Hi everyone. I'm a brand new member and this is my first post. This is also my first piece of heavy equipment. 30 minutes after my new baby was delivered, it started stalling. The more I looked the machine over, the more I found wrong with it. Given the year, number of hours (3000) and the overall condition, I now know that I paid way to much for it. All that being said, let me tell you about the problems that I cannot figure out on my own. Its seems to run slightly better when cold. Sometimes, it makes no difference. The machine will just stall for no apparent reason. Every time it stalls it is very abrupt. Meaning, it's like the engine acts like it froze up. Most of the time, it will start back up as if nothing is wrong. Other times it will stall immediately. Where it gets a little weird, sometimes the ignition key get no response, no lights, no click, nothing. Wait five seconds, works fine. When there are no nights, I can still manually turn the lights on. Absolutely no error codes ever. List of things that will make the engine stall: Lowering the arms to fast and a hard hit at the bottom. If I drive about mid speed over a bump. Heavy load on bucket. Any type of jarring motion. Things I have already tried. Tune up kit. All filters and oil, except case drains. (Not sure where they are) New fuel shut off solenoid. New fuel lines. Checked all fuses and relays. Battery connections. As much of the wiring that I can see. (Machine is very dirty and greasy) Possibly unrelated issue. Sometimes, the tracks don't run real smooth and they seem to bind up. When this happens, the control arms are also hard to move. I know this is a long post. I just wanted to give as much info as I could to help diagnose the problem. Thanks in advance for any good advice. Love this site by the way. I've been reading everything I can find related to a t190.
like all bobcat track machines, wiring problems seem to be one of the bigger drawbacks. besides loose connections, it sounds like you may have one (or all) several things going on. bad ground and/or unswitched 12v power to the dash. bad ground wires at the neg cable typically you wont see a fault code generated by loosing power or ground. the machine shuts off and immediately locks the brake. i would start looking in the area under the cab where the mainframe and cab harnesses connect. ground wires are black red or red/white (red is unfused, red/white is fused, but hot when the key is off) wire going to the dash should be powered up all the time. :drinkup
How much did you pay for your machine ?
I gave 14,000 with a new 66" bucket included along with the original toothed bucket.
Ouch ! A guy's got to start somewhere right ? You will get it sorted and have a bunch more into it by then. Live and learn as they say...could have been worse and as long as you are Happy it doesn't really matter...good luck ...allot smart dudes here that are all willing to help ...
What he said.
I'm gonna have to get a good pressure washer and do a thorough cleaning on this pig. Everything is coated in grease and dust. Very hard to work on in this condition. Any dos or don'ts on cleaning? Also I still cannot find the case drain filters. I really need to check those ASAP. Machine got real whinny tonight and very little power on drives and lift cylinders.
Is the hydraulic oil at the proper level?
Under the seat connections and terminations. Battery grounding and cabling etc etc.....
It's full. Possibly to full.
Well, if like my 2013 model, the Case Drain Filters and the 'super secret high-pressure oil' in the drive are not the easiest thing to get at, and so I imagine on SOME machines they get stretched beyond suggested service intervals.. So, the good part is the Case Drain Filters are likely (if as mine) accessed by lifting the cab and looking right near the Drive Motors _ they are a sintered bronze/brass looking filter, inside a small canister (has a hex socket to remove cap ~3/8" I believe) with smaller lines from drive motor_ they are a '1000 hr item' on mine _ and likely worth keeping it clean when you take it out and checking what kind of things it has trapped!! Now, the bad part is that the Drive Motor Service item ('high performance synthetic oil') which is kinda pricey and proprietary, is a '500 hr item' and ONLY gotten at on my T190 by removing the Drive Sprockets, which means removing the Tracks as well _ the good thing is you will be able to look over ALL the drive components while you learn how to do this service, or you will march off to the local dealer and happily Pay the Piper!! Truly, it is not awful as long as you are mechanically inclined, have a good work-space and some proper tools and likely a service manual (which I suggest getting yesterday, if you have not yet ordered) _ I would say a 10-12 hr job as I recall, and have only done mine once, but will next spring again.. Good luck, perhaps yours may be simpler in some of this, I cannot tell by year which are different and how, but some Bobcat Techs here may better advise!!
No power to ignition. Ok, so I was just out using the machine. It's stalled out in a precarious position. I cannot raise the cab the way it is sitting. The dash lights will not come on when I turn the key. It's completely dead. I put a test light on the ignition switch and it has power and passes power through when I turn the key to run and start. I checked everything in the engine compartment and seems fine. Any ideas?
The bobcat stalled out while it was lifted up by the bucket. I can't raise the cab because the tilt cylinders are in the way. I think electrical short is under the seat. What can I do to raise the cab up? I tried pulling the release valve and that didn't do anything.
Bingo!! Haven't found the actual short yet but that is where it's at. I was able to stabilize it and the the machine runs amazing compared to before. Thank you so much! That goes for everyone. I tried jumping the starter solenoid. Even though it couldn't start that way, it caused enough vibration in the wire to stay hot long enough to turn the key and get the bucket out of the way to raise the cab.