Help from Vortex owners

[Mikey P]

Its what you call your job when you dont have any hobbies what so ever.

 

[TimP]

You know this is exactly why I don't think I'll be buying a used vortex. I'd love to buy one for my next tm. But the machine looks way over complicated for me. And I'm not one to enjoy fiddling....

 

[Jimbo]

The folks at Aero Tech are VERY Helpful...Ted Mackintosh is a good resource there.

 

[Jim Martin]

You know this is exactly why I don't think I'll be buying a used vortex. I'd love to buy one for my next tm. But the machine looks way over complicated for me. And I'm not one to enjoy fiddling....

once you get to understand it it is one of the easiest machines to work on....change ....tweak..and just rebuild if you want to...It don't matter what type you buy used or not ..they are going to have something wrong some where...It took me a year to learn what I know on the machine and I still could not tell you everything about it..I am still trying to find the throttle control connector Ron was talking about....Plus it is a lot easier to trouble shoot yours while you are standing in front of it then trying to trouble shoot someones over the phone..

there is a few good answers on things to look at.....another thing is the rpms on the UD did you back the throttle cable all the way out while you were testing and jumping everything..The machine will not start with the cable causing the RPM's on the truck to be higher then normal idle...I am still leaning toward the solenoid........test it out just like I explained it to you and it will rule it out once and for all.you said you tested and jumped out everything else that could be breaking the circuit and if you are sure everything else is fine then the solenoid should be getting power...don't give it power...check for power then ground..By giving it power you are not really determining anything because you could still have a bad ground...by checking for power it will tell you a lot....If you check for power and the test light lights up and you are sure the ground is good..then it is the solenoid .if it does not light up and you are sure it has a good ground... then your problem is between the on switch and the solenoid...there really is not to many options here...I remember reading something somewhere that you are not to kill that machine under a full load (?).....If this is true it would of been stupid to put a float in the tank that would kill the entire PTO system because of high water..one would think it would only kill the pump....I just can't see them putting to many things that would shut down the machine under a full load... ????

 

[Bob Foster]

First thing I would do is start with the basics

Open the friggen book - the one I posted probably would work
Go down and look with a trouble light and physically touch everything you looked at in the book to see and locate everything. From that it's not hard to figure out how it works.

Start with the basics. Stuck float? Loose wires?

Go back up and look at the manual and follow the factory trouble shooting guide. Your issues probably will be fixed in an hour or two.

You have to know this stuff just to maintain it properly let alone fix it when it's busted otherwise that thing will drive you crazy.

 

[harryhides]

Perhaps a ride along with Rampage or Rob Allen is what Marty needs. Bet there's a lot of fungicide jobs in Prattville.

 

[gasaxe]

my v is a hydraulic unit so its probably set up different. Im not familiar with the belt drive units. Im assuming that like mine the unit activates the cruise control to increase/decrease the engine speed when the pto is engaged. If this is true then something sounds wierd in that my truck drops to idle when any of the safety sensors are triggered except for low fresh water tank which just kicks out the cat pump. Why would the engine still be "racing" if it was a safety device that deactivated the unit? sounds like possible transmission/pto issues.

 

[Jim Martin]

First thing I would do is start with the basics

Open the friggen book - the one I posted probably would work
Go down and look with a trouble light and physically touch everything you looked at in the book to see and locate everything. From that it's not hard to figure out how it works.

Start with the basics. Stuck float? Loose wires?

Go back up and look at the manual and follow the factory trouble shooting guide. Your issues probably will be fixed in an hour or two.

You have to know this stuff just to maintain it properly let alone fix it when it's busted otherwise that thing will drive you crazy.

Have you seen this book....it is not worth the paper it is written on....I lost count on how many things were different from the electrical drawings....it is more confusing with the book then to just dig in and figure it out....not to mention out of all the 6008 vortex owners I have spoken to the only thing that everyone had in common was a leaky fresh water tank...this is not a cookie cut machine....the basic's are the same but the putting together is different from truck to truck....and it just makes it harder to tell someone where to look ......

 

[captaincarpet]

Odin:

Brian here in Atlanta had TCS build him the big unit with the 59 blower and a #4 little giant, and in the past 6 months since he bought it, He's had around 10 days down time.
He had to have a warped head replaced (twice), both upper and lower pullies replaced, three thottle cables, radiator leak and a few other issues as well.
Give Marty and his truck some slack... he bought used right? The TCS unit was NEW. Just today another even newer machine 48 hrs. (powerclean) had an issue with the (silencer or exhaust heat apparatus) disconnecting from the blower and getting suddenly very loud. I haven't seen it yet, but whatever it is 48 hrs on the machine and its falling apart? Not good.

I Love my AT more every day!

 

[hogjowl]

Thanks Thomas.

Odin is always very mean to me and hurts my feelings unnecessarily.

 

[hogjowl]

After spending all morning dicking around with the electrical possibilities and getting nowhere, Aerotec has now thought about the possibility of it being low on transmission fluid, or the pto filter being blocked. It was low on fluid, and the fluid looked dirty ... big time. I took it to my local tranny dude and they're replacing the fluid and filter. He called me and said there was metal shavings in the pan ... great ...

I'm wasting time now waiting on him to get over having to vote for McCain and get my unit serviced.

 

[Jim Martin]

don't panic real fast on having some metal shavings in the bottom of the pan.......on some of the older cars and trucks they would put magnets on the pans because it is normal to get a little bit of shavings now and then and the magnet would collect them and keep them from flowing back threw the system......

