Need help with a vermeer BC1500 auto feed problem.

[hermosaranch]

So pink was cut and spliced to the ignition yellow. The orange had that insulation removed. I took mV there to ground. I show 26 to 27mV AC. Pink is for engine fuel. I guess this bypasses the smart feed to force the fuel pump. Wonder if there's something wrong with the smart feed that prevented the fuel pump from turning on.

 

[mrhemihead]

So pink was cut and spliced to the ignition yellow. The orange had that insulation removed. I took mV there to ground. I show 26 to 27mV AC. Pink is for engine fuel. I guess this bypasses the smart feed to force the fuel pump. Wonder if there's something wrong with the smart feed that prevented the fuel pump from turning on.

So pink was cut and spliced to the ignition yellow. The orange had that insulation removed. I took mV there to ground. I show 26 to 27mV AC. Pink is for engine fuel. I guess this bypasses the smart feed to force the fuel pump. Wonder if there's something wrong with the smart feed that prevented the fuel pump from turning on.

That voltage reading is good.

Hard to say why that was done, there may have been an issue with the controller.
If the FUEL ON LED is illuminated there should be 12V at J7-4.

I prefer to make things work as the mfg intended. Since you have the diagram if I was the owner of this machine I would reverse the modifications and then start the troubleshooting.

 

[hermosaranch]

I prefer to make things work as the mfg intended. Since you have the diagram if I was the owner of this machine I would reverse the modifications and then start the troubleshooting.

Agreed. That's the plan. The local Vermeer dealer isn't that helpful yet. I asked about a few mechanical parts. They said I should contact Vermeer to get a catalog, find the part, then ask them to order it. Dealer Value Add... hahaha

I'm also wondering if there's an issue with the hydro over-pressure switch. That's where I'm looking now. We have very irregular shaped logs in our area: CA Red Oak. I've heard a whine in the feeder similar to other hyrdo equipment I have when pressure builds and pressure relief opens. I'm wondering if something is sensitive or faulting in this area which then triggers the Amber Light slow blink with the slightest of input irregularity, like buckled logs, etc.

Thanks for the help MrHemi!

 

[mrhemihead]

Agreed. That's the plan. The local Vermeer dealer isn't that helpful yet. I asked about a few mechanical parts. They said I should contact Vermeer to get a catalog, find the part, then ask them to order it. Dealer Value Add... hahaha

I'm also wondering if there's an issue with the hydro over-pressure switch. That's where I'm looking now. We have very irregular shaped logs in our area: CA Red Oak. I've heard a whine in the feeder similar to other hyrdo equipment I have when pressure builds and pressure relief opens. I'm wondering if something is sensitive or faulting in this area which then triggers the Amber Light slow blink with the slightest of input irregularity, like buckled logs, etc.

Thanks for the help MrHemi!

Roger that about the dealer. I acquired the parts catalog but often times the pn are outdated. The dealer will be able to supply the current numbers.

There was no hydro over-pressure switch on my machine. Apparently an option, there is a cable there but no switch. The diagram shows not used ??
Look in the fuel filling compartment, if you see 2 valves (feed roller forward and reverse) the pressure switch was never installed.

BTW it appears the circuit breaker was deleted. I would insert a inline fuse or install the factory auto reset breaker.

 

[hermosaranch]

I've tried two times with the dealer to replace the knife blocks (under the knives in the drum). The dealer has sent me the wrong parts twice. Going back next week to try again. The blocks have changed since 2008, but the part number has not so it appears. I digress.

The issue (at least the primary one) is something to do with the Water / Oil sensors. When I start up in low rpm, everything checks OK. Then I go to high rpm. Still everything checks OK. Same cycle, Low to High while chipper engaged. Cycle several times. No changes, all systems check out. Then I feed a log or just a small branch. It chips, then the Oil / Water LED flickers, then the Amber Light slow blink starts. I've replicated this fault multiple times now. So, perhaps bad wires under vibration from chipping or load on the engine? After the material clears, the Oil / Water LED stops flickering. I may try to bypass these if possible with the schematic, just to see if I can chip normally before trying to fix.

 

[hermosaranch]

BTW it appears the circuit breaker was deleted. I would insert a inline fuse or install the factory auto reset breaker.

