Hi I have a 10t wheel loader, made in China. I was using it yesterday and stopped for a drink break, about 15 minutes. When I got back inside and tried to start it, it behaved as if it had a flat battery. I checked both batteries and they were good, but swapped them for a pair of brand newies. Anyway, it still behaved like a flat battery, with a click when I turned the key and the all the gauges with power dropping to zero showing current being pulled. I assumed the starter solenoid must be a bit funny so took it out and tested it with a battery and it worked. I took it down to an auto electrician. He tested it and told me the starter and solenoid are fine..... This loader has no electronics, just lights, starter motor and aircon fans. All other controls are levers and the like, so there are no obvious electronics that are gone. I assume there is a master relay, so besides that I am at a loss. Any body experienced anything similar and can offer a suggestion? cheers
This is the loader and its position as left.
Corroded Battery cables, within the crimping of the butt ends …. not necessarily where the cables are attached to the batteries either can do this … Have you checked the cables themselves ??? …. follow the cables by running u'r hand along them for any lumps and bumps under the skin … sometimes the cables can corrode off within the shielding and they feel like it's swelled where it's corroded in half ….. Is there a knife switch ??? …. or sometimes commonly called a night switch …. they can cause issues as well …… Is there a series parallel switch that combines the 2-12v circuits (batteries) to make 24v for the starter ??? These are some common things that ALL equipment can have …. big truck's too …. Just some ideas to check out …… Good-luck … hope this might help you out !!! ….
Thanks for that, I will check out the corrosion issue. I assume a knife switch is like an isolator? There are no other switches that I know about, I have climbed around it many times when greasing and servicing, so if there are other switches they must be well hidden! cheers
+1 to CRAFT. Hi d4dozer. I don't have much knowledge about dozer problems. All I can say is first, you must do an all over checking to your machine and second, you have a good looking dozer.
A poor ground connection at the frame would cause those symptoms.
Ground connection to frame - I fully agree, I had such a problem with a brand new car once, so I have checked that but it all looks good.
Pretty much a Knife or night switch is found on about every piece of heavy equipment …. it's a switch that interrupts or turns off ALL power from the batteries to the rest of the machine, hence the name "Night Switch" to turn off the batteries over night in case of a possible power drain (or to turn off power when working on electrical equipment or welding on the loader)…….. if you have one the main battery cables will go directly to it before going anywhere else …….. Hope my long winded explanation helps …..LOL !
The Pic he posted is not a Dozer !!! …… WE commonly call this machine "A LOADER" …… LOL ….. d4dozer Clearly stated it on the posting "Title" ……. OMG
Interesting, I have also heard of these machines being referred to as Tractors, though to me a Tractor is a Farm Machine that pulls a plow and has a three point linkage with a PTO. Dozer, tractor or loader, its just so frustrating when a machine stopes without reason! cheers
Well as the starter motor tested fine I decided to reinstall it, no point having it out of the machine. For the hell of it I tried the machine and presto it started immediately......... Thoughts 1) starter motor was jammed and taking it out freed it? 2) compression lock up of the motor not allowing it to turn over? 3) poor electrical connection? Will be interesting to see if it re-appears. cheers
Anybody have thoughts as to which of the above three it could be?
What you described sounds like the old flathead Ford V8's. Occasionally when the engine was shut off, it would stop in such a place that the starter wouldn't engage, just click or clunk. We used to call that "top dead center" and the cure was to put the vehicle in gear, get out and "rock" it back and forth a bit. Get back in, push the clutch in and hit the starter. 99.9% of the time it would go, the other .1% of the time you'd get back out and go through the drill of "rocking" it back and forth again. I've got an old Cat 12E grader with direct start that occasionally does the same thing. Cure? Climb out, grab the fan belt and turn the engine ever so slightly, climb back in and fire it up. If that happens to you again, there's something you might try. .
Sounds like you just had a bad connection at the starter and you fixed it when you replaced it on the machine.
Starting problems are so much fun. I spent thousands of hours in a "Wombat" loader that looks almost identical to yours. It has had the same problem as yours since new. On instruction from the owner, it has never been persued because patient clicking of the key eventually gets it to start when it plays up. I always suspected the isolator switch which is probably in front of the counterweight and almost under the radiator. I often got results by tapping that. Has the cab started to fall off yet from cracking the floor at the front mounts?
Yair . . . So stondad would that be a machine imported by a dealer in Mt Isa? How has it worked out apart from the starting problem and suspect cab mounts? Cheers.
No mate. The dealer for this one is on the Gold Coast but I think their main parts store is in Perth. There seem to be so many different names and variations to them but they still look as if they came out of the same factory. The cab mount wasn't suspected - there were dirty big cracks under the floor mat. You get what you pay for. It now has about 4,000 hrs on it. Steering pump. Some low pressure hoses. Brake leaks. Paint. Mirrors rusted off. Door locks. Window latches. Centre bearing. Throttle, gear and bucket control levers stick. But the owners are still happy with it for the price. It has only ever worked in pine-bark so I don't know how well it would go in a "real" job. Cheers.
stondad, your post is really interesting. I have a skid steer also, called a HT50 Wombat. It often just clicks at the key and plays dead. I replaced the main relay and the small black relays and the starter motor with no improvement. It to did it since new. Had the loader since 2006 and this is the first time that it has done it...... I will check out the cab! cheers
I moved this thread from General Industry Questions over to the Wheel Loader Forum, it should help get more views. Good Luck!
Out of interest, mine only has 325 hours on it. My problems were the aircon being ripped off on delivery, excessive rust for no obvious reason, air brake "blow off" and all air pressure is lost every now and again, it is a beast to grease, so many nipples don't want to take grease, but persistence pays off. The door locks fell of but have fixed. Seat hits back window when you go over a bump, fan blade broke of at 15 hours, so it now runs short of 2 blades to balance. All small things and given how cheap it was, I can live with them. It will be interesting to see if it ever gets to 4000 hours.....
Diesel Fried, you are a good man. d4, I hope it gets to 4000 hrs for you. I heard there was a skid steer with the "Wombat" name. Sometimes I wonder about the inner connections in the batteries too.
Stondad I replaced the Chinese battery very early in the Wombats life as it died within weeks of getting the machine. I wonder if there is a connection problem after the battery on them. The "click" on the Wombat occurs every time its used, and it may take one, two three or even four goes to start...........A bit off topic but intriguing none the less. I might start a topic under skid steers to see if anyone else has come across this strange phenomena.
check battery main relay.
Well the problem has not re-appeared, starts fine every time. I have checked for cracks at the cabin floor and all seems ok.
had a closer look at the cab yesterday, mine sits on four rubber mounts
stondad, a bit of topic, how did you check the gearbox oil level on your machine? Do you know the recommended volume? This machine has a filler point and a drain point, no dipstick or sight glass. The manual does not say how much to put in, it only says use ATF. With no dip stick, sight glass or specified amount in the manual......the joys of the cheep Chinese machine.
Um. Don't know if I ever knew the answer to that but I sure don't now! It will be a while before I see the machine or the owner to find out for you so it might be quicker for you to just ring the dealer. Sorry.
Stondad - No problems, thanks anyway. Its a bit hard to ring the dealer on this one as the machine is a slightly different version of the ones normally sold in WA. I will measure what comes out. I doubt it will "use" ATF. cheers
China Loader - do you sell or know were I can get a workshop manual please?
The users manual calls it a ZL30F and the spelling is Longgong, I have the name wrong in the post
China Loader, do you have a pamphlet on the new loader, I will send it to a friend who is currently looking for a loader
you can email me on [email protected] chinaloader. thanks