446B Backhoe, won't go into forward or reverse.

[ColoradoGrader]

Backhoe was working fine, no warning indicator lamps, no excessive temps, all normal. Just suddenly would not go into gear. I'm wondering if wiring came loose, or something along those lines. It was at an angle, we have had wiring issues before because of a pack rat that got in behind the control panel. Any ideas? Tech's not available to come down from Pueblo until next week. Sitting on side of hill. Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[robin yates uk]

blame the rat! He is the cause of the breakdown is my bet

 

[bowen]

Backhoe was working fine, no warning indicator lamps, no excessive temps, all normal. Just suddenly would not go into gear... Sitting on side of hill.

I am not familar at all with the Cat backhoe so I may be of no help.
But, how long since you checked the fluid in the transsmssion and can you even check it now on the hill. Any signs of a line busted or fluid lost?
Does this hoe have a clutch solenoid that could be stuck energized?
Can you get underneath to see if the linkage is attached and moving properly at the transmission?

And are you sure it's really in gear plus checking all the gears?
Raise the rear wheels off the ground and see if the wheels will turn at all, even by hand.

 

[spitzair]

Had that problem on a 416B a while back, it was the transmission cutout button on the gearshift lever. I just bypassed it to keep working until the new switch showed up. Might be worth a try... The rat would be near the top of my list of suspects too though...

 

[ColoradoGrader]

Well, we got it back to work. It was a blown fuse. Thanks to the tech support at Denver Cat....He called several times walking me through each step. And yes, the rat had been back under the control panel...more cayenne pepper is on the grocery list...Thanks for all the help guys! I really appreciate it. As I'm taking over the business by myself as of May 1, I'm sure I'll be back on here in the future!