Replace teeth.

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

Adjust idler or replace belt, if necessary. (See Adjust Pickup Drive Belt Idler—Regular Pickup (450M and 550M) in Service—Baler section.)

MegaWide™ Plus Pickup or HC2 Pickup option: Slip clutch worn.

Replace pickup slip clutch. (See your John Deere dealer or qualified service provider.)

Check the pickup slip. (See Check Pickup Torque [MegaWide™ Service—Baler section].)

Compressor rack is too low.

Raise rack. (See Adjust Compressor Rack in Operating the Baler section.)

Gate opening while baling.

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

Oversize bale.

Alarm not working or cannot be heard by operator. Adjust the audible bale size alarm volume and bale size indicator. (See Adjust Audible Alarm Volume in Operating the Baler section or Adjust Bale Size Link for Maximum Bale Size (Oversize Warning) in Service BaleTrak™ Pro and Plus System section.)

Plugging at the crop dividers.

See Plug at Crop Dividers in Pickup Difficulties in this section.

Gate is not closed.

Eject bale. Close gate.

Belts are pinched between the gate roll and the baler axle.

To avoid pinching belts, always operate the PTO at the rated speed during the gate closing cycle.

Adjust upper tension (takeup) arm cylinder. (See Adjust Upper Tension (Takeup) Arm Cylinder in Service—Baler section.)

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

Install spindles in normal position. (See Bale Wet Hay in Operating the Baler section.)

PTO driveline slip clutch is not adjusted properly.

Adjust clutch. (See Adjust Main Drive Slip Clutch in Service—Baler section.)

Wrappage of foreign material on the starter roll.

Remove material.

Large windrows and ground speed is too fast.

Reduce windrow size and reduce speed.

Incorrect belt routing.

Properly route the belts. (See Install Belts in the Service—Baler section.)

Raise the pickup. (See Adjust Pickup Height in Operating the Baler section.)

Dry material flaking off bale collects and blocks feed opening.

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

PTO speed is too fast.

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

MegaWide™ Plus Pickup: Install optional slowdown sprockets.

Regular Pickup: Excessive buildup on top of the 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 the pickup belt is damaged.

Adjust idler or replace belt, if necessary. (See Adjust Pickup Drive Belt Idler—Regular Pickup [450M and 550M] in Service—Baler section.)

MegaWide™ Plus Pickup or HC2 Pickup: Slip clutch worn.

Replace the slip clutch. (See your John Deere dealer or qualified service provider.)

Bale density is too high.

Decrease density. (See Adjust Bale Density in Operating the Baler section.)

Use variable core feature to help start the bale.

Windrows are too small.

Make larger windrows by raking.

Weathered windrows (rained on several times).

Make larger windrows by raking.

Brittle crop breaks into smaller pieces easily.

Bale with dew on crop especially rotary combined straw.

To reduce the density and breakage of crop, use the variable core feature.

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

Make windrow narrower than bale width even with the wide pickup.

Center baler over windrow while starting.

Lower the pickup. (See Adjust Pickup Height in Operating the Baler section.)

450M and 550M: Install Hi-Flotation tires.

Raise the baler. (See Adjust Wheel Spindles in Preparing the Baler section.)

Windrows are 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 Adjust Pickup Drive Belt Idler—Regular Pickup (450M and 550M) in Service—Baler section.)

Slip clutch is worn.

Replace pickup slip clutch. (See your John Deere dealer or qualified service provider.)

Compressor rack too low.

Raise rack. (See Adjust Compressor Rack in Operating the Baler section.)

For the MegaWide™ Plus pickup, disengage the spring for the roller baffle.

For 5’ MegaWide™ Plus balers only, order the Cornstalk Feeding Enhancement kit. (See your John Deere dealer or qualified service provider.)

For the HC2 feed system, add a chain link in-line with the roller baffle float spring to make the roller baffle heavier.

See Bale Long, Stiff, Cane-type Crops in Operating the Baler section.

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

See Bale Long, Stiff, Cane-type Crops in Operating the Baler section.

Compressor rack is too low.

Raise rack. (See Adjust Compressor Rack in Operating the Baler section.)

See Bale Wet Hay in Operating the Baler section.

Adjust or slip the main drive clutch. (See Adjust or Slip Main Drive Slip Clutch in Service—Baler section.)

See Start a Bale in Difficult Conditions in Operating the Baler section.

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