[AT] Tractor update (the rest of the story)

[Greg Hass]

Some time ago I wrote about my brothers tractor. It is a Case-IH front 
wheel assist compact type tractor of a little over 60 hp. It is 
something like JCX or a similar type heading. Because he bought it new 
and because it only has 600 hours on it he always said he was going  to 
keep it up. In late winter he took it in because the 4 wheel drive light 
was always on, the brake warning light was on and the ground speed 
indicator didn't work. A new sensor fixed the 4 wheel drive and 
overfilling the brake reservoir a little turned out the brake warning 
light. They then ran up a $2000 bill trying to fix the ground speed 
indicator. They put in a new sensor and tore apart the whole dash ( this 
tractor has both a cab and a loader ) but found nothing. All they said 
was that where they tested they only got 2 volts instead of twelve and 
that there must be a bad connection in the wiring which would be $3000 
to replace. My brother was not going to spent that much money on it so 
brought it back home. A couple of days later he went to use it and it 
wouldn't move; the engine was running.  The next day the dealer came out 
and said the clutch was out of adjustment and the computer stopped it 
from moving. After adjusting the clutch, it worked around the yard, but 
after filling the corn planter and hooking it to the tractor, the 
tractor again wouldn't move. He unhooked the planter and towed the 
tractor out of the way and put his 40 year old IH 584 on the planter to 
sow. The next day the dealer was out again. I don't know what they did 
but it was "fixed." Again he hooked to the planter, he likes the cab and 
air conditioning, went in to get a drink and came out to a tractor that 
again, wouldn't move. Again he towed it out of the way and used his 584 
to plant ( he ended up planting all his corn and soybeans with the 40 
year old tractor). The fourth trip out, the dealer said their meter said 
the computer was bad; what happened the first three times I don't know, 
and it would be 4 or 5 days to get a new one. He hasn't got the bill yet 
but was told the computer alone was somewhere north of $600. Since being 
fixed he has used it several times for loader work, and guess what, he 
now says everything now works, including the speed sensor; which means 
all his troubles except the four wheel drive light were caused by the 
computer and not the wiring. Which also means the $2000 spent tearing 
out the dash and the purposed $3000 wiring harness were all so much very 
expensive hot air.
           Greg Hass