Re: (ET) Resistor Strap

With respect to the resistor strap heating up in my E12/20, I want to send special thanks to four guys who know their stuff, RJ Kanary, Darryl McMahon, Daryl Kosinski and "Zack" Zachary. Their advice made me look harder for a bad wire and I found one...a cracked connector on one of the three #6awg cables at the resistor strap. Replaced the connector and then went out to push around packed snow in D1, with a good bit of backing and forthing. Strap not as hot and shows no signs of overheat damage. Still, I'll be doing more plowing in L1.

Merry Christmas,

Jack

----- Original Message -----

From: Richard "Zack" Zachary

To: John Casey ; elec-trak cosmos5 phy tufts edu

Sent: Thursday, December 15, 2005 11:45 AM

Subject: Re: (ET) Resistor Strap

Hi Jack,
I just fixed a problem that made my resistor coil hot. I was not getting to third gear on my E12. Thought it was the centrifugal switch in the motor but turned out to be a bad connection on a molenex connector. It was wire #36 running from the centrifugal switch to the 2A solenoid contactor.
Are you sure you are getting into third speed?
Good Luck,
Zack

John Casey wrote:
Thanks for responding. It is a three speed controller. Not much slow maneuvering. While snowplowing in D1 the power use meter stays at the upper end of the green.

When I first got this tractor in 2000, the power use meter ran in red and sometimes pegged when tractor under load. Don't remember checking for a hot resistor strap but did see in the homeowners manual that the shunt should be 20" long; mine was almost 21'"...reinstalled it at 20" with no more running in the red.

Is it wise to re-install the shunt at 19" to help with the current problem?

Thanks, Jack

----- Original Message -----

From: RJ Kanary

To: John Casey ; elec-trak cosmos phy tufts edu

Sent: Friday, December 09, 2005 6:36 PM

Subject: Re: (ET) Resistor Strap

          Ideally, it should not be hot at all . Reality however is different. The only time the resistors are in the armature circuit is when the first two or three speed positions are used ,{Depending on whether or not your tractor has three, seven or eight motor speeds available.}

     Once the resistors are bypassed by the contactors, this is when the most efficient operation is achieved.

    If you are doing a lot of slow maneuvering , this is when your electrons make more heat than torque.

       On the plus side, it DOES keep the snow off the hood. :)

----- Original Message -----

From: John Casey

To: elec-trak cosmos phy tufts edu

Sent: Friday, December 09, 2005 5:06 PM

Subject: (ET) Resistor Strap

All:

How hot should the resistor strap get?

I plow a neighbor's driveway and my own, about 200.' Last week we had a 3" snowstorm and I stayed in D1all the way.

The perforated metal over the resistor strap was hot to the touch but not hot enough to make me remove my hand....of course, the strap would have been hotter. Battery clamps were tight and cool, traction motor luke warm, contactors warm, diode/varistor block looks okay. Today we got 10" of heavy snow and not to be stupid I stayed in L1 all day. The perforated metal cover was only warm and other avovementioned checkpoints were normal. After clearing snow from both storms there was plenty of tractor range left.

The 9 page 'Owners Use and Care Manual" shows that snowplowing can be done in range D2. I would like to plow in D1. Can anyone tell me what the acceptable heat level is with this strap.

Thanks, Jack

_______________________________________________
Elec-trak mailing list
Elec-trak cosmos phy tufts edu
https://cosmos.phy.tufts.edu/mailman/listinfo/elec-trak
_______________________________________________
Elec-trak mailing list
Elec-trak cosmos phy tufts edu
https://cosmos.phy.tufts.edu/mailman/listinfo/elec-trak
  