RE: (ET) info/help needed

[Larry Elie <lelie ford com>]

I just got back from vacation, so this may have been already answered.

David's suggestions to Anthony are good, but here is a real simple one I 
have 
had happen.  The fuse holder on the lift fuse rusted.  Rust doesn't 
conduct 
current very well, but you still may get significant voltage for a meter 
down 
stream of the fuse-- until you try to draw current by running the lift, at 
which 
point the voltage drops to zero.  Sand the curved part of the holder, and 
re-insert 
the fuse.  It worked for me.  Replacing the fuse holder will work longer 
term.

Larry Elie

----------
From:   Anthony Bailey[SMTP:a636ccr semovm semo edu]
Sent:   Wednesday, August 11, 1999 9:23 AM
To:     David Roden (Akron, Ohio, USA)
Cc:     Elec-Trak
Subject:        Re: (ET) info/help needed

>> But I also noticed my electric front lift motor was
>> unplugged and also the wires going to it had faulty connectors. I 
>> replaced
>> the connectors but still the lift motor won't work, I've got the 18 
>> volts
>> going to it from the lift switch. I could just replace the lift motor, I
>> guess. Any ideas?
>
>If by "faulty" you mean they show signs of excessive heat, maybe the lift
>motor drew too much current and was disconnected.

Well, the connectors would no longer slide onto the tabs as the open 
sides of them were broken off.

>Use an ohmmeter to measure resistance across the lift motor (I don't
>remember which terminals are which -- there is a common, and up, and a
>down; measure from common to up and common to down).  You should read a
>good fraction of an ohm or so, maybe half an ohm (guessing).  If it's
>zero ohms or nearly so, could be a shorted armature.  If it's infinite or
>very high, the motor is burned out (or brushes are bad).  You might also
>take the lift assembly out, dismantle it, and see if the motor runs when
>connected to a 12v battery.  Grease the gears lightly before you
>reassemble it.

I don't know why I didn't think of checking the resistance of the 
motor. I tried to take the lift assembly out but no luck yet, 
evidently I'm still missing taking out a mounting bolt. I'll check 
this tonight.
>
>Someone said the lift motor can be replaced with an early Chevrolet
>Corvette power window motor.  Probably other stout power window motors
>from GM products would work.  Take the motor to a parts store or to the
>junkyard for a matchup.
>
>I know naught of the Wheel Horse models, so your best bet with the
>reverse problem is to follow the troubleshooting procedures in the manual
>(if you have it) -- otherwise just good common sense voltage and
>continuity checks through the circuit.  If your WH is like the early ET
>large frame models, and has a wound field motor, reverse is done by
>reversing the field, not the armature polarity.  If it's a PM motor, the
>armature polarity would have to be reversed.

I've got the owners & parts manuals but they don't have any useful 
troubleshooting info other than the schematics and locations of parts 
which has been very helpful.

>Another wild guess:  If you have heat on the mower motor cable, maybe the
>bad insulation is allowing the wires to touch and short-circuit from time
>to time.  That would certainly use lots of power, but I'd expect them to
>eventually be touching long enough to burn out.  Or is the frayed section
>just at the terminal lug?

Yep, the frayed section is at the terminal lug.

>Make sure your brake is releasing.  If it drags, it can eat up energy
>quickly.

Pretty sure the brake is releasing, in fact it needs to be adjusted 
to grab a little more as it just gradually slows the tractor down 
instead of quickly stopping as I'm going down a hill.

>If you have glazed belts I'd expect them to slip in D2 before they'd slip
>in LL, if the load on the tractor were the same.

They do slip in D2 also, in fact they work okay in D1 and L but in D2 
& LL they slip quite a bit if you go more than the slowest speed in 
that gear.
>
>Hope some of my random rambling helps.  Good luck!

It has, all random rambling much appreciated.
Thanks, Tony
>
>
>David Roden - Akron, Ohio, USA
>1991 Solectria Force 144vac
>1979 General Engines ElectroPed 24vdc
>1974 Honda Civic 96vdc
>1970 GE Elec-trak 36 vdc

----
this is coming to you from an Apple Power Macintosh G3/300 running MacOS 
8.6
Anthony Bailey (mailto:a636ccr semovm semo edu) Apple Computer 
Technician for Southeast Missouri State University, Cape Girardeau, 
MO  63701