X540 Annoying Features

badgerland01 · Apr 24, 2013

jamesfr said:
thanks guys I'm good to go. Well I don't have small kids and I know what is going on around me. JD gives you the option to override the IRO so why put it on the machine at all? To me shutting off the deck is with full brake engagement is mindless. I have no problem with the seat switch and would not mess with it.

I understand this forum not allowing discussion on overriding so called safety features for obvious liability reasons. But this is personal choice and i don't need education from those that are so called California style safety experts.

This is my first experience with JD products below a sub contract tractor and will be my last. My son and i own a tree service company with a lot of equipment including a JD skid steer and a 3720 tractor and we'll be looking at other brands in the future... Finally, for what you pay for their equipment their service is garbage... Maybe Mihindra?

I agree with you. I mowed with my FIL's x300 and it was very annoying. I think JD is trying to get rich off of selling belts and pto clutches. My x485 has all of the safeties bypassed and that is the only way I will ever use it. No offense to those of you who feel these are necessary, but it made mowing a PITA.

donmac · Apr 24, 2013

no offence to anybody,but if your not smarter than the tractor you shouldn't be on it!:sidelaugh

littletractorguy · Apr 24, 2013

So, just a couple of things to note here...

1) We're straying into the pointless bashing of legally required safety features, and likely offending members who have a significant personal interest in the functioning of said safety features....

2) Brand bashing is not one of the things that is tolerated here at MTF. Any brand.

Just some points for you all to ponder.... Not closing anything down, but we ARE keeping an eye on things...

mrbeef · Apr 24, 2013

badgerland01 said:
I agree with you. I mowed with my FIL's x300 and it was very annoying. I think JD is trying to get rich off of selling belts and pto clutches. My x485 has all of the safeties bypassed and that is the only way I will ever use it. No offense to those of you who feel these are necessary, but it made mowing a PITA.

donmac said:
no offence to anybody,but if your not smarter than the tractor you shouldn't be on it!:sidelaugh

Trust me its not about smarts. I think I am qualified to throw that out there.

But I will defend safety switches. Sure they are an absolutely PITA sometimes but they are there for accidents. Not to keep those with less mental faculties safe from themselves.

Personal example: I was using a centrifuge at work. Spinning some samples at 30,000 times gravity. The lid popped open on the centrifuge.... I was standing about 2 feet away. Do you have any idea what a 30 lb chuck of high grade steel spinning in excess of 20,000 RPM looks like and sounds like? The safety switch triggered and it still took over a minute to completely stop.... Turns out a little piece of plastic broke allowing the lid to pop open. I did not do anything wrong, I was not operating the centrifuge irresponsibly, it was an accident plain and simple. Had the switch not been there I would have had to stand over the spinning rotor to shut it off.

Google image search of centrifuge accidents

Sergeant · Apr 24, 2013

jamesfr said:
Finally, for what you pay for their equipment their service is garbage... Maybe Mihindra?

Well your entitled to your Opinion. I have Never Had a Problem with service From My Dealer. Guess You must have a Bad dealer:thThumbsU

jar19800 · Apr 24, 2013

my two ( and a half LOL) cents here we do tragically live in an incredibly litigious society these days. lets say 1 in 100,000 operators is an irresponsible arse. and he lops off a foot or God forbid kills someone with his machine. this is the kind of thing which could bankrupt a company. meaning NONE of us could buy new machines, parts, accessories, tee shirts or anything else associated with the brand.

the lawyer switches are not there to make us suffer (sometimes PITA but GET OVER IT) but to make us safer. no company WANTS to make a machine which will injure or kill someone. they want us to enjoy their stuff (whatever brand) and keep coming back. the post about the PTO shutting down when engaging the parking Brake, well, if you have weakly ankles; and your ankle rolls wrong, guess what, your Deck Ate Your Foot:thSick:

lets say your side chute clogs. your reach to clean it our and your hiny comes off the seat and motor kills. you might have saved your hand.

i have a new sears and the safeties keep me aware i am an on a machine which can KILL. i have RIO overrides on the machine provided by factory but the manual strongly advises against using it.

this JD in question might be ailing, get it checked. if you dont like the closest dealer write emails to HQ and find another dealer.

dont override the safeties. they are really there to help. case in point my newly acquired JD318 has all the safeties overridden. if one does not set the brake it will sometime start to move ALL BY ITSELF! the safeties on my Sears have actually helped me to be a better/smarter operator on my JD by force of habit.

