A300 Swash Plate Not in Neutral Issue

[DonaldDuck]

I have an A300 with about 6500 hours on it. The machine works great except that once in a while I get a Right Swash Plate not in Neutral error. The engine will fire, run for 3 seconds and shut down when this happens. The first time it happened the machine was new to me. The tub drains were also blocked and the tub had water in it. I opened the tub drains, drained the water and let it dry out overnight. The next morning II wiggled some wires under the cab and it started. Not sure if that was the issue or if it was a coincidence that it started. I didn't have a service manual at the time and I was just randomly wiggling connectors. Last week we got the error again. We washed out the tub a few days prior. We pulled the right rear wheel off, pulled off the side plate, loosened the guard that sits over the swash plate sensor and then wiggled the swash plate sensor connector. It started up and ran fine. The next day we used it for about 2 hours, starting and stopping it many times with no problem. It drizzled last night. This morning it has a swash plate error again. The machine runs perfect otherwise. No creeping, it goes straight when it is supposed to, great hydraulic power, etc. What controls the position of the swash plate ? An electric servo or a hydraulic circuit ? How does one tell if it is the wiring, the sensor or if something is wrong in the pump to cause the swash plate not to return to neutral ? Is there a special way to shut down the machine such that the swash plate is guaranteed to be in neutral ? Is there a way to move the swash plate manually or adjust its neutral position ? Anything else I should know about this problem ? Thanks

 

[DonaldDuck]

Why don't my posts have paragraph breaks in them ? I put them in when I edit ?

 

[7LBSSMALLIE]

Why don't my posts have paragraph breaks in them ? I put them in when I edit ?

I would guess that youre probally gettining uncommaned wheel speed sensor codes. this happens when bucket moves unit not commanded by the sticks. speed sensors wher removed and a software upgrade was involved. in laymans terms unit moved and no one told it too, o it gets pissed. or simply swash plate senspor failuire. and o boy are these fun to access. anyway this is probally take it to dealer

 

[7LBSSMALLIE]

I would guess that youre probally gettining uncommaned wheel speed sensor codes. this happens when bucket moves unit not commanded by the sticks. speed sensors wher removed and a software upgrade was involved. in laymans terms unit moved and no one told it too, o it gets pissed. or simply swash plate senspor failuire. and o boy are these fun to access. anyway this is probally take it to dealer

and yes after repair it will need to be recalibiated. so its goining to dealer anyway.

 

[DonaldDuck]

and yes after repair it will need to be recalibiated. so its goining to dealer anyway.

The error is 75-18 IIRC. Right swash plate not in neutral detected. Nothing about uncommanded wheel movement. We've watched the wheels during start up and they don't move. I've got the shop manual, complete with wiring diagrams. How does one get at the underside of the pump to change the sensor ? Looks to me like we have to loosen off the pump and move it up on the right side ? If it was up about 3 inches, changing the sensor would be easy. I am the second owner of this machine. We just replaced a wheel angle sensor on the left side. I have the service records for the machine, it has been trouble free so far. It is also very clean for the hours. We'll try to do the work ourselves. I know an independent mechanic that has the Bobcat computer tool. My friend has an A300 as well and he does the service work on it. I'm not sure I'll take it to the dealer. We'll see. I am going to talk to the dealer tomorrow. So what moves the swash plate ? How do I know if it is the sensor or something in the pump ? Thanks for your help.

 

[Tazza]

The error is 75-18 IIRC. Right swash plate not in neutral detected. Nothing about uncommanded wheel movement. We've watched the wheels during start up and they don't move. I've got the shop manual, complete with wiring diagrams. How does one get at the underside of the pump to change the sensor ? Looks to me like we have to loosen off the pump and move it up on the right side ? If it was up about 3 inches, changing the sensor would be easy. I am the second owner of this machine. We just replaced a wheel angle sensor on the left side. I have the service records for the machine, it has been trouble free so far. It is also very clean for the hours. We'll try to do the work ourselves. I know an independent mechanic that has the Bobcat computer tool. My friend has an A300 as well and he does the service work on it. I'm not sure I'll take it to the dealer. We'll see. I am going to talk to the dealer tomorrow. So what moves the swash plate ? How do I know if it is the sensor or something in the pump ? Thanks for your help.

