The previous owner tipped the machine and subsequently ruined the engine. He replaced it with a similar power Kubota engine and converted the throttle to a manual lever bypassing the computer control. I'd like to see if I can get it all working again for a few different reasons. The main reason being the machine is always operating in full power mode. It has great power when running wide open but the engine does labor some when at lower throttle settings. My hunch is that with the pump at full swash it needs wide open throttle. The I,L,E,P buttons do not light up when pressed. The travel speed indicator lights up but it does nothing to change the speed. My hunch is that it was "hotwired" to run in P mode (the light is always on "P") since the EPC/EC Motor was bypassed. The 4 buttons for wiper, lights etc do not light up either. I have all monitor lights and the dial gauges work fine. I don't see any issue with having the new engine being run by the EPC/EC Motor as it is really just a throttle control which also adjusts the swash angle. I haven't done much digging into it yet but plan to get into the harness to see what is disconnected if anything. I've been rebuilding the swing gear (done), working out a thumb control setup and machining and fixing the bucket. The machine does operate fine, but I'd like to make it work well, not just ok. My question is where to look first for diagnosing the lack of response when pressing any of the buttons. Are the indicator lights fed by the EPC or is there another reason the "P" light is always indicated? Sorry for the rambling and lack of questions. I'm sure you guys will have more questions for me which I can hope to answer. I'm new to much of this and my eyes are burning from pouring through the manual and wiring diagrams.
What series machine is this? EX60-2,3 or 5? Is this the machine you are putting the thumb on?
Yeah, same machine. I've got the thumb figured out... I think. Parts are in hand just waiting for my friend to finish machining up some spool caps. It's an EX60-2. I checked last night and I have no blinking light on the EPC so that is going to be the first thing to sort out.
Do you know at all why the former owner disabled the EC motor? Was this done when the engine was changed or before? Like you said, I would first check to see how much, if any, of the harness has been butchered. If I remember correctly there are 3 1 amp fuses which power the EC, any one of them being bad will keep your EC from functioning/ lighting up. I would check those 2 things first. If you end up needing an EC they are no longer available from Deere/Hitachi but I did find a source, I changed one this summer and it appears to work fine. You can buy them on EBAY from China but you have about a 1 in 100 chance that they might work.
The harness looks to be in good shape. My multimeter has too stubby of tips to probe the sockets so I ordered a set that I can probe the harness properly. I believe he just didn't want to mess with setting up the throttle and shutoff linkage with the swapped engine. I got all my solenoid wiring done yesterday and that part is working well so I'll jump into this next. I just left the guy a message to get some more info from him.
Well good news. I tracked it down to a 1 amp fuse that looked good but had gone bad. Blinking light came on and the throttle valve moves when buttons are pressed on the control panel. I am not sure if the solenoid for the pump angle is working. I can't hear or feel it doing anything which I believe I should noticeable. The only tests in the manual are with some test light setup. Does anyone know what voltages I should be seeing at the solenoid? I was hoping for a voltage spec in the manual. I guess I should just measure each of the 2 pins to ground and see what happens. It's on or off. Off is "P" mode so any voltage showing on the meter would actuate it. Might need a tap or 2 since it's been unused for a long time. The EC motor complained for a bit and then started working smooth. I'll have to figure out something for the engine stop on the EC. I believe the OEM engine throttle and stop was all on the same lever. On the Kubota engine they are separate. If I hook up the Kubota throttle lever to the EC when the key goes to off it will be tugging against the stop. I could probably rig up an inline spring to relieve that pressure. The ideal thing would be to disconnect the "Stop" voltage from the EC. I'll have to look into that some more.
So where it stands now is all travel modes work properly. The throttle motor moves as it should. I do not have the cable hooked up to the engine yet, still figuring out how to rig that. One anomaly though is when the engine is running and E for economy mode is pressed the engine lugs down without any lever being moved and the hydraulics get really fast. When P is pressed it seems to operate about the same as L.
I got out my multimeter this evening and I'm getting 1.6v on one pin when E is pressed. No power on any other mode. The other pin remains a constant 24v on all modes. I don't understand why there is 24v on one pin all the time. I also am at a loss why I don't see anything when P is pressed. As far as I know E and P should set the pump in the same state. Here is the page from the manual. It seems as though what is happening is opposite of what should be happening as per it's description of operation?
Here is a video of the situation.
Don't have an answer for what is happening with your E and P buttons but as far as your pump displacement solenoids, they have 24V to them all the time when the key is on and the controller controls the ground. They are pulse width operated solenoids so checking them with a voltmeter does not work. You can use duty cycle (if your meter has that capability) to see if it changes when operating, however there are no specs available for duty cycle on those solenoids. That is why they use a light. If the light is flickering then the controller is controlling the solenoid and confirms the circuit is working.