pchansen · Apr 24, 2013

And now for something completely different.... the X540's mow quality especially when mowing on a slope.
I've owned my X540 for about 5 years now and have never been quite satisfied with the tractor's ability to maintain a level cut when mowing on a hill. I've been through all the steps on how to properly level the deck. The deck wants to "dive" into the low side when mowing a hill sideways. The gauge wheels are set at about a half inch above the ground on a flat surface but will still dig in and gouge the grass if I turn too sharply. The right draft or lift arm is adjusted to it highest position to account for the blower assembly weight and the left side is adjusted to it's midpoint. The blade height is still 1/2" lower than what the adjustment knob indicates and I can't get the blade height to match because I'm out of of adjustment on the right draft arm. Drives me nuts! I wish the gauge wheels would caster and be weight bearing. I'd set the mowing height by the pins on the gauge wheels and just use the draft arms to raise the deck to the transport position....if I could.

mark777 · Apr 24, 2013

littletractorguy said:
So, just a couple of things to note here...

1) We're straying into the pointless bashing of legally required safety features, and likely offending members who have a significant personal interest in the functioning of said safety features....

2) Brand bashing is not one of the things that is tolerated here at MTF. Any brand.

Just some points for you all to ponder.... Not closing anything down, but we ARE keeping an eye on things...

Gentleman, It would be a real shame if littletractorguy decides to shut this thing down and closes the thread.

badgerland01 · Apr 24, 2013

jar19800 said:
the post about the PTO shutting down when engaging the parking Brake, well, if you have weakly ankles; and your ankle rolls wrong, guess what, your Deck Ate Your Foot:thSick:

lets say your side chute clogs. your reach to clean it our and your hiny comes off the seat and motor kills. you might have saved your hand.

-When mowing my FIL's extremely hilly yard with the x300, I couldn't lean off the seat to counter weight the high side of the mower. I had to stay centered on the seat to keep it running and risk rolling over. That in no way felt safe.
-If you clean out a clogged chute on a running mower deck with your hand, you are asking for trouble. Shouldn't need a safety switch to tell you there is something wrong with that situation.
-Not sure I can agree with you on the "weak ankle=blended foot" situation either. That seems pretty far fetched.

Harryc · Apr 24, 2013

badgerland01 said:
-When mowing my FIL's extremely hilly yard with the x300, I couldn't lean off the seat to counter weight the high side of the mower. I had to stay centered on the seat to keep it running and risk rolling over.

Just an observation here, but if the hill is so steep that you almost have to sit on the side of the tractor to maintain control then you have no business mowing that area with that machine.

badgerland01 · Apr 24, 2013

Harryc said:
Just an observation here, but if the hill is so steep that you almost have to sit on the side of the tractor to maintain control then you have no business mowing that area with that machine.

-It is fine if you can sit on the side of the seat or onto the fender. Have you never mowed a ditch? He has a hilly yard and an x300, what choice did I have?

donmac · Apr 24, 2013

donmac said:
no offence to anybody,but if your not smarter than the tractor you shouldn't be on it!:sidelaugh

This was a response to an ambulance call on my street where a person was wedged between two trees and trapped on the machine earlier this week!A couple more of these incidents and we'll all have proximity safeties too,although some people need them!
Just because you know how to start one doesn't mean you should be operating it!

Harryc · Apr 24, 2013

badgerland01 said:
-It is fine if you can sit on the side of the seat or onto the fender. Have you never mowed a ditch? He has a hilly yard and an x300, what choice did I have?

Don't know how to respond to this...I am speechless.

donmac · Apr 24, 2013

that's why I have this! it's great when the deck or tractor gets hung up in the ditch! I got stuck once and it doesn't bother me now!

mrbeef · Apr 24, 2013

badgerland01 said:
-It is fine if you can sit on the side of the seat or onto the fender. Have you never mowed a ditch? He has a hilly yard and an x300, what choice did I have?

Since like Harry I was a bit speechless at first, but I have regained a little composure.

Your statement is exactly why there are more safety features. Sitting on the fender is an accident waiting to happen.

I would highly encourage the use of a string trimmer on that hill or ditch.

Mach-1 · Apr 24, 2013

There seems to have been a lot of RIO threads lately. Here's my take on the subject:

1. RIO is only a safety device when it is allowed to do it's job and disengage the mowing deck while backing. When you lift the handle to back up, RIO becomes a liability transfer device, not a safety device.