I have edited your profile, hopefully your get paragraphs now.
As for the machine, hopefully it's just a connector. Any major things, like bad actuators, you will need the dealer to re-flash your computer. They are great machines, but when things go bad, you are in a world of trouble. So many computer controlled parts.

 

[DonaldDuck]

I have edited your profile, hopefully your get paragraphs now.
As for the machine, hopefully it's just a connector. Any major things, like bad actuators, you will need the dealer to re-flash your computer. They are great machines, but when things go bad, you are in a world of trouble. So many computer controlled parts.

I went to the dealer and talked to them about the problem. They have never replaced a swash plate sensor on an A300. I checked the parts department and they have never sold a swash plate sensor for an A300. So it probably isn't the sensor. We pulled the tire and the side plate to get access to the bottom of the pump. I got my friend to try to remove the connector but he couldn't either. We can press the tab that releases the connector, but neither of us can get the connector apart. There is very little room to work, maybe an inch and a half between the bottom of the pump and the tub. So I did some other looking around and found that the nut holding the rear solenoid on the right hand side of the pump was loose. So I pulled off both right hand solenoids, disconnected the harnesses, dried them, put dielectric grease in the connector and reinstalled them. That seemed to solve the problem. The machine has started and ran fine 3 mornings in a row with zero problems all day long. I'll report back if there are any further issues.

 

[biggie]

I went to the dealer and talked to them about the problem. They have never replaced a swash plate sensor on an A300. I checked the parts department and they have never sold a swash plate sensor for an A300. So it probably isn't the sensor. We pulled the tire and the side plate to get access to the bottom of the pump. I got my friend to try to remove the connector but he couldn't either. We can press the tab that releases the connector, but neither of us can get the connector apart. There is very little room to work, maybe an inch and a half between the bottom of the pump and the tub. So I did some other looking around and found that the nut holding the rear solenoid on the right hand side of the pump was loose. So I pulled off both right hand solenoids, disconnected the harnesses, dried them, put dielectric grease in the connector and reinstalled them. That seemed to solve the problem. The machine has started and ran fine 3 mornings in a row with zero problems all day long. I'll report back if there are any further issues.

Did u ask them about the" Drive Motor Carrier Sensor" That's the sensor that needs to be thought about. Eliminate the carrier sensors and recalibrate the drive controller. The carrier sensor get clogged with debrie and fail. Just a thought!! What was the service code?

 

[DonaldDuck]

Did u ask them about the" Drive Motor Carrier Sensor" That's the sensor that needs to be thought about. Eliminate the carrier sensors and recalibrate the drive controller. The carrier sensor get clogged with debrie and fail. Just a thought!! What was the service code?

My A300 has the LCD and keypad on the right hand side. The error was Right Swash Plate Not In Neutral. I forget what the code number was and I can't look it up any more. I have had no more problems with the machine since I cleaned the solenoids, put dielectric grease in the solenoid connectors and tightened the solenoid nut. The machine starts and runs well every day, even after a heavy overnight rain.

 

[Rodolfo]

My A300 has the LCD and keypad on the right hand side. The error was Right Swash Plate Not In Neutral. I forget what the code number was and I can't look it up any more. I have had no more problems with the machine since I cleaned the solenoids, put dielectric grease in the solenoid connectors and tightened the solenoid nut. The machine starts and runs well every day, even after a heavy overnight rain.

Hi there, after you cleaned the solenoids, you didn't get anymore that issue? do you have a picture of solenoids that need to be cleaned, do you take them off. I have a bobcat a300 with same issue (swash plate not in neutral

 

[DonaldDuck]

Hi there, after you cleaned the solenoids, you didn't get anymore that issue? do you have a picture of solenoids that need to be cleaned, do you take them off. I have a bobcat a300 with same issue (swash plate not in neutral

We still get this error on our machine. It still only happens when it rains, so it is some sort of intermittent harness electrical problem. Cleaning the solenoids no longer fixes it. What we have to do is remove the right rear tire and the access panel behind it. At the bottom of the tub is a sensor that sticks into the bottom of the pump. Sometimes the problem is fixed if we wiggle the connector that goes onto that sensor. Othertimes we need to dry out the tub. To do this we place a fan under the cab when it is lifted that forces dry air into the tub. After an hour or so it is dry and the machine will stay running when we start it. Obviously we need to fix this properly some day as it is a huge pain in the ass. The problem is gaining access to that harness. I think we'll need to pull the engine to do so. Maybe this winter.