new holland tx68 header

[jhorr30]

got a problem with our tx68 combine header.
trying to cut winter barley that has been rounduped for 3 weeks and battered to the ground with the rain we have had in the lothians since.
one side of the header intermittently is lifting up on its own and going above the crop. the other side is going down on it own at the same time. if you sit in the same spot when it happens it will correct itself. sometimes it starts jumping up and down like a demented rave dancer.
Have swapped the ultra sonic height sensors side for side and the problem is exactly the same. The dealer has recalibrated the header controls and it has made no difference.
a total ball ache trying to cut the crop on the deck using manual control to follow the ground contours. another 60 acres of wet ground, flat crop and undulating steep ground will drive me crazy. baler driver won't be best pleased either!
any ideas of what else to look for?

 

[Tomj]

It would be worth checking out your alternator. Make sure it's 100% good I've seen them cause a lot of strange problems on tx's.

 

[jhorr30]

was working perfect yesterday. put the header on this morning and its gone wrong.
will check the alternator in the morning.

 

[Shutesy]

All electrical connections between the header and the combine (where you take it on and off) as clean as possible? Give them a blast with some electrical cleaner?

 

[jhorr30]

checked all of them I think.

 

[Shutesy]

checked all of them I think.

Any other loose connections on the header, damaged wire possibly? Probably scraping the barrel here but I wouldn't fancy 60 acres of flat barley in the damp with a header misbehaving like that!

 

[jhorr30]

no damage that we can see anywhere.

 

[Lincsman]

You could run it on pressure control instead.

 

[KennyO]

@jhorr30 ours used to do it a bit. Mechanic said most likely the plug connections. He wired on a new multi plug and socket (the small pin one) at winter service. Seems to have sorted it out for now. He got the plug from electrical factors not NH.

 

[quattro]

Try the height limit switch? At top of elevator housing/trunk seem to remember a68 we had did strange things once
Or like others have said plug/socket I've got anew plug here (one you twist)

 

[jhorr30]

will try them both.

 

[KJM]

On our CX, which may be similar, it was the plug for the leveling sensor on the header(header end). It looks clean when you open the plug, the dirt was in the back of the plug below the plastic boot. You can get the terminals out with a bit of wire and clean them properly.

 

[Rob Holmes]

Check potentiometer on side of feeder housing as these can fail, i've just had to replace ours.

 

[Rabbit]

Is there any error codes of flashing red lights showing up?

 

[jhorr30]

I think we unplugged a sensor from the header when it was acting faulty. no error code until we unplugged it. think it was 3 flashes then 2

 

[KennyO]

Careful playing with the potentiometer on trunking. I'm sure i read on here of a mechanic getting swashed will trying to adjust a faulty one.

 

[Vernon]

I've had that occasionally if the header float skid decides to latch itself back up one side. Usually happens first time round the field against the hedge if it's going to.
Vernon

 

[Rabbit]

I think we unplugged a sensor from the header when it was acting faulty. no error code until we unplugged it. think it was 3 flashes then 2

Unusual that no error code when it's acting up..

 

[jhorr30]

have tried it again today. turned the brackets for the sensors upside down to give them another 5 or 6 cm height above the skids as it only seems to be a problem when you are trying to shave the ground. tried it this afternoon and managed to cut 2 grain tankfull's before the torrential rain started again. rain is getting beyond tedious now but it seems as if moving the sensors has cured the problem.

 

[Spotty Dog]

As previously mentioned do be very careful if attempting to adjust the sensor on the throat elevator trunking, a man local to me was indeed killed doing this once.