Mobile hydraulics

troubleshooting Part 1:
Taking a methodical
approach
FEBRUARY 19, 2016 BY PAUL HENEY

Part 1: Taking a methodical approach is the best way to get off-highway equipment working again,
quickly and safely.

Read Part 2 of this article here.

By Carl Dyke, Contributing Editor

It is inevitable that even a well-designed mobile hydraulic system will malfunction at some point.
There are many reasons why it might happen. Contaminants in the fluid may be interfering with
normal component functions. The machine may have been used beyond its design limits at some
point. Regular maintenance may have been overlooked or a component such as a pump may have
been operated past its expected service life. One component in the system may turn out to be less
durable than expected by the designers. These are just a few of the common reasons for system
faults.

Once a mobile machine is no longer functioning normally, it is common for the next branch of
activities and decisions to become quite abnormal or even suboptimal. In this two-part article, we’ll
look at how a typical troubleshooting cycle might progress from beginning to end, how it might
become quite random and inefficient, and how it is possible to stay organized and on-track.

Operator’s complaints

start after a complaint from the machine operator. The operator may
Troubleshooting will likely
notice that functions have become slow. Maybe it’s the boom lift on a crane, or the bucket curl
function on an excavator. Perhaps winch speed or travel speed has become slow. Another
potential problem is that a cylinder or motor is moving too quickly. These are problems related to
the rate of flow.

Another type of complaint is a problem with lifting the heaviest of normal loads. The cylinder or
motor motion for the lift function stalls completely under these loads. If the machine has hydraulic
propulsion at the wheels or tracks, the equivalent fault would be stalled motion on steeper slopes—
ones that can usually be climbed without difficulty. Instead of a complete motion stall, the issue
might be an uneven, hunting motion at the cylinder or motor. These types of complaints often point
to a problem achieving pressures in the normal, maximum range.

Another range of faults might include one machine function that will not operate at all, or perhaps
the cylinder will move only in one direction. A final example is a hydraulic motor or cylinder that is
creeping or in full motion
when the controls are
placed in neutral/hold
position. These issues
are often thought of as
directional problems.

We have described a
range of faults in three
different categories, any
of which would frustrate a
mobile machine operator
who was expecting a
normal day at work. The
temptation for some
troubleshooters under
downtime pressures
might be to go deeply into
the heart of the hydraulic
system, replacing a pump
or a main valve. That
would be jumping far
ahead in a process that
needs some thought and
care. A methodical
process will usually
consume less time and
will avoid needless
component replacement.

The technician as
investigator
So, how does a
troubleshooter start the process? Start with the operator who filed the complaint. A shop technician
might receive a work order with a simple description of the fault. The complaint may not be
described as clearly as the earlier examples. Hours may have elapsed since the machine was
taken out of service. Find that operator if possible and ask questions.

This is a great time to adopt crime scene investigation skills. You’ll want to ask the operator to
explain the fault. Let the story emerge naturally, but interrupt when you need more specifics, such
as what type of material was being excavated, or whether the load to be lifted was a usual and
normal load. If the operator uses a vague word such as “sluggish” to describe the malfunction, you
will want to ask exactly what is meant by that word. You’ll want to know if the problem just
happened suddenly or were there other symptoms leading up to the fault in the preceding hours or
days. Did the fault occur when the machine was cold at startup, or did the problem only appear
once the system was warmed up? Did the operator notice that the hydraulic system was running
warmer than usual? Ask if the operator can remember anything else out of the ordinary leading up
to the fault. Be patient with this process, listen carefully and take notes.

If the operator reported that his track-driven machine could not climb an uphill grade of
considerable—yet normal—steepness, and then you find a low/high travel speed switch in the cab
set in the high speed position, you might decide to test the machine yourself or call the operator
back to see if perhaps he just overlooked a setting (high-speed travel) that is not meant to work for
steep slopes.
What is happening at this
stage is called confirming
the fault. It is not always
possible for a technician
to do this easily, once a
massive piece of
equipment is parked in
the shop. If possible, visit
the machine on-site soon
after a fault is reported so
that the symptoms can be
witnessed first-hand, and
to have the operator’s
involvement in the testing.
The efficiency of
teamwork and trust is
valuable in this process.

