we just got a brand new 2024 Cat950 loader at work. This isn't the GC model, just the standard 950. I am trying to figure out if you have to come to a complete stop to change direction. Our other loaders have hydrostatic transmissions that can be shuttle shifted at all engine speeds but this one isn't a hydro, it has a 5 speed trans where the direction can be selected either with the arm on the left side of the wheel or the rocker switch on the loader control lever. Some guys have said you have to come to a complete stop and others say if you are barely moving and let off the throttle that's enough.
If it's brand new(ish) isn't the Operator's Manual still in the pocket behind the seat.? What does that say on the subject.? If the O&M Manual is missing post the machine Serial Number and I'll take a look.
I'll have to go through the owners manual again. I looked at it for awhile but I don't remember getting the answer I needed. I'll look again and see if I missed that part. I think I'll be in the machine tomorrow as we are going to try and get the features set up before our busy season starts. I've only ran it for a half day pushing a little snow and moving some piles of gravel around, nothing too serious.
You can't figure out what it wants by running it? Every girl is a bit different, the timing of the shift is usually what you have to figure out. Most loaders have had directional modulation for over 20 years, some longer. Is it jerky?
Look in the Operation section under the heading "Changing Direction and Speed"
It's not jerky, shifting send pretty smooth to me. It's tippy with a load on but that's a whole other bag of worms that's due to how it's set up and we're working on that. What I was doing the half day I've been in it was to let off the throttle and when it had that brief hesitation I would change direction. Seemed to be working fine but then a guy that was watching me work said he could here the trans clunk loudly when I changed direction. That told me I probably wasn't doing things right. The 950G this one replaced did not like the trans direction changed unless you were stopped otherwise it would bang into gear.
Does the loader have a switch somewhere that can be used to disable the transmission disconnect function when using the left pedal.? If so is it in the ON or OFF position.?
More correctly referred to as the transmisison neutralizer. I've been reading up some stuff and if your 950 has all the features I've been reading about then the left "brake" pedal does some realy funky stuff that you need to be aware of, far more than just providing braking.
I absolutely despise a disconnect/cut-out/neutralizer/whatever they decide to call it. I want the "brake" to be a "brake" and that's it.
In those circumstances you use the right brake pedal instead of the left. That's what it's there for.
Can't regulate both accelerator and brake pedal with one foot. I prefer to control speed of movement on approach to the truck/trailer with the brake. Stop/start is never as smooth as a constant movement of both forward travel and loader raise. I'm certain your next statement will be I'm prematurely wearing out the brakes this way, and so be it. In a perfect world, you would stage your truck/trailer perfectly to allow for loader/bucket raise motion to time up perfectly with your approach. Loading area and conditions seldom allow this to happen, don't even get me started on truck drivers. JMHO.
Or you can press the "neutralizer disable" switch and make the left pedal behave exactly like the right one does. I think I asked the OP this question earlier regarding which position the switch was in. Actually reading a bit more about it the neutralizer function is enabled/disabled via the Operator Menu rather than a switch.
You can also adjust the neutralizer point to overlap the brakes so you never roll back on a hillside when using the left pedal. Speeds up lift and engine rpm .
I have the neutralizer set in the level terrain since it's flat where I load. Honestly I've never used this feature as I have enough distance from the pile to the truck to get the loader up as I drive. I mostly use the right pedal for braking and if I do use the left pedal I push it though the neutralizer position to the braking position. As for my original question, I looked through the manual and there is one little paragraph that pertains to changing direction. Basically it says you can do it at increased speed but it's easier on the operator or machine to do it at low speed.
Should be similar to an automatic transmission in a vehicle or standard power shift trans.. Don't have to come to a complete stop but best to be moving pretty slowly when changing direction. The trans. disconnect gives all the power to the hydraulics but I think would take some getting used to. Some backhoes have the trans. disconnect too. I use the brakes on my track loader when I need to raise the bucket faster loading the dump truck. I'm not sure if the trans. could get damaged if the disconnect was engaged with the loader moving. I've ran a wheel loader but was always pretty much stopped when changing direction.
Every loader is different. I loaded sugarbeets with 450 and 500 Komatsu from 2005 to 2009. They were modulated well enough to change direction at 3-4 mph. They ran 20k hours doing it.
I used to get loaded by a guy on a 450. He'd put his foot on the throttle at about 1400 rpm and keep it there except maybe a little more when taking a scoop or less going downhill. From what I could see from the truck, the machine didn't seem to mind. I've run probably a dozen different loaders of various vintages (1970s-2010s) and I've always changed direction while moving without touching the brakes and none of them seemed to care. New machines might be a different story but I have a hard time believing that they would be fussier about it. We used to haul out of one pit that we would load ourselves with their several 980Bs, whichever was running. One didn't have brakes and you had to run it like a boat.
A lot of the modern loaders have a type of “cruise control” for setting the engine RPM so that it is not necessary to use the accelerator pedal at all. Once the CC is set you just run the machine using only the left brake pedal. Touch the right brake pedal and it will cancel and drop the engine back to idle.