Case 1825 charge pressure alarm

[Rick@Woodlawn]

Hello, looking for some experience here. We have a Case 1825 w/gas motor. The Charge pressure light/alarm is staying on much longer than normal when cold starting the unit. Once it warms long enough (several minutes) to go off and drive is active it runs fine. The normal warm time even in cold weather 0-20 deg F, is usually only a minute or two. If you move it too soon it will lock the drive for several minutes. We've had it for several years, doesn't see heavy use and seems to only act this way in cold weather. Thanks in advance for any help.

Rick

 

[Rentalstop]

Your hydraulic oil is very thick at cold temps. Hydraulic is not like engine oil 10W30 and similar. Engine oils have lower viscosity at cold temps. This allows them to lubricate the engine quickly even at low temps. The hydraulic charge pressure alarm is basically the pumps are starving for oil. We had this situation year round with one skid loader if you didn't run at least half throttle.
You can first change the hydraulic filter and make sure there aren't additional filers that are hidden. Bobcat has additional filters on their cooling fans. A clogged filter will restrict the flow even more when the hydraulic fluid is cold. You could also ask a case dealer if there is a lighter winter formula for the hydraulics. You could add a plug in block heater to the engine. The engine heat is what eventually heats your hydraulic fluid. Maybe even a plug in heater on the hydraulic reservoir. These are cheap at TSC or maybe online. I have had good luck with the magnetic versions. Your results may vary.

 

[Rick@Woodlawn]

Rentalstop....Thank you for the info. This unit was through a flood this past summer so after a complete go thru on it, the dealer may have put in a thicker hydraulic oil than what was in it previously, Case 10w30 is what they put in it (they gave us a leftover jug of what they used). It does have a block heater on it and we plugged it in over night to see if it will make a difference. We had not ever had to use it in the past. I'll post update when we start it up and see if there's any changes. Thanks.

 

[Rick@Woodlawn]

Rentalstop... The guys fired it up this morning after the having the block heater plugged in all night and said it acted completely normal so you are right and I suppose it's all mostly common sense but it just threw us for a loop when never having this issue in past winters. I'll bet anything the oil that was in it prior to the dealer servicing it this past summer was a lesser viscosity.