# NEED HELP! !! Vermeer 1400 shuts down while running



## builttoughf350 (Mar 6, 2008)

hey everyone my brother has a Vermeer 1400 with about 300 + hours on it. 2 years old.

last fall it started popping the red 10 amp fuse, the thats on the right side in the middle of the fuse panel in the engine compartment. 

sometimes it pops when the autofeed kicks into reverse, sometimes it pops immediately as soon as it starts pulling stuff into the chipper. it is very hard to predict, sometimes it will blow out 12 fuses in a day, but it went 3 months without any problems. just started blowing fuses again the other day. 

when you are chipping, and it blows the fuse, what happens is the engine just plain shuts down from full RPM. you just hear the engine stall out. 


i am freaking out because i have a $4,200 tree job to do tomorrow which we CANT do without the chipper- and my brother wont get off his ^$$ to figure out whats wrong with it. 

does anyone know what the problem could be? or how to over ride whatever is causing the problem? ???????

i read the lower thread about the brush bandit doing the same thing, but, this is a Vermeer so it may be a totally different situation

please help !!


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## ropensaddle (Mar 6, 2008)

builttoughf350 said:


> hey everyone my brother has a Vermeer 1400 with about 300 + hours on it. 2 years old.
> 
> last fall it started popping the red 10 amp fuse, the thats on the right side in the middle of the fuse panel in the engine compartment.
> 
> ...


They have safeguards in place low oil pressure shutdown,low coolant etc.
It may even have some type of hydraulic pressure shutdown! Check all those areas change hydraulic filters and check wires for chaffing! We had one chipper that did what you mention; that was caused by the brain box getting moisture in it. A hairdryer actually saved the day! I would look for the cause before attempting a bypass surgery!


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## builttoughf350 (Mar 6, 2008)

ropensaddle- thanks for the reply- i will keep the hair dryer in mind for the brain box if it keeps doing it tomorrow. 

i have called the vermeer dealership 3-4 times now since it started doing this last fall, they say they have no clue. the shop manager there is going to do some checking around and call me back. maybe someone else had the same problem and can save us some trouble shooting


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## ropensaddle (Mar 6, 2008)

builttoughf350 said:


> ropensaddle- thanks for the reply- i will keep the hair dryer in mind for the brain box if it keeps doing it tomorrow.
> 
> i have called the vermeer dealership 3-4 times now since it started doing this last fall, they say they have no clue. the shop manager there is going to do some checking around and call me back. maybe someone else had the same problem and can save us some trouble shooting


This is the exact reason I prefer a chuck and duck! Simplicity with
next to nill breakdowns, hope everything works out for you!


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## JTTTreeSvc (Mar 7, 2008)

Are you SURE its supposed to be a 10amp fuse and not something larger? If that is the case, you COULD put a larger fuse in there, which would make it harder to pop, but thats not going to be great for the machine. It would probably get you through the job though.


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## lxt (Mar 8, 2008)

builttough, the button you are talking about, Is it the reset button? Im not sure about vermeer if this is a "murphy switch" unit? they always go bad!

the machine doesnt have to have a malfunction to set it off, those things are notorious for doing as you describe, like Rope said moisture can play he!! on it to.

on my bandit I just bypassed it & ran gauges straight with inline fuses, last I remember that switch is around $80/$90????

hope all works out, good luck!

Be safe Take Care

LXT..................


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## builttoughf350 (Mar 8, 2008)

JTTTreeSvc said:


> Are you SURE its supposed to be a 10amp fuse and not something larger? If that is the case, you COULD put a larger fuse in there, which would make it harder to pop, but thats not going to be great for the machine. It would probably get you through the job though.



weve tried larger fuses, 25 and 30s i think and they still pop too....

we got the huge tree job done yesterday, but i bought a 25 pack of fuses before we started :greenchainsaw:


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## JTTTreeSvc (Mar 8, 2008)

builttoughf350 said:


> weve tried larger fuses, 25 and 30s i think and they still pop too....
> 
> we got the huge tree job done yesterday, but i bought a 25 pack of fuses before we started :greenchainsaw:



Did you buy a 30 pack when you were done?


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## ROLLACOSTA (Mar 11, 2008)

my suggestion is get the chipper to a trained electrical engineer quick! never skimp on repairs..


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## Rhino59 (Mar 12, 2008)

*Wiring*

Hey bro - if it's blowing fuses, you have a wire shorting out. The first place I would start looking is under the rear shield - in the feed roller area. Start checking wires that touch steel and lift them up and look for bare wire. Odds are you will find one that is shorting out. Wrap some black tape around it and that should fix the problem. 

Now, if you can't find a wire back there that's rubbing and shorting out, you will need to check the harness around the engine area.....it also might be a wire that supplies power to the fuel pump or fuel shutoff solenoid. But I'd start with the simple things - check back by the feed rollers first. 

Good luck!


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## builttoughf350 (Mar 12, 2008)

was too busy working to really ask my brother what he did last time he tried working on the chipper-

but he said something about "it was the bottom wire on the fuse panel, the power wire" i believe. ill have to confirm that and what he did with it. maybe it was loose or touching something else, ill ask him next time i talk to him. but it ran for 4-5 hours today chipping all sorts of elm branches and logs and no problems.


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## gink595 (Mar 22, 2008)

We had a Vermeer do that same thing, it would say it's overheating and just shut down. It never did get fixed while we had it and had to rent a smaller chipper to get the job done.


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## Bigstumps (Mar 24, 2008)

You need to start with a good wiring schematic. I would find out the amperage fuse recommended and never exceed it - you will just burn something else up. Sounds like you have a bare wire somewhere that touches ground during the vibration of chipping - this can be very hard to find. Use the schematic and follow all the wires. 

If there are a number of funtions wired to one fuse you could rewire them so they are each on their own 10 amp fuse. Then you will know which one is causing it to blow. From your description sounds like it may be the reverse autofeed solonoid or wires going to it???


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