Pickup Difficulties

Pickup teeth do not revolve.

Feed opening plugged with crop.

Reduce ground speed and/or windrow size.

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™ Plus Pickup; Slip clutch worn.

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

Starter roll or pickup drive chain broken or missing.

Repair or replace. (See your John Deere dealer.)

Broken cam and/or other internal pickup parts.

Check for failed or worn cam and/or internal parts. Repair or replace as necessary. (See your John Deere dealer.)

Pickup will not float or drop freely.

Excess or insufficient float assist.

Adjust pickup float springs. (See procedure in Service-Baler section.)

Binding between flare and end strippers.

Remove chaff and dirt. Straighten any bent parts.

Regular Pickup; Install gauge wheels to improve ground gauging.

If equipped with gauge wheels; Crop or mud buildup between flare pivot plate and pickup gauge wheel arm.

Replace flare pivot plate. (See your John Deere dealer.)

MegaTooth is a trademark of Deere & Company

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Not picking up hay cleanly.

Pickup teeth set too high.

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

Too much float spring tension, causing pickup to bounce or stay up.

Reduce float spring tension. (See ADJUSTING PICKUP FLOAT SPRINGS in Service-Baler section.)

Damaged crop dividers and/or stripper, causing pickup to stay up.

Straighten or replace damaged parts. (See your John Deere dealer.)

Ground speed too fast.

Reduce ground speed.

Windrows too light.

Rake heavier windrows.

Pickup teeth bent or broken.

Straighten or replace teeth. (See your John Deere dealer.)

Baler too high.

Lower baler. (See ADJUSTING WHEEL SPINDLES in Preparing the Baler section.)

Light crop rolls forward instead of picking up.

Rake heavy windrows if possible. Operate baler at 1/2 to 2/3 normal rpm, and shift tractor to higher gear to maintain desired ground speed.

MEGATOOTH™; Install speed reduction sprocket at slip clutch.

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

Overcrowding ends.

Reduce crowding. Install converging wheels if not equipped (regular or MEGATOOTH only).

Tractor tires smashing crop into stubble.

Widen wheel spacing. (See ADJUSTING TRACTOR WHEELS in Preparing the Tractor section.)

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Pickup teeth digging in ground.

Pickup set too low.

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

Gauge wheels (if equipped) are set too high relative to teeth.

Adjust gauge wheels. (See procedure in Operating the Baler section.)

Poor pickup flotation.

Increase float spring tension. Check pivots. (See ADJUSTING PICKUP FLOAT SPRINGS in Service-Baler section.)

Soft ground. Pickup won't raise high enough.

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

Turn tractor drawbar over. (See ADJUSTING THE DRAWBAR in Preparing the Tractor section.)

468 and 568; Install Hi-flotation tires.

Rough terrain.

Regular or MegaWide (468 and 468S) Pickup; Install gauge wheels.

Pickup teeth contact starter roll.

Pickup raised too high.

MegaTooth ™ and Regular Pickup; Adjust upstop bracket inward so tab does not align with slot in end stripper. Repeat for other side.

MegaTooth is a trademark of Deere & Company

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Pickup teeth bent or broken.

Pickup set too low.

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

Adjust gauge wheels (if equipped). (See ADJUSTING GAUGE WHEELS in Operating the Baler section.)

Foreign material inside pickup strippers and/or broken teeth.

Remove material and/or replace teeth.

Baling cornstalks.

Raise pickup. Higher tooth breakage can be expected. (See BALING CORNSTALKS in Operating the Baler section.)

Operating twine arms with pickup in transport position.

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

Pickup too high with baler in lowered position.

Wheel spindles installed upside down.

Install spindles in correct position. (See WHEEL SPINDLE POSITIONS in Preparing the Baler section.)

Baler height too high for crop condition.

Adjust baler to lower position on spindles. (See WHEEL SPINDLE POSITIONS in Preparing the Baler section.)

Plugging at crop dividers.

Overcrowding ends.

Reduce crowding. Install gathering wheels. (See Attachments section.)

Pickup set too low.

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

Tractor tires smashing crop into stubble.

Widen wheel spacing. (See ADJUSTING TRACTOR WHEELS in Preparing the Tractor section.)

Pivoting crop divider overlaps (shingles) stationary end stripper on the wrong side.

Straighten pivoting crop divider as needed to give proper overlap (shingle). Front crop dividers should be inside end stripper panel.

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Inside of strippers worn.

Strippers bent up hitting tooth coils.

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

Check for binding at crop dividers.

Increase float. (See ADJUSTING PICKUP FLOAT SPRINGS in Service-Baler section.)

Regular or MegaWide (468 and 468S) Pickup; Install gauge wheels. (See Attachments section.)

Bend strippers down for clearance and check tooth coils on pickup teeth for damage.

Pickup cam bearings fail too quickly.

Operating 540 rpm baler with 1000 rpm PTO input speed. (540 rpm gear case has larger quill pointing to left-hand side of baler.)

With tachometer, verify gear case output shaft speed is approximately 729 rpm when tractor is operating baler at PTO rpm. (See your John Deere dealer.)

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