Woodchuck chipper problems

[Shquatch]

I purchased a woodchuck (now altec) hyroller 1200 about 6months ago. Chips great when it’s working but it’s consistently had a problem with shutting down randomly while running at high rpm. Typically when I first run it in the morning it will chip for no more than a minute and then shut down randomly. I’ll let it rest for a few minutes and then repeat the process only for it to shut down randomly again. Usually the problem gets better after I’ve done this a few times—often it will run all afternoon without any problems after shutting down 3-4 times in the morning. Does this narrow down the potential cause? Cleaning/replacing the distributer cap seems to help a little. I’ve had the the fuel filter, spark plugs, and coils replaced.
I’m fairly helpless mechanically so I would really appreciate any ideas.

 

[Eq Broker]

If there's a hood/safety switch on the disc housing, I would check it as it might be losing contact which will shut it down. I'm curious, does it shut down while the engine is cold? If not, you might have low voltage, low oil level, or high temp. If it has a Murphy bypass switch, does it pop out after it has shut down? If it does, you have a problem with one of three issues I just mentioned.

Hope this helps!

Dave
Global Equipment Exporters
770-420-6400

 

[Shquatch]

Thanks so much for the reply. It actually only shuts down when it's cold. I'll generally turn it on in the morning, have it randomly shut down, and repeat this process 3-4 times. Then I'll give it 10-20 minutes and after that it often runs well for the rest of the day. With this in mind do you still think one of those issue could be the problem? I've checked the hood/safety switch and everything looks fine on inspection, and it also doesn't make sense to me that that would be the issue since the problem generally goes away after an hour or so of turning it on and off. It also doesn't have a Murphy bypass switch.
Thanks again
-C

If there's a hood/safety switch on the disc housing, I would check it as it might be losing contact which will shut it down. I'm curious, does it shut down while the engine is cold? If not, you might have low voltage, low oil level, or high temp. If it has a Murphy bypass switch, does it pop out after it has shut down? If it does, you have a problem with one of three issues I just mentioned.

Hope this helps!

Dave
Global Equipment Exporters
770-420-640

 

[Eq Broker]

You might want to test the hood switch. I would unplug it and try to start it. Just to see if it works. If it doesn't start, then we know it works. If it's working, I would start the chipper and try shaking the switch to see if there's a bad contact. I would also put a volt meter on the battery. Start it up and the alternator should be putting out 13.5 to 14 volts. You might want to check the ground wire as well.

Hope this helps!

Dave
Global Equipment Exporters
770-420-6400