Need help with problem???

[dougger222]

I've got a 1999 Western 8.5ft Pro Plow and there seems go be some problems with it. I purchased the plow used three years ago and I've used it for my personal driveway but the previous owner used it for some serious business use one year and one year lightly. He took it off his 99 F250 PSD and I put it on my 99 F250 PSD. It worked good the first year of use.
So here's the problem. Last winter I used the plow three times. On one ocasion the plow didn't seem to want to move. It would go down but not up or to the sides. If I whent out and banged on the sylinoid it would work. One month ago this happend again, this time it only worked if I had a screw driver on the two large posts on the sylinoid. I then replaced the sylinoid and it worked fine for two uses and now it's doing the same thing again. Could my ground be bad? I would rather not take the truck and plow in for service as I make $0 from the plow.

Any ideas???

[wyldman]

The solenoid could be bad again,did you use a good quality part ? Check for power and ground on the small wires at the solenoid.Also check the grill connectors for bad connections.

If the solenoid is bad,double check the cable,motor,pump,and fluid to make sure there isn't something drawing excessive power,and taking out the solenoids.

[dougger222]

I used a Western solenoid. If my fluid is low could this be part of the problem?

[gvlawncare]

Does the pump make any noise when you try to move it? If it whines, then yes your fluid may be low.

[dougger222]

Yes, it makes a little noise from time to time. On some ocasions the plow moves pretty slow. I've got the fluid and the owners manual and I just need to do it. How many quarts does it take to fill it?
More than likely is my selonoid shot again? Should there be a fuse in line by the selonoid so the fuse will blow and not the selonoid?

[wyldman]

Pump should hold about 1 3/4 quarts,the whole system takes 2 3/8 quarts.

I use synthetic ATF,it works better in the cold.

There is no fuse to protect the solenoid.What kills them is excessive motor current.It wouldn't hurt to do an amp draw test on the motor,after you change the fluid.It could have just been another bad solenoid too.

[dougger222]

What may have busted the selonoid was when I was loading up my ice fishing gear the plow was up in the air and the control was on and my fishing pole containter bumped the switch to the up position. It must have been on for a couple minutes because when I walked by the door I could hear what sounded like a belt on the truck making noise. Then I walked to the front of the plow and noted it was the plow. I guess it was a good 2 minutes of constant up.
Could this have blown the selonoid?
Is it hard to change the fluid? I was going to try it last year but couldn't figure out which plugs were drain and fill. I bought -25 hydrolic plow fluid. Is synthetic ATF fluid better then? Were supposed to be getting more snow Thursday-Friday it would be nice to not have to use the ATV with the tiny 48 inch blade!

[wyldman]

That easily could have done it.Be careful installing it too,as spinning the mounting studs may weaken the connections internally,and cause premature failure.

The fluid change isn't hard.You just pull the drain plug on the bottom of the case,and then refill through the fill hole (pass side top,beside the motor),until the fluid is just below the hole.Some units have a fluid level plug,located in the drivers side front.Fill it until fluid starts to trickle out that hole.It gets a little more involved if you want to flush it.

The -25 fluid should work fine.Make sure the lift ram is fully compressed when checking the fluid level too.

[dougger222]

Some people have told me that the selonoid needs to be mounted up and down. Both selonoids have been mounted to the inside fender sideways.
This sounds like it could be the problems as well?
Does Western sell a bracket to mount the selonoid or would one have to be fabricated?
I've got some 12 inch snow drifts and I need to get the darn thing working again!
BTW, thanks for all the help!

[wyldman]

The orientation of the solenoid does not matter,it can be mounted just about anywhere.Shouldn't need a bracket for it,just mount it with the base.It can be mounted to anything,as it does not need to be grounded,it uses a remote ground.