Well Im about ready to pull my hair out with this machine. I had to replace the hydraulic tank because of a mystery hole that appeared one day. I had a friend fabricate me a new metal tank to make sure no more holes appeared, and he built to the exact specs of the orig. tank. Anyways, now that Ive got the new tank in, my BICS system is acting up and when I put my seat bar down, the light will not come on, thus not allowing me to engage the lift/tilt hydraulics. The light will then come on randomly and go off just as quickly, sometimes it will stay on, and then just go off and disengage the hydraulics. I cant seem to replicate the problem, plus my lack of knowledge about the system, except from what Ive read on here. My second problem, is now with the new tank in, Im randomly getting the low hydraulic pressure light and a warning buzzer. The tank is full of fluid and there are no leaks that I can find. Ive only got 1985hrs. on the machine and of those, only 85 of them are mine in the last 2 1/2 years. Any help or insight would be great. I hate dealing with the dealership, soo if I can resolve this myself that would be awesome. Also, I have several qualified heavy equipment mechanics at my disposal, but they all work on large machinery, and none of them is familiar with the smaller bobcat stuff, but if I could get some kind of info for them, then that would work as well. Thanks! Nate
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The BICS problem sounds like a faulty sender or broken wire.... I'd tackle this first as i suspect the hyd warning light is air from when you replaced the oil tank. You need to operate the machine to get it out, which you can't do till the BICS will allow you to use the hydraulics.
I don't know much about the system, ken knows the dreaded BICS better than i do.
I don't know much about the system, ken knows the dreaded BICS better than i do.
Thanks! Where exactly do I start with the BICS system??
skidsteer.ca
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When you start the machine the bics lights should flash a repeatable code to you to indicate broken wire, shorted to ground, shorted to power etc. At least this is the case with the F and C series machines.
If you put 12v power to the coil on the the bics lock valve the valve unlocks and you can lift and tilt. While you can't cross the wires in the seat bar switch to make it work this is a option. I had my 553 wired to the key switch like this for awhile. When i wanted the safety of the valve I just shut the key off.
As for the hyd warning, you really need to install a pressure guage in the charge pressure circuit to verify what the actual preesure is. if its within range then its a wireing or sender problem.
Are you sure you did'nt damage some wires some how replacing the tank? just a thought.
Ken
Ken, thanks for the info. Im about 99% sure I didnt damage any wires. I mean there is always a chance, but I made sure that when I took the old tank out and put the new tank in, that I didnt hit or damage anything. As soon as it stops raining here, I'll check over the BICS system and try what you've said.
Wiring could be the problem , the plug connection of the bics box on side the seat is a common problem , but most of the time it seems to be the coil of the tilt lock stem , which is located at the middle bottom edge of the controll valve facing the chain case , take an ohm meter and unplug the coil and you should have something between 7 and 11 , if not change it
Okay, I must not be understanding. I took a picture and hosted it soo maybe one of you guys can point out the BICS box and the coil that I should check.
Okay, well that didnt work...lets try this instead. http://www.lifeinwidescreen.com/siihp/Bobcat%20001.jpg copy and paste that link into a browers window and it should open up a picture of my machine.
I would be checking that the wiring to the seat bar sensor is connected.As you are sitting in the machine the sensor is located on the LHS of the seat bar pivot.With the ignition on and seat bar down wiggle the wiring to the sensor and see if you can replicate the problem.
Skidboy, we've checked the connection and it seems to be good, but we are thinking that it might actually be the seat bar sensor. Everything is coming on as should when the key is turned on, but then when the seat bar is lowered, the light does not come on. Then all of a sudden it will pop on and everything will work fine, then just as randomly as it came on, it will go off and I'll lose all functions. I guess Mon. I'll go get a seat bar sensor and swap it out to see if that remedys the situation. Ohh and I put a volt meter on all coils that I could find, and none of them have any power going to them with the key on. Whats the easiest way to test the seat bar sensor??
If you remove the sensor from the seat bar,you can then hook up the wiring,turn on the ignition and rotate the inner part of the sensor(to duplicate the seat bar going up and down ).You will see the seat bar light up on the dash go on as you rotate the inner to the same location as when the seat is down.Have a look inside the sensor ,where the connector is ,and make sure that the electrical pins arent bent.
Okay guys, I got the sensor off and it seems to be a no go on getting the seat bar light to come on. Soo I guess Im gonna go down and get a new switch and see if it is indeed the problem. Here are things I noticed with the contact switch. 1st off the inner part of the switch is definitely magnetized, as it will stick to anything thats metal, but it seems like the outta part where the connector plugs in isnt magnetized, as the inner does not feel like its making contact. Soo I guess I'll go down to the dealer in the morning and get a new contact switch to see if it is indeed the problem.
Ohh another thing. With the key on, Im getting 2.5 volts and 14.8 ohms at the connector. Does this sound right?
skidsteer.ca
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You won't feel anything even if the switch is good.
The magnet on the inner cylinder has to be alighned with the bottom of the U shapped outer piece and the key on. If you aling it correctly the bics lite should lite up.
The seat bar and seat switch use the same sensor and one can be swapped for the other to test them
Ken
I went ahead and ordered the seat bar switch from the dealer today. I got one of the mechanics to plug my switch into another machine they had there and same thing, no seat bar light came on. Soo hopefully tomorrow they'll have the new switch and then I'll have a running machine again. If this doesnt solve it, then the machine is going to to the dealer for a diagnosis.
