1. would a mechatro controller be programmed by kobelco in japan? 2. is it possible that, even though being sent off to the USA, a replacement mechatro would be language locked for japanese? i am being told by my dealer that they do not program these controllers, it is all done in japan. the controller i purchased is in japanese. navigating to the language setting page i see 5 options. croatia, korean (i think), japanese, english USA. i cannot select, enter, choose, any of them. all i can do is go back to the home page. 3. is this even possible? my dealer has been a nightmare to work with. it took them an entire year to get me this controller. i can't ask them what any part is or does. they just say they don't know when i ask for updates on delivery. and now with this language thing i have called every day this week and am just told "oh, i have to get with my service tech but i think we can change that". i am starting to think this was done intentionally out of spite even though i have been nothing but patient with them. one thing is for sure; it has left a very sour, rotten, taste in my mouth for Kobelco's. i would NEVER buy another piece of their equipment.
Here is a forum member that you should try reaching out to with in regards to mechatronic controller setup. Private message @LACHAU or search for "LACHAU" and see if he can help you with your issues. He also has vast experience in programming the controllers. To the best of my knowledge a number of early Kobelco models used dip switch settings to change the language and the later models where changed through the display menu. Sorry to hear about your bad experience with the Kobelco dealership. This can be a common issue with many different brands of machinery and their are some horror stories of poor customer service and repair work. On the other side of the coin their are also some amazing dealerships who have outstanding customer service and they pride themselves on that and their workmanship. Kobelco are one of the market leaders in heavy equipment and machinery so in my opinion you do own an excellent piece if equipment but it is disappointing to hear about your customer service, that's not the Kobelco way! Best regards
hello and thank you for replying. yes, i have already reached out to @LACHAU . his thoughts are that the Mechatro was for Japan market which would not allow the language to be changed; however, the part number is for the US market. this is why i asked who programs the controllers. if it is done by Kobelco in Japan then this means they carelessly forgot to change or unlock the language setting before shipping it to the United States. I think this shows the true workmanship of Kobelco. combined with the fact that their parts division is a circus disaster. so bad, they had to shut down their entire parts supply chain for a month to implement a new system! they couldn't even fix what they had, they had to start over. this was half the reason it took so long to get parts. on top of that, the communication between Kobelco Japan and their US distributors are non-existent. impossible to get updates on orders. you just wait. and wait. and wait. you wait until one day out of the blue your part arrives. now you can finally get your $200,000 machine back up and running after losing equally that $ amount in lost work. i have read numerous threads of others with the same experience so, it doesn't really matter... Kobelco could be the best built machine in the world and still worthless with no support. i cannot fathom why the language setting would even be locked in the first place. regardless of the market, people speak different languages in every country. and what am i to do now? send this controller back to Japan? i freakin' hope not.