2. There is no difference between lifting the handle to back up, or bypassing the device altogether, because the net effect is the same. By doing either, you've accepted the risk of mowing while backing, and made the personal choice to do so.

That's my 2 cents on the subject, I don't know what else to say about it!

Harryc · Apr 24, 2013

Mach-1 said:
...When you lift the handle to back up, RIO becomes a liability transfer device, not a safety device.

2. There is no difference between lifting the handle to back up, or bypassing the device altogether

The difference to me is that by forcing the operator to lift that RIO switch up you are also forcing him to think about...OK now I am backing up with the blades engaged. It works that way for me, but I can only speak from my experience. I don't mind the reminder or the slight inconvenience. I think we can all agree that mowing can be entrancing in that the operator can zone out ... a reminder is not such a bad thing while you are zoning out if it can save someone or thing from injury. I really can't back-up with spinning blades without thinking about it with an RIO switch in the way.

Sergeant · Apr 25, 2013

While I have No problems with the safety devices On any machine I own Except for My White GT2055 Because I can only lower the Kwik-way Loader when Backing because the White Doesn't Have a Interrupt switch and the Loader In run by a Pump off the front PTO shaft. But Hey on my X485 all I do is Pull Up and Back and a way I go. I have had the X485 for 10 years and it’s second Nature to me

But anyways Just want to say a Little something about the JD dealer where My Younger Brother Runs the service and Parts Dept. If a Customer Bring in a machine for service and the switches are Bypassed. They Have to Put them Back In to fully functioning before they Can be given Back to the Customer. The Ownership of the dealership is very adamant about the service shop doing that Mostly for Liability issues.

Now from are founding in 2005 we are Rather adamant You don't discuss how to bypass it Under the Publics View and so Far Your all doing a Good Job Thank You:thThumbsU

MowJoe · Apr 25, 2013

pchansen said:
And now for something completely different.... the X540's mow quality especially when mowing on a slope.
I've owned my X540 for about 5 years now and have never been quite satisfied with the tractor's ability to maintain a level cut when mowing on a hill. I've been through all the steps on how to properly level the deck. The deck wants to "dive" into the low side when mowing a hill sideways. The gauge wheels are set at about a half inch above the ground on a flat surface but will still dig in and gouge the grass if I turn too sharply. The right draft or lift arm is adjusted to it highest position to account for the blower assembly weight and the left side is adjusted to it's midpoint. The blade height is still 1/2" lower than what the adjustment knob indicates and I can't get the blade height to match because I'm out of of adjustment on the right draft arm. Drives me nuts! I wish the gauge wheels would caster and be weight bearing. I'd set the mowing height by the pins on the gauge wheels and just use the draft arms to raise the deck to the transport position....if I could.

I agree and have actually used my deck wheels as weight bearing on my x500. I do not have a completely flat yard and the occasional scalping kills my OCD tendencies. I find that the only way to cure the problem is to fix the deck wheels to rolls on the ground at your desired deck height adjustment.

Sent from the MTF Free App

Stratkat · Apr 25, 2013

mrbeef said:
Since like Harry I was a bit speechless at first, but I have regained a little composure.

Your statement is exactly why there are more safety features. Sitting on the fender is an accident waiting to happen.

I would highly encourage the use of a string trimmer on that hill or ditch.

**** i used to do that all the time on our old 110 as a kid, in fact my dad taught me so it wouldnt rollover! (it does help to an extent - sailboat people do it all the time so do motorcycle side car guys for a reason), not the smartest thing to do mind you.
apparently it was so ingrained in me, and this being my first tractor since riding the 110 18 yrs ago, that i did it automatically on my own yard only to have the tractor shut down, lol!

the thing about the RIO is that before we had it i still would look over my shoulder to back up. its not that thats going to prevent anything because if we are honest with ourselves for a minute, its just as easy to get in the habit of pulling on the switch and backing up without looking as it is without it, right? you dont do that with your car (i hope!) do you?
we still have to use common sense with anything we do in life, and its sad that we need a switch to remind us.

X540 Annoying Features

badgerland01

donmac

littletractorguy

mrbeef

Sergeant

jar19800

pchansen

mark777

badgerland01

Harryc

badgerland01

donmac

Harryc

donmac

mrbeef

Mach-1

Harryc

Sergeant

MowJoe

Stratkat

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