Same here. No CB. I do have inline fuses at 15A each as shown in the diagram. But you're suggesting the inline or CB 30A shown on top left. Might be a good idea.

Question: why test mV AC on the orange? Shouldn't that be 12VDC? Everything else is measuring 12 to 14VDC depending on running status (12.2 on key on, 14.2 when running).

 

[mrhemihead]

I've tried two times with the dealer to replace the knife blocks (under the knives in the drum). The dealer has sent me the wrong parts twice. Going back next week to try again. The blocks have changed since 2008, but the part number has not so it appears. I digress.

The issue (at least the primary one) is something to do with the Water / Oil sensors. When I start up in low rpm, everything checks OK. Then I go to high rpm. Still everything checks OK. Same cycle, Low to High while chipper engaged. Cycle several times. No changes, all systems check out. Then I feed a log or just a small branch. It chips, then the Oil / Water LED flickers, then the Amber Light slow blink starts. I've replicated this fault multiple times now. So, perhaps bad wires under vibration from chipping or load on the engine? After the material clears, the Oil / Water LED stops flickering. I may try to bypass these if possible with the schematic, just to see if I can chip normally before trying to fix.

Sounds like you isolated the fault. The blinking water/oil LED will cause the controller to flag a fault (blinking information light).
From the schematic its hard to tell if the sensors are normally open or closed, use an ohmmeter to determine that. Try temporarily unplugging one sensor at a time to determine which is faulty. Both are easy to access on the engine.
If this is caused by faulty wiring its easy enough to run a bypass wire from the controller to the engine.

 

[hermosaranch]

Hi Mr. Hemi Head.

Just wanted to follow-up on this thread with some semi-closure. Everything going forward on the current set of problems is solvable at least.

The issue is now confined to the water cooling system, but I'm not fully certain if it's a mechanical issue or an electrical issue. It could be electrical with either a faulty sensor and/or wiring. Or it may be mechanical like a thermostat, water pump, fan circulation, etc. Since the last post almost a month ago, the machine has sat as I was busy doing other things around the property. However, before giving this issue a pause, I noticed that a very small amount of coolant was leaking from the hose clamp where the hose attaches to the water pump. The clamp was loose! So I tightened it down. Fast forward to two days ago, the machine worked all day long, no faults. So I'm thinking that the water sensor was working and picking up on a slight pressure loss under load. This may have caused the SmartFeed to fault since having tightened the hose clamp, the water pressure would hold.

But naturally, the next day, I started getting faults again. I took a thorough look over the engine and saw no leaking water, no leaking oil. I've even tested oil pressure, and it's within spec at various loads and RPMs. What I noticed this time was that after starting the engine, bringing it up to full RPM, after a minute or so of just running, no load, the Oil/Water LED blinks once, quickly, not dim, and then the unit faults. So I just unplugged the water sensor. The feeder works as normal and there's no LED blink, etc.

So, I'm planning to replace the sensor, bypass the existing wire harness and wire it up directly to the SmartFeed unit. This should solve the electrical issue, if this is the problem.

Or I just wait and see if the water pump blows, or I may replace the thermostat if it's faulting and allowed to much pressure to build.

These are easy and cheap fixes.

Thanks again for your input.

 

[mrhemihead]

Hi Mr. Hemi Head.

Just wanted to follow-up on this thread with some semi-closure. Everything going forward on the current set of problems is solvable at least.

The issue is now confined to the water cooling system, but I'm not fully certain if it's a mechanical issue or an electrical issue. It could be electrical with either a faulty sensor and/or wiring. Or it may be mechanical like a thermostat, water pump, fan circulation, etc. Since the last post almost a month ago, the machine has sat as I was busy doing other things around the property. However, before giving this issue a pause, I noticed that a very small amount of coolant was leaking from the hose clamp where the hose attaches to the water pump. The clamp was loose! So I tightened it down. Fast forward to two days ago, the machine worked all day long, no faults. So I'm thinking that the water sensor was working and picking up on a slight pressure loss under load. This may have caused the SmartFeed to fault since having tightened the hose clamp, the water pressure would hold.

