Slick 60's

No … not the slick
Our “new” grain combine…
Which is about 30 years old …
Think a 1995 vehicle technology
….
Went to start it … won’t make the solenoid click in
Dam safety switch….
Not one or 2 … probably has about 5
Found several and jumpered around them
Nope
….
Screwdriver on starter method got it going
… can’t imagine what a brand new one would be like
…
Did I mention JohnDeere now builds the biggest machine ?
600+ horsepower
Equipped with a header price tag ?
About 1.2 million dollars
…
And to think , a switch the size of a thumb could keep it from starting
Can always call a service truck
I think they are charging almost $200 an hour nowadays

Pat,
I heard that the newer Deere equipment can not be worked on by the owner.You must have a one of their service technicians come fix it…is that true?

I think that is correct
I don’t have any first hand experience with it
…
I will share this story my neighbor told me
….
He leased a new John Deere tractor
He was baling hay at night
The warning lights came on & said it was time to change oil
He only had a few more hours to go & kept on running
About 30 minutes afterwords , his cell phone rang
(This is after midnight)
It was a John Deere tech support
Guy asked him if he knew the change oil had alerted him
He told them yes , but he was finishing a field because it might rain
The guy asked how long he was going to run it
After telling him a few hours
The rep said the service truck would be there in the morning
…..
They can see where your at
How fast the engine rpm is
How fast your travel speed is
The temperature it’s running
Etc. etc. etc.
…
All work has to be done by a service tech
Or warranty is voided

Coming to a car near you...
Along with a service plan you can't bypass when you buy the car...
Also comes with Auto pay straight from your bank account...

Ain't progress GREAT...

Is this your first diesel combine? I didn't they would have made a gasoline combine in 1995. What make and model is it?

Not sure when the last gas combines were
I’d say the 715 last built in 1979 was it for IHC
…
We had a diesel 715
And then I got a 915 diesel about 10 years ago
Bought a pair of 1460s about 5 years ago
Then this 2188 2 years ago

Now that I work for a Komatsu dealer I know what you are saying about the dealer getting notifications on things going wrong. I can look at all newer machines in "my area" and see exactly where they are and whats going on with them. Some days it's a blessing but some days a headache. I'm glad I'm just the parts manager instead of the service manager. He gets 100's of emails concerning machines.