electronic tractors

Tractor club took some antique tractors to a county fair parade. John Deere brought a new huge front wheel assist tractor. They could not get it started for the parade. After the parade was over saw them bring in a specialist to get it going.
Earlier this year an Auctioneer came to our club to speak. And he was telling us, people were looking for mechanical front assist tractors to be able to maintain themselves and were willing to pay more for them for that option.

There are some out there in the 100+ HP class. Most are from overseas. They aren't green.

Trouble is any tractor made in last 20 years has Electronic stuff and the last 10 years is even worse!!!!!!! And a $100 plus dollar sensor can stop it from moving or shut it off! And the Mice love the wirng on them!!!!!!!!!!

Edited by farmtoybuilder - 14 Jul 2019 at 12:22pm

farmtoybuilder wrote:  we had our D-21 at a parade a few years ago and it quit running!  So it's not only new ones! found Electric fuel solenoid was problem on it!

But you didn't need a computer and proprietary software to troubleshoot it.

My neighbor bought a new green tractor a few years back. He ordered it with extra hydraulic outlets and it was delivered without them. They fixed that for him, but after about a years use, it kept thinking it was over heating and the engine RPM dropped to idle or shut the tractor down. It's his planter tractor and gets used almost daily on the mixer mill. It took them 3 or 4 times having it in the shop before they got it to run when needed.

Stan R wrote: Electronics work great, until they don’t. Used to do a lot of Saturday “under a shady tree” mechanics on cars but now my limits are mufflers and brakes. Cars are just too complicated to try to repair.

I have a scan tool. I've found a bad knock sensor - easily replaced. I've found a misfire - turned out to be a bad valve cover gasket which soaked two spark plug wires. I've found a bad O2 sensor - easily replaced. Now with the new tractors it's a different story. The manufacturer won't even let you have the diagnostic software.

Today's automobiles are built to conform to the OBDII standard. One scan tool will work for just about any car that conforms to that standard. If computers are needed for Tier III and Tier IV conformity, why not do the same for tractors? Because $$ for the servicing dealer, that's why.



Edited by DougS - 15 Jul 2019 at 9:28am

I am a computer guy and we have trouble getting memory and CPUs for some older computers (like 5 years old or more).  Think forward to 30-40 years for some of these tractors and where will the electronic parts come from?  They will be impossible to find and old ones that sit in junks yards won't work either.  The minute the electronics stop working they will be junk.  Of course, most big farmers start over every 5 years anyway.  It is just the little guys that need to stay away from electronics.  Maybe in the future the restored ACs will be worth more than they are now?  Not sure I can last long enough to see the demand tick up though. :-)  We have the same problem with cars.  None of these cars will be worth collecting in the future like they have in the past.  I had a 1990 Buick Reatta that I had to junk after 25 years of owning due to the digital dash going bad and none available.