 

[Bob Foster]

 

[clean one]

well looks like i will be staying with my old faithful judson. A AT or V sounds nice but i need something that runs day in and day out.

Sorry you are having troubles with your V get it sucking soon

 

[gasaxe]

After spending all morning dicking around with the electrical possibilities and getting nowhere, Aerotec has now thought about the possibility of it being low on transmission fluid, or the pto filter being blocked. It was low on fluid, and the fluid looked dirty ... big time. I took it to my local tranny dude and they're replacing the fluid and filter. He called me and said there was metal shavings in the pan ... great ...

I'm wasting time now waiting on him to get over having to vote for McCain and get my unit serviced.

if the truck runs and drives ok then i would doubt its a tranny issue other than how the tranny mates to the pto. possibly a gear failure on the pto or on the tranny where it mates to the pto.

 

[Doug Cox]

First thing I would do is start with the basics

Open the friggen book - the one I posted probably would work
Go down and look with a trouble light and physically touch everything you looked at in the book to see and locate everything. From that it's not hard to figure out how it works.

Start with the basics. Stuck float? Loose wires?

Go back up and look at the manual and follow the factory trouble shooting guide. Your issues probably will be fixed in an hour or two.

You have to know this stuff just to maintain it properly let alone fix it when it's busted otherwise that thing will drive you crazy.

Thats easy to say Bob until you have a unit shut down for no apparent reason. I've been dealing with this ame issue for a month or two now on my Powerclean and haven't solved it, and I've replaced every possible part except the computer. Luckily it still gets me through the days.

 

[Cameron1]

After spending all morning dicking around with the electrical possibilities and getting nowhere, Aerotec has now thought about the possibility of it being low on transmission fluid, or the pto filter being blocked. It was low on fluid, and the fluid looked dirty ... big time. I took it to my local tranny dude and they're replacing the fluid and filter. He called me and said there was metal shavings in the pan ... great ...

I'm wasting time now waiting on him to get over having to vote for McCain and get my unit serviced.

I remember one time when I bought a used pick-up.........went straight to the shop for the oil and tranny service, and got the same info about metal shavings in the pan. Then about 30 days later replaced the tranny, and 30 days after that threw a rod.

That's when I got my first adult life lesson.

Good luck Marty.

 

[hogjowl]

Well, filling the transmission fluid didn't do anything to help. Still won't start. I couldn't check the pto filter. I couldn't FIND it. If there is one, it's way up behind the frame betweem the box and ... a bunch of STUFF! It doesn't appear to be a problem with the solenoid either.

I am about ready to drive to Atlanta.

 

[Cameron1]

Marty, I would love to see ya, but I can't help.

 

[adamh]

Have you called Chuck yet? I listened to him everyday talk to people over the phone about their AT built trucks. He is very smart about that stuff. PM me and I will give you his Cell.

 

[hogjowl]

I did call Chuck this morning. He was very nice, but not able to really offer much in the way of different information.

I wonder if it's not a problem with the pto itself, but visual inspection shows no abnormal appearance in the u-joints nor in the allignment of the shaft. Both ends "look" normal and the shaft turns freely with no clanking noise.

If it turns out to be a ground problem, then somebody who knows what their doing is going to have to fix it.

May be Jim will fly to Prattville ... LOL

 

[Shawn Forsythe]

Marty,

With the PTO/On switch engaged, see if you actually have 12 volts at the PTO solenoid. If you have power to the solenoid, then you are fairly sure that no other electrical issue exists other than a bad solenoid valve.

 

[Doug Cox]

Keep your avatar Marty, it looks appropriate.

 

[Vincent Feehan]

I feel your pain, It sucks real bad when TM,s stop working, It is probably something simple to fix.


Good luck

Vince

 

[Jim Martin]

you tested it the way I told you and you are showing power to the PTO solenoid and a good ground but the PTO to come on
the solenoid could very well be bad...you have determined that it is getting the power and has a ground .... I still say this is it..........
the pressure comes from the transmission ..to the solenoid ..the solenoid opens and the pressure starts the PTO.... if it went out or is stuck then all you are hearing is the magnet click......you are showing power every where..unless there is something hidden that I am not aware of then in my mind this has to be it....

the only other thing left it the pressure switch and a quick jumper will solve that one.....it could be stuck and breaking the circuit.....grounds are easy..I can walk you threw it over the phone in no time...

I could be wrong about the pressure thing but it don't matter the solenoid still has to open up

 

[hogjowl]

I have to clean tomorrow, so I may not get to it until Thursday. I'll try to find the pressure switch and call you about jumping it.

 

[BradFenstermaker]

Marty sorry to here your having trouble. Hope you get it fixed quick and easy.

Jim is one smart fellar when it comes to the V's. I think he enjoys disecting them for fun.

Overnite the solenoid or call Ted and he will give you a part number and order one yourself.

I will tell you " Don't shut down the unit with vac hoses connected and running above idle "

Both my lids shot to the roof like rockets. That is the loud noise you probably heard when she first shutdown.

Found a pic of the pto solenoid.

http://www.vortexinfo.com/TechnicalSupp ... fault.aspx

Goodluck Porkbutt

 

[Jim Martin]

I think he turned the shaft so may times by hand .if someone was at the other end of the hose with a wand they could of cleaned some carpet....

 

[TimP]

hook up a bicycle to it with a few of martys favorite people to get it turning....he'll be back in business

 

[hogjowl]

I just called Shawn ...

AND HE HUNG UP ON ME!

That BASTARD!