[Ryson1]

Hi, tried to calibrate meters on flexicoil 3850 mechanical cart, with the main clutch turned off and the 3 tanks turned on. Cannot get the main crank handle to turn past a half turn. I've turned all the individual rollers by hand, they are all free. Starting to wonder if maybe its a problem with the main clutch, as if its not letting go and I'm trying to turn the big rear wheel of the cart?... When the master switch is cycled you can hear it clicking, so it cant be an electrical problem... Day's been too long and my brain is gone numb. Anybody have this problem before? Thanks in advance for any pointers. Haven't hooked an ohm meter up to the wires yet, will try that next. What should a normal ohm reading be on the wires of the main clutch? Unit has been sitting for a couple days, but everything was working fine when I finished the last field...

 

[Northern Farmer]

Although we never had a problem like that on our older mechanical cart ( 2320 ) , is it possible that a seizing bearing within the clutch is now constantly driving the chain from being locked onto the shaft from the wheel drive sprocket assembly ? . Thought I would throw that out there as after all if the power isn't on, the clutch shouldn't be able to engage itself. Its a shot in the dark as someone else may have the probable cause.

Lets say it was something like this and your almost done seeding, I'd be tempted to run it that way but use your roller switches to turn the tanks on and off which I know is a pain but could get you rolling and not waste a bunch of seed and fert in the process. To calibrate take the chain off so you can do your cranking and then throw it back on once you've done that.

 

[cdnredneck_t3]

Check to make sure one meter adjuster is not all the way out. They may have too much stroke and the arm going into the box will bottom out and stop everything from turning.

 

[SouthernSK]

If you have a field switch and the drill is low enough to engage it will turn the clutch on and you will not be able to turn it by hand.

 

[Ryson1]

Thanks for the input guys, found the problem to be a bad bearing in one of the tank meter boxes.

 

[rkd843]

When you said you tried each roller by hand did you pull the chain off of the crank and spin each gearbox? Or pull the chain off between the gearbox and each roller and spin roller? We had a metering gearbox seize up on us this year and it manifested itself by stopping all the other rollers and slipping the master clutch while seeding, you would not find the seized metering gearbox if you checked each individual roller. I had a buddy of mine with an '09 cart and he replaced all three gearboxes last year in one season.

 

[SouthernSK]

Thanks Ryson for letting us know.

 

[Ryson1]

rkd843 - I had originally tried it by spinning the chain on the meter roller side of the gearbox by hand, and I guess essentially all I was spinning was each individual roller, bypassing the seized bearing in the gearbox. Learn something new every day, keeps life interesting!

 

[Northern Farmer]

Uh so it was a bearing ... just not the one I was thinking it might have been !.

I guess we must have fluked off as we never had gear box issues on our unit, just those silly electromagnetic clutches behind each gear box going weak and stopping certain feed rollers until I put the updated ones on.

 

[doorknob]

Check to make sure one meter adjuster is not all the way out. They may have too much stroke and the arm going into the box will bottom out and stop everything from turning.

That's an interesting bit of info I had not heard yet. Thanks. Trying to keep as many of these little tidbits of info handy as possible for trouble shooting later when the need arises.

 

[BrianTee]

Nice problems to fix without having to resort to a laptop and memory sticks and diagnostic routines and new processor modules and bus scanner and the cart not seeing the ipad and the cart network down and.....

Rather, a chain that turns a sprocket. Is it moving LOL? We still have the 2320 tank too.