Thanks for that. The manual doesn't mention anything about it being PWM. I would have just thought it was an on/off solenoid. I attached the page that shows the test. I need to get a pressure gauge kit to check the pressure but I believe the light coming on when "E" is pressed and off when "P" is pressed would be the same as me getting voltage when "E" is pressed and not when "P" is pressed. I still don't know why it loads down when "E" is pressed. That doesn't make any sense. Unless something is stroking the pump somehow?
Did you try the throttle relearn procedure? Did you get blink codes from the controller?
I noticed this suction hose for the pilot pump is partially collapsed. Probably a good idea to replace huh?
Dear Mr.MG-2361, So sorry to speak that solenoid for main pump of HITACHI EX60-2 just has been a normal solenoid. It's not a PSV (Proportional Solenoid Valve)!! It's operation ON-OFF (24V or 0V) only. As we can see in the image below: P - E - L mode mainly affects engine speed. In addition, the travel mode also affects the engine speed and the flow rate of the main pump. Ex.: At P & Travel FAST mode...Engine speed will be F(rpm) & solenoid OFF. At P & Travel Medium mode...engine speed = F(rpm) & solenoid ON. At P & Travel Slow mode...engine speed = E(rpm) & solenoid ON. At E & Travel Fast mode...engine speed = E (rpm) & solenoid OFF.
Thanks so much for educating me on that one Lachau. I obviously assumed it would have been similar to Deere's 490E's hydraulic pump displacement solenoid control valves. I apologize for misleading you Mutti .
No Worries man.
That's really helpful. I've stared at that chart in the manual trying to figure it out. Do you have any idea why when "E" is pressed the engine lugs down, hydraulics go to warp speed and voltage can be detected (1.6V)? 24v is always detected on the other pin at the solenoid.
Please see attached images.
In any case, when the machine is in "P" mode and you press the "E" button, the engine speed will drop by one level. 1/- Machine is in "P" mode + Travel is in "FAST" ==> engine speed is at F (rpm, point 1). ==> press "E" mode ==> engine speed reduce to E (rpm, point 2). 2/- Machine is in " P" mode + Travel is in " Medium" ==> engine speed is at F (rpm, point 3). ==> press "E" mode ==> engine speed reduce to E (rpm, point 5). 3/- Machine is in "P" mode + Travel is in "Slow" ==> engine speed is at E (rpm, point 5). ==> press "E" mode ==> engine speed reduce to D (rpm, point 6).
My best friend, Please don't mind that. I still have to learn from you about Deere's construction machine.
Thanks for that. The machine is unusable in "E" mode. The engine labors moving any function. The solenoid in "off" mode should be lower flow correct? It seems as though with mine when it is "on" it flows double. It's unusable in E. Travel speeds work just fine. My throttle is still manual. I have not hooked up the EC motor to the throttle arm on the Kubota engine that was swapped in. The motor does work though.
I have not tried this. I can't seem to find the procedure in the manual. Do you have the steps to do this?
Since you have this complaint plus you said you do not have the throttle connected to the EC motor then the relearn would do you no good. For codes, there should be a 4 pin white plastic diagnostic connector behind the right arm rest ( @LACHAU , correct me if I'm wrong). Looking into the plug with the lock tab up, short the two terminals on the right together. Then turn the key on and read the blink codes on the PVC's (behind the seat under the plastic) LED light.
My plan is to build a bell crank and rig up the EC motor. Right now the throttles are opposite so it's not just a hook up. Need to figure out geometry and cable/throttle arm movement.
Digging this old post back up. I have re-worked the throttle assembly and now everything is working with the EC motor. All the pump solenoid on/off and throttle settings are working as they should. The only anomaly is that when i turn the key on I have to press "P" before starting it up so it can learn the throttle range or else the high idle default starting position is higher RPM than I would like to start it with. Would the re-learning procedure address that? It's fine as is and only takes a second to do but if it could be improved that would be fine with me too.
The relearn procedure should be key on, press P mode, let sit 5 seconds and key off. Then it should work normally. If it doesn't then something else is up. Maybe @LACHAU can confirm this.
Hi Guys, sorry to dig up this old post but you guys may have the knowledge to help me. I have a Ex60-3 that I just bought but the travel modes don't seem to be working. The engine speed modes all work correctly and the mode lights for the travel mode select using the button but no difference in travel speeds. Any help would be appreciated or maybe I am not doing something right I am a new machine owner/operator!