Hello, I have a John Deere 270 series 2 skidloader. My problem is the parking brake keeps activating on its own bringing the machine to a screeching halt. I'm at my wits end, I've bypassed the operator presence (seat switch) bypassed the seatbelt switch and replaced the parking brake switch and the problem still persists. Anyone have this happen to them?? Sometimes I can use the machine for 10 mins, others it will lock out every few seconds, sometimes it unlocks on its own. Each time it locks out both the red seatbelt and parking brake lights come on, when it unlocks on its own the red seatbelt light will either flicker or go out completely, then all I have to do is depress the parking brake switch and I can move the machine again. I'm starting to think the problem may lie with the brake solenoid (cylinder) itself. Is it located inside the wheel motor or chaincase??? can it be disabled?? I know its not safe to bypass the safety systems, but I need to move 15 yards of dirt before I can take it in to Deere. Sorry for the long post, any help would be deeply appreciated. Thanks.
if i were you, i'd quit using the machine till its fixed. a friend of mine has a bobcat 873 that lost the drive function. the service guy told him he never seen the gears(dont remember which gears) blow up on a bobcat before. he said the only thing that would cause it, would be to engage the parking brake while in motion. food for thought.
Does your machine have a full cab??.. If so the front door often has a lock out switch. I have heard of this problem with Bobcats getting dust into the electric system. I had the problem once in my Cat and it was a dodgey seat switch.
I have heard that the Deere machines are known for this problem and should the brakes lock totally it is a big problem. I would get it to a dealer before it gets real expensive.
Im with KSSS and the rest of them about this being a common Deere issue. For the life of me though I cannot remember what the fix is. Let us know what fixes it because I have a 250 Series II. Get to the dealer asap.
Does it have a safety bar in front of the operator like the Cats? On the Cats, if you don't lower the bar then the parking brake won't release. I'm sure if the switch went bad then this would cause the brake to apply. Don't know if yours has the bar or not though. Disabling safety features should never be used as a quick fix. Take it to the dealer.
The Deere skids do not have the bar like the Caterpillar's do.All that the Deere's have is a seatbelt that must be locked in order to release the parking brake and enable the hydraulics.
Hello, Think I got it fixed, bad instrument cluster (gauges) apparently there is a computer board behind the cluster shorting out (hence the occasional seat belt light flicker)and causing the parking brake to come on. The part was 355 plus tax. Took my board out and tried it in an old machine out at Deere, (thier suggestion since I'm 50 miles away)at first that machine ran fine, but we shut it down and tried it again and it started doing what my machine was doing. So, now I DEFINITLY need a new board, and apparently other possible problems can exist and short out a brand new board. Tech told me to check all hydraulic solenoids for propper resistance values, if any come up bad they must be changed BEFORE you plug in the new board and start the machine. There is even a customer warning that pops up on Deeres parts computer stating to get machine properly diagnosed before installing this part. I thankfully just had a bad board at 377hours. So far it has survived a full speed trip around the block, but I'll feel better after I really start working it again. So after a week of downtime I think its fixed. Thanks to all who posted for their help and suggestions. Tomorrow I will spend putting cab back together and returning all bypassed safety features back to normal. (at least the inside of machine got a good bath during the downtime). Special thanks to Farid at LaCorte JD.
this is why i hate electronics bs on newer machines :/ stuff always seems to be unreliable.
Glad to hear that it souds like it's fixed. So how many solenoids do you have to check?