Feeding Difficulties

Baler won't feed hay. Plugged at feed opening.

Missing pickup teeth.

Replace teeth.

Regular Pickup; Pickup drive idler not adjusted properly or pickup belt damaged.

Adjust idler or replace belt, if necessary. (See ADJUSTING PICKUP BELT IDLER in Service-Baler section.)

MEGATOOTH or MegaWide Pickup; Slip clutch worn.

Replace slip clutch. (See your John Deere dealer.)

Compressor rack too low.

Raise rack. (See ADJUSTING COMPRESSOR RACK ASSEMBLY in Operating the Baler section.)

Gate opening while baling.

Check for leaking tension/gate hydraulic cylinders and/or tractor valve. Repair or replace as necessary. (See your John Deere dealer.)

Oversize bale.

Alarm not working or can't be heard by operator. Adjust audible bale size alarm volume and bale size indicator. (See ADJUSTING AUDIBLE BALE SIZE ALARM VOLUME and ADJUSTING BALE SIZE INDICATOR in Operating Baler with BaleTrak Pro System section.)

Plugging at crop dividers.

See "Plugging at crop dividers" in Pickup Difficulties in this section.

Gate not closed.

Eject bale. Close gate.

Belts pinched between gate roll and baler axle.

Always operate PTO at rated speed during gate closing cycle to avoid pinching belts.

Baler too low. Wheel spindles not installed in normal position.

Install spindles in normal position. (See BALING WET HAY in Operating the Baler section.)

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PTO driveline shear bolt sheared.

Replace shear bolt. Use correct grade and length. (See REPLACING MAIN DRIVE SHEAR BOLT in the Service-Baler section.)

PTO driveline slip clutch (if equipped) not adjusted properly.

Adjust clutch. (See ADJUSTING MAIN DRIVE SLIP CLUTCH [IF EQUIPPED] in Service-Baler section.)

Wrappage of foreign material on starter roll.

Remove material.

Large windrows and/or too fast ground speed.

Reduce windrow size and/or reduce speed.

MegaWide pickup; Baler has incorrect hitch installed. (Hitch has a dimple at the bottom to clear slip clutch.)

See your John Deere dealer.

Incorrect belt routing.

Properly route belts. (See INSTALLING BELTS in the Service-Baler section.)

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Baler will not feed short, dry, slick or brittle crops. (Refer to BALING SHORT, DRY, SLICK CROPS in Operating the Baler section.)

Pickup too low.

Raise pickup. (See ADJUSTING PICKUP HEIGHT in Operating the Baler section.)

Dry material flaking off bale collects and blocks feed opening.

Disengage PTO when turning between windrows and when not feeding material.

PTO speed too fast.

Reduce engine speed to 1500 rpm or lower and shift to higher gear.

MEGATOOTH or MegaWide Pickup; Install optional slowdown sprockets.

Excessive buildup on top of compressor rack.

Remove all compressor rods except one center rod and one rod on each end of cross tube.

Regular Pickup; Pickup drive idler not adjusted properly or pickup belt damaged.

Adjust idler or replace belt, if necessary. (See ADJUSTING PICKUP BELT IDLER in Service-Baler section.)

MEGATOOTH or MegaWide Pickup; Slip clutch worn.

Replace slip clutch. (See your John Deere dealer.)

Windrows too small.

Make larger windrows by raking. (See CROP PREPARATION in Operating the Baler section.)

Weathered windrows (rained on several times).

Make larger windrows by raking. (See BALING CORNSTALKS and ADJUSTING PICKUP HEIGHT in Operating the Baler section.)

Brittle crop breaks into smaller pieces easily.

Bale with dew on crop especially rotary combined straw.

Bale fails to start rotating due to one or both sides of window extending outside of bale edge especially in dry bahia grass or coastal bermuda grass.

Make windrow narrower than bale width even with MegaWide pickup.

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Center baler over windrow while starting.

Baler will not feed cornstalks. (Refer to BALING CORNSTALKS in Operating the Baler section.)

Pickup too high.

Lower pickup. (See ADJUSTING PICKUP HEIGHT in Operating the Baler section.)

457 and 557; Install Hi-Flotation tires.

Raise baler. (Refer to ADJUSTING WHEEL SPINDLES in Preparing the Baler section.)

Windrows too large.

Make windrows smaller.

Slow ground speed.

Maintain PTO speed.

Missing or broken pickup teeth.

Replace teeth.

Regular Pickup; Pickup drive idler not adjusted properly or pickup belt damaged.

Adjust idler or replace belt, if necessary. (See ADJUSTING PICKUP BELT IDLER [REGULAR PICKUP] in Service-Baler section.)

Slip clutch worn.

Replace pickup slip clutch. (See your John Deere dealer.)

Compressor rack too low.

Raise rack. (See ADJUSTING COMPRESSOR RACK ASSEMBLY in Operating the Baler section.)

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Baler will not feed long, stiff, cane-type crops. (Refer to BALING LONG, STIFF, CANE-TYPE CROPS in Operating the Baler section.)

Material plugs at pickup and feed opening.

See BALING LONG, STIFF, CANE-TYPE CROPS in Operating the Baler section.

Bale fails to start rotating due to crop wedging into top of starting chamber.

See BALING LONG, STIFF, CANE-TYPE CROPS in Operating the Baler section.

Compressor rack too low.

Raise rack. (See ADJUSTING COMPRESSOR RACK ASSEMBLY in Operating the Baler section.)

Baler will not feed wet hay.

Surface moisture on bottom of windrow.

See BALING WET HAY in Operating the Baler section.

Starter roll chain breaks.

If equipped, PTO driveline slip clutch spring disk too tight or clutch plates seized.

Adjust or slip the main drive clutch. (See ADJUSTING or SLIPPING MAIN DRIVE SLIP CLUTCH (IF EQUIPPED) in Service-Baler section.)

See STARTING A BALE IN DIFFICULT CONDITIONS in Operating the Baler section.

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