puma unit though, so I can't reference it to anything. There is a keypad for anti-theft code, but the red indicator is flashing (top right) which the book says "flashes when the machine can start without entering the code" When the machine was working I never had to enter a code. I had a guy look at it and he managed to start it by running a direct live to one of the relays under the seat. We ran it long enough for the water temp to increase but still the warning lights were on (Hydraulic oil and water) He thinks the Puma unit is knackered, any advice appreciated. I'm not sure what the hell is going on other than?
Hi all Has anyone solved this problem yet? Mine still playing up New puma to costly a gamble when not 100% sure that at fault?
I did finally bite the bullet and repalced the PUMA at a cost of $3400....so far so good. It would not even start, and then we put the new PUMA in, and it started right up and has been working fine for the few hours I ran it in the past week. I'm sorry to break the bad news, but looks like you have to invest a few thousand to get your machine working. Good luck
Earth Straps Hi Glastron97 Do yo recall where all the earth straps are, I better check them before I spend the money on a Puma Unit, Is your machine working now?
Hi all. My friend had an EC35 with the exact same problem. After much diagnosis and hair pulling it turned out (knock on wood) that it was a bad ground connection where the ground wire goes into the connector plug. It wasn't completely broken but was causing enough of a voltage drop (due to resistance) that it was messing up the computer. So check and clean all your grounds!
Did you have to have the Puma unit programmed or software updated, I'm looking into purchasing one and the supplier said that depending on your model you may need to have it programmed? I was hoping to install..........turn the key and start digging?
You don't need to have it programmed straight away but all the computer functions won't be available. The machine will run fine.
EC45 Replaced Control Unit (PUMA) Just replaced the control unit at considerable expense ! and it runs fine........so as many have said on this and other forums, so bite the bullet and get a new control unit. Thanks to all those ho have contributed and helped.
I've got the same problem with mine. If you get the panel to light up, it works great.
Hello, as I'm electronics engineer I tried to repair this cluster. My conclusion - not worth repairing. First of all it's made of three boards which are sealed in white resin. It's very very difficult to remove it - black plastic case breaks completely. Another thing as someone already noticed - used one or new one are plug and play - excavator starts, but non of the functions are available. EC35 / EC45 boards are the same only software inside is different. I was successful to change model / serial number / moto hours and security code. By the way fault is dying micro controller (processor), when heated it works for some time... That's my research
First I appreciate each one you replied here. After fighting the issue for a few years gave up and bought new control panel and that has so far solved the issue. NOW the details: Control panel looks the same but does NOT have all the functions of the old one. The old one allowed you to select by push button which function it was displaying like hyd pressure, engine rpms, engine temp and so forth. LOST ALL THAT. All you have now is the famous "idiot light and buzzer" so I was told. The fuel gauge is fully functional. The story I was given was Volvo no longer had software for the unit. Really? So did who ever make them control the software and now maybe someone else makes the unit so they have no access to the software? Just a theory I have. But the good news, it works! The other good news is the unit was less by a good bit than had been quoted when pricing the control unit years ago, was just under $2,000 US. I had been quoted over $3,000 US about four years ago. I have a friend who has a 35 doing same and he is considering buying for his also and if he does will give feedback there. I know this is one part on one machine but based upon my limited experience with Volvo not a fan or their parts and how they are built. Do not feel they are built for reasonable replacement cost. That is based upon the two parts that have had to replace so far. I do not mean simple things like horn or hoses or filters. Have been told same concept in their inboard boat engines. But she is mine and will be for a while longer. Have completed the job it was bought for years ago and we get one done and another job shows up! lol
I had PUMA problems with a VOLVO EC35. I found a website where I found a replacement computer that an engineer made himself. I contacted him through Whatsapp. He introduced me to his computer and the experiences of previous customers and showed me a couple of videos and pictures. I decided to buy his computer, which he then mailed to me. I received the computer with all the instructions for connecting it to the excavator. I had my doubts, but after testing the computer on my excavator, I saw that he is the right man. Even when I had any questions, he answered very quickly and is always available. He is a good man. The computer has a good price and i would recommend it to anybody. VOLVO EC45 EC 35 PUMA STEROWNIK BOARD » mechatronika.pomorze.pl
How do I contact this new company with a new computer