But naturally, the next day, I started getting faults again. I took a thorough look over the engine and saw no leaking water, no leaking oil. I've even tested oil pressure, and it's within spec at various loads and RPMs. What I noticed this time was that after starting the engine, bringing it up to full RPM, after a minute or so of just running, no load, the Oil/Water LED blinks once, quickly, not dim, and then the unit faults. So I just unplugged the water sensor. The feeder works as normal and there's no LED blink, etc.

So, I'm planning to replace the sensor, bypass the existing wire harness and wire it up directly to the SmartFeed unit. This should solve the electrical issue, if this is the problem.

Or I just wait and see if the water pump blows, or I may replace the thermostat if it's faulting and allowed to much pressure to build.

These are easy and cheap fixes.

Thanks again for your input.

I just unplugged the water sensor. The feeder works as normal and there's no LED blink, etc.
Thank you, often time there is no feedback which is not helpful to anyone.
This will be helpful for anyone searching the forum in the future.

 

[mrhemihead]

Same here. No CB. I do have inline fuses at 15A each as shown in the diagram. But you're suggesting the inline or CB 30A shown on top left. Might be a good idea.

Question: why test mV AC on the orange? Shouldn't that be 12VDC? Everything else is measuring 12 to 14VDC depending on running status (12.2 on key on, 14.2 when running).

Sorry I just realized there was no response to your question about measuring AC mv. If an alternator is faulty it can generate noise that controllers cannot tolerate. Only way to measure this, without an oscilloscope, is the AC function on a DVM.

 

[desertdude11]

Save the brand rhetoric for the sales room.

To answer the original question with more accuracy:

1) If the e-stop ok LED on the smartfeed controller is lit then: THERE IS NO PROBLEM WITH ANY OF THE E-STOP SWITCHES AND/OR WIRING!

The way the e-stop system works is this:

The controller sends power through the circuit to the normally closed switches on the feed table thigh bar and the top most switch on the directional control bar - if this circuit is complete (no switches tripped and/or faulty) then power is then received back @ the smartfeed controller at a different pin which tells the system that it is alright to feed.

There are 2 switches on the thigh bar. 1 is the normal sensitivity switch and the other is the reduced sensitivity switch.
While running in the normal sensitivity mode the switch on the LH side of the feed table is used by the controller to complete the e-stop circuit
While running in the reduced sensitivity mode the switch on the RH side of the feed table is used and the normal sensitivity switch is excluded.
The upper directional bar e-stop switch is used @ all times in the circuit.

The only other reason for the unit to not feed when this E-stop system is operable (e-stop ok LED lit) is a faulty magnetic p/u on the engine clutch housing. This can be quickly determined by again looking @ the LED's on the smartfeed controller - there should be an LED marked TACH.
@ low engine RPM's it will be dull and @ high RPM's it wil be bright. - if it's not lit @ all then you will have to replace the magnetic RPM sensor.

The smartfeed system is based on engine RPM's - the controller will shut down the infeed rollers @ a specific cut out RPM (for example feed rollers will shut down @ 2100RPM and re-engage @ 2375RPM. This system prevents the engine from bogging down too much when chipping large diameter material.

I hope this points you in the right direction.

****For those of you who have a winch equipped BC1500 there is also a winch interlock switch which is included in the e-stop system, if the winch rope is not secured in the storage loop correctly, then the e-stop system will be triggered as well****

I am having the same problem with my 2014 BC1500.

I just bought it used with about 340 hours on it. Worked fine at the shop. Drove it 500 miles home and the feed wheels won't go forward.

Before I spend a million dollars and untold hours of down time at the not-so-local dealershit, can anyone help me diagnose what may be happening by looking at the fault lights?

Thanks in advance!

 

[mrhemihead]

I am having the same problem with my 2014 BC1500.

I just bought it used with about 340 hours on it. Worked fine at the shop. Drove it 500 miles home and the feed wheels won't go forward.

Before I spend a million dollars and untold hours of down time at the not-so-local dealershit, can anyone help me diagnose what may be happening by looking at the fault lights?

Thanks in advance!

Is the info light flashing with machine set to feed?

 

[desertdude11]

Is the info light flashing with machine set to feed?

I don't think it was flashing.

I'll check again tomorrow and let you know.