Hi guys, this is my 1st post (great forum), my T200 has developed a electrical problem (poss because l used the lights for the FIRST TIME), it started off by working fine one day and no power up the next day, then tried it the following day and all was normal again for a while until the the arms started going up on their own (no warning lights) so l turned it off and back on and ECS light is on and error code 32-40 (LH joystick not in neutral) so turned it off and disconnected the batt earth which seemed to reset things but not for long before arms lift automatically again, this has been doing this for the past week and now we are back to no power up again, l have now checked the voltage at the Red & white wire to the panels LH=7.2v RH=00.6 (also noticed that the red wire to key had been pinched slightly through to copper core and was green so not fresh, if someone can please point me in the right direction that would be great because l live out in the sticks and have to try and mend my machines myself whenever poss, also should l have full 12v batt power at the red&white panel wires?.
Does the machine have foot pedals?
Check that your bolts in the handle that the potentiometer pivots on are aligned and snug.On the handle, if you pull the rubber boot up, you can see an assembly with a plunger. That is the potentiometer, or “sensor” as Bobcat calls it. The bottom is through-bolted to the fixed part of the handle, and the top or plunger side it boted to the pivoting handle. moving the handle runs the plunger in and out of the body, which generates the signal for the servos, or “actuators” on the control valve, all run the the controller on the machine. If the bolts or pivots on the handle are loose or out of alingnment, you will get your code, because when in neutral, the handle sensor may not be in what it thinks the neutral should be, and it has to be there on power up for safety. It's programmed like that so your boom or bucket don't move when you start the engine.
Ok many thanks and yes it's joystick only, when l say no power up l mean nothing at all when turn key (like no ignition), is this normal if the joystick is loose?, l have been playing around with it all day checking harness/plugs/fuses/relays ect, the only thing l can get is the int cab light, l did find today if l unplugged the the 2 display panels l would get 12.5v on the red&white feed to both panels but when l replug the LH panel the RH key panel feed is almost no voltage, also the ignition switch checks out fine.
Sounds like a restrictive connection in the red/wht wire in the harness. When you unplug the connectors and get 12V, but voltage drops when you plug into control panels, a tester doesn't put much load on the circuit, but the control panels do, that's what causes the variation in voltage. Raise cab, make sure cab prop locks, then disconnect and inspect the large harness connector in cable that comes from cab, the connector is typically located just on top of fuel tank where cable runs up cab frame to cab. Check the pins and sockets for the red/wht wire at that connector. I've seen bad pins/sockets many times.
Thanks willie, l have inspected that one and most other connectors on the LH side of machine and so far they all look like new, can l run a separate fused wire from 12v and link it to the red&wht at the panel or back of fuse box to bypass any restriction?, today l will check out the back of the fuse box and computer plugs, my battery is good showing 12.8 at the terminals, the 100amp main fuse was dry but cruddy and it had signs of holding holding water in the cover which has no drain hole but its all cleaned up now, will keep you posted.
spent all day checking stuff, back of fuse box 12.8v/pins for cab harness con all clean with 12.8v at red&wht wire/ batt terms & chassis ground all good/ batt exid profesional 950 amp new Jan 2011, and still dead, running out of things to try, CAN I RUN A FUSED 12V DIRECT SUPPLY TO THE RED&WHT PANEL FEED WITHOUT DAMAGING ANYTHING?, so at least l can start it and get it somewhere better to work on (it's stuck in the middle of a forest).
red/white wire is fused constant 12v power to the panel, so theoretically you could run a temp wire to the panels to power them up. common places to check are 1 the cab to mainframe harness connector plug, (under the cab, left side on top of the hyd tank) 2 behind the lh dash panel, the panel crushes the harness against the panel mount 3 behind the accessory panel, LH side of the upper cab, ( behind the wiper switch/cig lighter plug,if equipped with deluxe cab) if you find corroded wires, repair them 1st, also check for a bad ground in the harness at the same time you are checking for 12v+ power. most common place for *** up wires are at the cab/ mainframe harness area, most of the time within 3 or 4 inches of the connector i had this happen to me a few weeks ago on a t250 deluxe panel unit. i was getting 12v+ to the panel, using a known good chassis ground under the cab, i replaced the panel and everything came back to life, until the next day, when it wouldnt power up again. 3 service calls, 7 hours of labor and travel, and i find an intermittent ground at the mainframe to cab harness plug. :drinkup
Thanks Crewchief, your trouble shoot does sound like mine and l was also beginning to point the finger at the LH panel but l have only been checking out power supply wires not earths, l did find the red wire that comes out of the RH panel to the key (standard panel** had been crushed against the frame and was green where a bit of copper was showing (would say been like it for some time). now you come to say in the beginning when l was having intermittent power up l did lift the cab just to look for anything obvious and put it back down and power up was working again but it has'nt fixed it since. I do have the deluxe cab wiper switch/cig lighter and will check that area today, (the wiper unit and glass kit was added by the previous owner) I will check again the main frame to cab harness plugs. Just to mention, the very first odd thing l noticed was the 4 in 1 bucket would open and close much slower than normal then the same day l had to use the main front lights (l have never used them before) and the next morning no power up, left it till following day and power up as normal and used machine for 4 hours without flow to bucket, turned on flow to bucket and within 15 mins arms start lifting un-commanded (no warning lights) turn off machine and turn back on ECS light on error 32-40. Will keep you posted, CHEERS.
Up and running again, took the cig lighter live put 10amp inline fuse on and spliced it to the red&white LH panel, powers up and starts every time but now the glow plug light is flashing all the time but l cant feel the relay cut in, does the system think there is a fault? (no codes up), it's a temp fix but at least the thing runs and we know the problem is live not earth
All is well, used it for 5 hours today (with bypass feed to panel) and everything is working as should, accept glow plugs light flashing but machine fires up well without them so wont worry about for the moment, just got hold of a T200 service manual but not much info on trouble shooting, Eastcoastmanuals.com claim their download manuals cover all aspects of trouble shooting, ARE THEY ANY GOOD?. ANYWAY CHEERS FOR ALL THE HELP GUYS.
the machine's service manual dont help much with electrical diagnostics,but does have wiring schematics. there is a seperate manual listing fault codes, with a diagnostic troubleshooting tree for each code. :drinkup
is this a bobcat elec's trouble shooting man for bobcat tech's only or can l buy it somewhere?
it's available through parts from bobcat dealers. the cover is missing off my manual, but i'll see if i can track down a part # for you if you'd like. :drinkup just noticed you're in the UK, the PN for the manual may be different over there.
If you could that would be useful, l'm surprised someone's has not cashed in and done a pay/download version by now?.