In some situations, the faulted machine has to be repaired at the job site. The failure will be holding
up the progress of work. If, for example, a crane has lowered a load into position on a construction
site but cannot lift the hook (hydraulic winch) after being detached from the load, there may be
psychological pressure on the troubleshooter to work quickly. The same will hold true for a mining
haul truck that is stuck at the dump station with the body hoisted and with no lowering function. A
troubleshooter will most assuredly be asked shortly after arriving: How long will it take? This makes
for challenging working conditions. In this type of situation, it becomes easy to overlook simple
causes for the fault. A troubleshooter must take control of the process and take the time needed to
gather important clues and information.

The reason to take the time to gather clues carefully is because it is difficult to know exactly what is
going on inside hydraulic components at the time of malfunction. Detailed component testing is
time consuming and can be difficult to do safely on-site. Resorting to guesswork component
replacement uses up both time and money. What you are trying to do is to gather as many clues
from the outside of the system as possible. Some of those clues may be subtle.

Initial diagnostics: Look for simple causes first

Most technicians would
agree that it is easier to
test electrical systems
than hydraulic systems.
Safety procedures are still
needed of course, but a
good quality electrical
multimeter can quickly
test the internal values of
most electrical
components at the
exposed wiring terminals.
Testing related electrical
functions on a hydraulic
system is one of the tasks
you’ll want to carry out
sooner rather than later.

Note: In all cases of live

hydraulic and electrical
testing, be sure to follow
all of the machine manufacturer’s safety recommendations. You should already be trained in safe
hydraulic work and testing procedures.

But let’s start with even

easier, simpler tasks. Of
course both operator and
technician must always
be on the lookout for an
external leak. This is the
level of simple
diagnostics at the
beginning of the
troubleshooting process.
Vibrations can cause
some valve solenoid
connectors to work loose.
Noticing a loose
connector or a wire that
has become
disconnected makes for a
short, simple, inexpensive troubleshooting cycle.

If the complaint is numerous slow functions and erratic motions on the machine, and strange pump
noises, a technician may want to check the fluid level in the main hydraulic tank. It might be quite
low, causing serious flow problems when the machine is working on sloped ground. When were the
filters last serviced? Is there a layer of foam on top of the fluid in the tank indicating air ingression?
The spongy, non-positive cylinder motion might just be a clamp on the pump suction hose that has
come loose, allowing a lot of air to be drawn in. If these points seem obvious, then this is just
encouragement not to jump to conclusions too quickly with a decision to change out the pump.
Easy-to-check items and issues are often overlooked by great troubleshooters only because of
psychological pressure from those waiting for the machine to be fixed.

Schematic diagram as battle plan

If there is no obvious external clue to the malfunction as reported and confirmed—and if a
technician has not encountered a particular fault previously—a deeper, more rigorous
troubleshooting process must commence.

Don’t bring out the test gauges and flow meters just yet. It’s now time to make a battle plan. The
schematic diagram is the most useful tool for planning and guiding troubleshooting work.

In the case of an open-loop circuit, there may be a number of parallel flow paths from the tank out
to the pump(s), onward to the directional valves, then to the actuators, and eventually back to the
tank. On any one of those main flow paths, there will be valves and other components in series
(filters, check valves, flow controls, pressure reducing valves), and there will likely be additional
short parallel paths (branches) back to the tank through pressure relief valves.

The schematic diagram is a master flow routing plan, showing the reader where fluid is meant to
flow for the different functions, and at different stages of operation. The whole hydraulic system is
essentially a circuit, with sub-circuits and then components. The component symbols are drawn in
their normal state as though the machine is shut down. A troubleshooter needs to know the
language of the symbols so that she can animate those symbols (for example, shift a directional
valve) in her mind’s eye, and study the circuit and sub-circuit flow paths for different stages of
machine operation.
The schematic also
allows the technician to
think about where fluid
might flow internally,
where or when it should
not be. A piston seal that
fails, or a check valve that
will not close, may create
an internal leak and be
responsible for diverting
some or all of the pump
flow back to the tank. It is
hard to see these
possibilities when just
looking at collections of
hoses, fittings and
components on the
machine. Mobile
machines pack a lot of
hydraulic functions into a
small space, making it
hard to follow and lay out
the machine circuit just by
looking at hoses and the
many strange blocks of
steel that they are
connected to.

Manifolds are large

blocks of aluminum or
steel that may have
components inserted
deep inside, under covers
or a plug. They may also
feature threaded cartridge
valves with part of the
component visible from
the outside. Valves may
also be mounted right on
the surface of the
manifold. In many cases,
manifolds contain all
three types of
components, making a
schematic vital to any real
understanding of the circuit. Sectional valve banks that are common to many mobile machines also
contain a number of additional components in each directional control section.