John Deere 210LE Transmission Issues

[BackWest]

Hi everyone, I'm new to the forum after recently purchasing a 2006 JD 210LE. I bought the machine back in August for misc. work around the house and keeping up on driveway grading. It's been running fine until a couple weeks ago when I started having trouble with the transmission disengaging while grading the driveway in 2nd gear. This is when I also noticed it wouldn't move if I shifted into 1st or 3rd gear (both forward or reverse after previously using 1st gear with no issues). However, I could get it to engage and drive in 2nd and 4th, but it would continue to disengage while driving acting like the transmission fluid was low. I checked the fluid level and confirmed it was low so I bought 5 gallons and finally had some time to mess with it this weekend. After adding a gallon or so of fluid and getting a good level on the dipstick, the machine hasn't been disengaging from 2nd gear while driving, but still no 1st or 3rd gear and it will randomly not engage in 2nd when throwing the lever from neutral to forward or reverse. I'm thinking it may be something electrical, but I'm by no means a mechanic so any advice on where to start would be much appreciated.

 

[mg2361]

Welcome to HEF BackWest!

How about a complete machine serial number, please.

First check that the FNR fuse has good connection and not loose or corroded.

The FNR levers on the "E" series have been very problematic. Open up the the plastic around the steering column. When the issue is happening, backprobe (carefully) Pin "A" (Pink wire) of the 4 pin connector and see if you have voltage there. If not, check the clutch cutout switch and its wiring on the loader lever. Then check pin E (Tan wire) on the 5 pin connector and shift into forward with the park brake released, make sure there is voltage there when you have the issue. If not, then the timer relay is the issue (or it's wiring). Then backprobe the blue wires one at a time in the 5 pin connector. Pin A should have voltage in 1st and 2nd. Pin B should have voltage in 2nd, 3rd and 4th. Pin C, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. Pin D, 3rd and 4th. If the voltages are not correct, then it is an FNR issue. If all checks out, then it is time to move on to pressure checks.

 

[BackWest]

Thanks for the reply! The serial number for the machine is T0210LE885423. It's fairly dark out when I get home from work this time of year so I'll probably have to check voltages this weekend.

 

[BackWest]

We finally had some warmer weather today so I decided to start tearing into the tractor while the turkey was on the Traeger and now have a few questions.

When you say open up the plastic around the steering column, are you talking about the plastic piece the FNR lever is attached to? Or are you taking about pulling the dash panel? I wasn’t sure on that so I just took the dash panel off and checked fuses, then inspected the wiring back there. I found a 4-pin connector that comes out of the FNR and there’s also a 6-pin connector back there, but no 5-pin that I could find. Is that located somewhere else? Here’s a pic of what I found behind the dash:


I did notice that I would get a click sound back there from the relays in any gear when moving the FNR and the ignition on but machine not started. Not sure if that helps with diagnosing the issue. I also reached out to the guy I bought the machine from and he said it could be a solenoid for the transmission, but I’m not sure how/where to check that if it could be a culprit. Any thoughts on that?

My father-in-law is a retired heavy equipment mechanic so I think he’s gonna swing over one of these days and see if he can figure out what’s going on. He hasn’t worked on one of these machines so any suggestions would be much appreciated.

 

[mg2361]

Pull the plastic on the steering column. Is this machine a powershift (4 speeds on the FNR)? Or do you have a 4 speed shifter on the floor?

 

[BackWest]

It’s got the 4 speed shifter on the floor.

 

[mg2361]

Working top down on the 4 pin connector as pictured below:

Terminal "A" (P24A Red wire) - 12 volts when the park brake is released
Terminal "B" (T13 Blue wire) - 12 volts when in reverse
Terminal "C" (T11 blue wire) - 12 volts in forward
Terminal "D" (T12 blue wire) - 12 volts in neutral

These are all checked while backprobing carefully, preferably when the issue is happening. No voltage to any of the blue wires (B and C ) in their respective gears, the FNR is the issue. Loss of voltage to the red wire, then it is a wiring/park brake switch issue.

Since this is a manual shift machine, I would check the buttons (on the shifter and loader levers) and their associated wiring. Any opens in the circuit will cause the trans to quit.

If all checks out electrically, then its time for pressure checks.

 

[BackWest]

So the father-in-law and I ran electrical checks at the FNR connector over the weekend and it all seems to be working properly. We did notice that terminal A had 12 volts regardless of whether the parking brake was on or off. Not sure if that matters?

He wanted to check solenoids and tear into the shift lever housing so we started taking it apart. We noticed that when the upper part of the shift lever was removed, we couldn't get the machine to move in any gear (even when using our feet kicking/pushing it forward into 2nd/4th while sitting on the seat). Once we installed the upper part of the lever and replaced the floor panels, etc., we could then get the machine to work as it was before (2nd and 4th gear only). However, sometimes it will not move in 2nd without popping in/out of gear and then pushing the lever forward harder than what I would consider normal. Could there be something mechanical in the housing that would prevent it from shifting into 1st and 3rd? Or should we move onto pressure checks? I noticed it doesn't quite feel the same when shifting into 1st/3rd as it does in 2nd/4th, but that may be my head playing tricks on me knowing those gears aren't working. The father-in-law thinks it might be something in the housing so we're probably going to move the machine over to his shop so we can work on it out of the weather.

FYI, I also bought the operation/test/repair manuals online so we can reference those if need be.

 

[mg2361]

sometimes it will not move in 2nd without popping in/out of gear and then pushing the lever forward harder than what I would consider normal.

So, what you are saying is, the manual shift lever pops out of gear? If that is the case, then we are running down the wrong rabbit hole. Would like to have known that detail from the beginning.

 

[BackWest]

No, sorry for the confusion. I have to move the manual shifter in/out of 2nd gear to get it to engage sometimes. The manual shifter does not pop itself out of gear. The shifter remains in whatever gear I select, it just will not engage when moving the FNR lever.

 

[mg2361]

When it is working, does it have plenty of pushing power?

Did you check the clutch disconnect switches and their wiring? Maybe in 2/4 it makes connection and in 1/3 the circuit is open. I suspect either a bad switch or a break in the wiring somewhere.

 

[BackWest]

Yes, it seems to run fine with normal power when in 2nd gear. The disconnect switches on the shifter and loader lever seemed to work fine in 2nd/4th gear so we did not do any more checks on them. If there is another circuit for 1st/3rd, then I suppose that could be an issue, but then I still have an issue with the machine engaging every once in a while when in 2nd. Would you suggest just running continuity tests on them in 1st/3rd? Or should I be looking for voltage somewhere in the transmission wiring when the issue is happening?

 

[mg2361]

it seems to run fine with normal power when in 2nd gear.

I still think your issue is electrical.

If there is another circuit for 1st/3rd

The electrical circuits to move the machine in forward or reverse in any gear are the same.

Would you suggest just running continuity tests on them in 1st/3rd?

Yes

If there is another circuit for 1st/3rd, then I suppose that could be an issue,

The circuit for the clutch disconnect is the same for all gears. The issue may be one of the wires may be broken and when the shifter is moved into 1st/3rd the wire break opens up, causing loss of drive. Maybe it makes contact in 2nd/4th. Don't rule out the switch and wiring in the loader lever either. Have to eliminate the simple stuff before moving on to the more complicated stuff.

 

[BackWest]

I was able to find detailed test info for the park brake/neutral disconnect circuit in the manual I just bought so I'll run through that to see if I can find any issues. Looks like it'll allow me to check solenoids, switches, and wiring harnesses.