RE: (ET) New guy in town...

["Pieter Litchfield" <plitch attglobal net>]

I have seen many "welcome to the group" posts suggesting (like the one
below) that some normal maintenance activities will keep your ET healthy 
for
years to come.  Very true!  Be sure you keep the plastic bags around the
batteries to prevent battery acid from eating its way through the boxes 
too.
That seems to be a traditional problem.

I have both an E-12 and an E-15.  Mechanically very similar, but
electrically quite different.  The E-12 is "relay driven", while the E-15
employs a printed circuit board full of discrete semi-conductors to help
with switch timing and lockouts.  Frankly, the E-12 seems more robust
electrically, but the E-15 is a more powerful tractor.  An owner's service
manual, available from Bill Gunn, is invaluable!  You absolutely need one.

Part of my electrical problems with the E-15 stem from the last owner
leaving it out in the elements for a few years.  When I pulled down the 
rear
panel, there was a mouse nest on the circuit board (just like Chris
Zacks!)and a lot of mouse pee rotted components.  I rebuilt the board 
myself
using off the shelf components, and it works OK.  I should probably buy a
"real" replacement for it since I think there may still be an intermittent
contact somewhere on it.  The only ongoing problem I have, not entirely
unique to mine, is the occasional frying of a reversing relay.  The only
sure cure for me is to be sure that the tractor is completely stopped 
before
reversing direction.  These units are not without their "personality 
quirks"
which make them more fun to be around than your average Sears garden
tractor.

-----Original Message-----
From: elec-trak-bounces cosmos phy tufts edu
[mailto:elec-trak-bounces cosmos phy tufts edu]On Behalf Of Christopher
Zach
Sent: Tuesday, February 10, 2004 11:27 AM
Cc: elec-trak cosmos phy tufts edu
Subject: Re: (ET) New guy in town...


I think one of the key issues on the Elec-Trak as opposed to more modern
tractors is the fact that you do have to do some annual maintenance on
them. They are 30 years old, and back then things weren't quite the same
"drive till it drops" philosophy that permeates most stuff these days.

The most important thing IMO is to make sure the tractor is lubricated.
Get a grease gun and lube the front axles, the front steering points,
the front axle bar itself, the rear axles, etc. Change the tranny oil,
pull the batteries and check for rust/make sure the liner is intact,
that sort of thing.

The electronics are dead-simple, especially on the E20's. My whole smart
card is out right now (one of the diodes cracked due to too many mouse
nests in there) but the tractor still runs fine in speeds 1-5. I'll fix
6-8 this spring.

Chris

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