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Cat 980k no steering

tbone1471

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Oct 31, 2010
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207
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southeast pa
Cat 980k
W7k00623

The joystick went soft and threw steering cylinder position codes. Then it got hard still with codes. The machine will move slightly either direction if you jerk the joystick fast.

Codes are 2200-14 and 2201-14 for steering position sensors. I have cat et but am not terribly good with it. Any suggestions as to what to look for?
 

Nige

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The floppiness on the joystick sounds weird, almost as if it was/is a hydraulic problem.
When you say the steering control got hard do you mean harder than normal or back to what it normally would feel like..?
I've sent you the Troubleshooting Procedure for the two codes you have, along with the Electrical Schematic (you'll need it). See where that takes you.
 

tbone1471

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southeast pa
The oil level is good. The hydraulics work and the trans will move the machine.

When i say sloppy joystick. I mean it doesnt activate? Like sitting in the machine moving it with the engine turned off. It was harder than normal.
 

tbone1471

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southeast pa
With some help from nige this is how far i have gotten.
Pulling the left sensor plug generates a 2200-3 and both 2200-14 and 2201-14 disappear.

Pulling the right sensor plug generates a 2201-3 and both 2200-14 and 2201-14 disappear.

according to the diag procedure both sensors would be bad in the cylinders. But this doesn't make sense to me. the odds of both failing at the same time should be small.

I had cat out to look at it and they decided the left sensor was the problem but they only pulled the plug on the left sensor and told me I should change both. This to the tune of $800 usd for their diag time. I was told I have to pull the cylinders to replace the sensors and repack the cylinders. parts cost per cylinder 1000 usd and another 600 labor per cylinder.

I don't think the sensors are the issue but I could be wrong.... I'm real hesitant to spend over 3200 usd and it not fix the problem. It just seems to me a wiring problem is much more likely than 2 simultaneous cylinder failures with no indication in the hydraulic system of any other issues. Or a hydraulic oil sample being high in metal. The machine has had samples all of its life.

Anyone have any good ideas on the next step?
 

Mark250

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The joystick went soft and threw steering cylinder position codes
There is a feed back motor in base of joystick that gives feel and positions the joystick in relation to machine articulation angle
Codes are 2200-14 and 2201-14 for steering position sensors
Two ECM's monitor steering fault codes
so if the sensor is faulty the fault code will be repeated twice , but with a different MID number
for example
MID 082 CID 2200 FMI 14
MID 039 CID 2200 FMI 14
if only one ECM is reporting the fault it is a possible wire or connector problem
 

Mark250

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If you Have ET could you do a product status report please and either post or email so I can have a look
if you don't know how to do a report let us know and we can guide you
 

Nige

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To create a Product Status Report
1. Connect to the machine with ET.
2. Click on the "Information" tab of the menu bar at the top of the screen.
3. From the drop-down menu that appears, click on "Product Status Report".
4. You may be given options of the report format. Select something like "Adobe Acrobat" or "Adobe pdf", it makes the report eaiser to read. The options you are presented with will depend to a large extent on what software you have loaded on your laptop.
5. Select where you want the report to be saved. The default location is in a folder in the ET sofware but you can put it anywhere you like, including your desltop.
6. Press Enter.
 

tbone1471

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Location
southeast pa
clean break on one of the shafts. Not sure how that happened but it looks like a new cylinder will be the fix. I'm trying to find a used one cat is a little expensive on this at 4700. Could anyone provide me with the procedure to program the new cylinders?
 

Nige

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clean break on one of the shafts. Not sure how that happened but it looks like a new cylinder will be the fix. I'm trying to find a used one cat is a little expensive on this at 4700. Could anyone provide me with the procedure to program the new cylinders?
$4700 for a complete cylinder doesn't seem expensive to me for a machine of that size. As an alternative why not have the cylinder disassembled and put a new rod ($1450) and a set of seals ($135) in it..?

Regarding programming the cylinder position sensor - Do you have ET..?
 

tbone1471

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Oct 31, 2010
Messages
207
Location
southeast pa
I do have ET.

Cat is worried that the barrel is junk and they are having an issue getting the piston out.

I have found a used for 2500 but I'm concerned that the sensor may not be any good and I'm basically at what cat wants for a new one if it needs replaced.
 

John C.

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I've not heard anything good about those internal sensors on cylinders. When I worked for the local dealer my desk was in the building with the cylinder shop. That guy was busy all the time with those things. They had them in both the wheel loader and excavator lines then and they are probably in everything with a cylinder now.
 

Nige

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New cylinders are here today. Anyone have any luck with a programming procedure?
It appears to be a job for a dealer.
Unless you have a dealer access login to SIS you will not be able to download the trim files necessary to set up the new cylinders. See below.

Perform this procedure when a complete steering articulation cylinder group is installed on the machine. The cylinder position sensor software “trim” files must be downloaded from the Service Information System (SIS) web site and loaded in the Implement ECM. The Caterpillar Electronic Technician (ET) service tool will be used for this procedure.

I hope that the new cylinders you bought have Cat Serial Number tags on them, because the S/N is what's used to locate the Trim File in SIS.

EDIT: I need to correct the statement above. A Customer login to SIS will allow you to download hydraulic Cylinder Trim files. Therefore to do the setup procedure you need to have have BOTH of the following: -

A Customer SIS login.
A Customer version of Cat ET.
 
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