Thanks tazza, In mine they are in the upper right corner. Havent tried grounding the sender wire yet, gauge will go to "full" right? Voltmeter, hydraulic temp and fuel gauge havent moved since I bought it, Almost seems like a power issue since the volt meter wont even work. The hour meter does however and its in the same panel.
It does sound like a power issue.
Finally had some time to mess with the 873. Voltmeter is dead, oil temp sending unit is dead and I probably need a fuel level sending unit, will lift the cab tomorrow and double check. Hopefully bobcat doesn't want a downpayment on these..
Looking at my manual, can I get at the fuel sender with the engine in the machine? looks like fun...
It is in a tight spot, don't bend the new one or you will have to stuffed ones. Hopefully you can get it in without pulling the engine.
Had some success yesterday. The access hole behind the loader arm thats covered by a grey plate allowed me and my long arms to reach in there and grab it. I used a can of brake cleaner and a 4' blowgun to clean around the area first. The sender was hand tight and the wire wasnt plugged in to it. Once I yanked the sender out (it was hand tight) I realized someones been in there and broke the float off the thing. It looks like the case drain lines will have to come off to properly install the new sender. Can the case drain filters on these be cleaned or blown out? They look like an aluminum can.
I have pulled them and cleaned them before. Cheaper than new ones.
On my 843, the voltmeter had sawdust in it and the needle worked but only to 12V. Pulled the gauge and turned it upside down and it was like a Christmas globe. I replaced all 3 gauges since if one had sawdust the others were not far behind.
I pulled the voltmeter gauge apart. It looked like new inside and out. I put power to it from a few different sources and nothing moved. I was faked out since none of the gauges worked when I bought it and figured chances were good it was a power issue since all 3 didnt work. I called the 2nd closest dealer, reasonable prices and mom n' pop operation. The very close dealer is subtantially higher in price. The voltmeter was $18, the oil temp sender for the engine was $63 (ouch) and the fuel tank sender was only $62. They should be here tomorow via UPS since we're in the middle of a nasty snow storm. What a luxury it will be running the 873 and not hoping every things okay.
In my case when I first got the machine, I could see the voltmeter jump up from off to 12V when key was turned to on. But then it did not jump up to 14V with engine running. Unfortunately at that time my machine would creep and I could not get out with machine running, so I could not measure it with my DVM. I brought the alternator to two shops and had them test it as I was certain it was a charging problem. It checked out fine both times. Finally with someone in the machine, I used the DVM to check things and realized the voltmeter was playing games. For me the voltmeter was the least important, the temp gauge the most. So I replaced all 3. Then the fuel sender. I would also suggest replacing the bulbs for oil pressure and hydraulic pressure warning lights. Mine did not work when the key was turned to ON, and I did not know they should. One of the hydraulic pressure switches has two sets of contacts and the other has a single set. So one is more expensive. I have replaced both of them also. One pressure switch powers the hour meter.
$160 later and everythings good! Now I can be out plowing snow, not wondering how much fuel is actually in it, the engine isnt running too hot and its still charging. I figured it must be an electrical issue since none of the gauges worked.
Mike, not too bad for the price. And now you have peace of mind. Nice.