# Vermeer 1230 A autofeed problem



## RAG66 (Jan 20, 2011)

Hey this is a 2003 machine with 600hrs. Well maintaned, by me from 2005 on. The autofeed stoped working once about 3 years ago, then yesterday it did again. It did work after a 15 minute shut of, then today it quit again and it does not work now. I shut the toggle switch off and it feeds as normal. So if you have any first hand knowledge of the system or solutions please post or PM me. This is not an oppertunity to give me the brand warfare arguments. I just need some help:thinking:


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## Marquis (Jan 25, 2011)

I had the same type of issue with my morbark, turned out I needed new seloniods, runs fine now


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## VA-Sawyer (Jan 25, 2011)

How does the control box get 'speed' info ? Does it have a seperate 'speed sensor' near the engine flywheel, or does it get it from a 'tach' wire on the altenator ? 
When you say it isn't working, do you mean it fails to feed at all when the autofeed is turned on or is it not stopping the feed when the engine gets overloaded ? This makes a difference when troubleshooting.
Note I don't have personal experience with the 1230 chipper, but I do have pretty good general experience with chippers and autofeed systems.
Rick


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## treeclimber101 (Jan 25, 2011)

I have one as well and the autofeed is a little hay wire with mine as well , I have changed the selenoids and still had the same thing happen from time to time ... The only thing that I could fine to help is keeping the RPMs up sometimes my throttle will back off just alittle and that completely screws it up..


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## Macclay (Jan 25, 2011)

had it rained recently? my 1800 auto feed was constantly playing up if there was any moisture about, drown the soleniods in wd40 or similar and away you go


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## Marquis (Jan 27, 2011)

On my Morbark, the speed sensor is from the digital tachometer. When the RPM's drop to a certain point, which I can set, the infeed will stop until the RPM's build back up to a certain point, which I can set also. I was blowing fuses to the tach, but what the problem was, were my selonoid were shot, pulling too much juice to power them, hence blowing fuses.


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## Marquis (Jan 27, 2011)

One more thing, like Mcclay said, moisture will not help. I made a rubber boot to put over my brand new selonoids to help keep water and debris out.


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## VA-Sawyer (Jan 27, 2011)

And where does the digital tach get it's rpm info from ? The tach is just an indicator that converts a signal into rpm info. What generates that signal ?


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## tomtrees58 (Jan 27, 2011)

ther a pain i have a 1230 it drives me nuts i change the auto feed box its under the motor cover


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## Marquis (Jan 28, 2011)

The signal is off the flywheel I believe, but this is a Morbark, I don't know anything about yours.


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## ROPECLIMBER (Jan 29, 2013)

Any updates to what was wrong would be helpful, my 1230A started doing this today and still works with the Auto feed switch off but with it on will bearly turn the wheels, like the bypass silonoid is stuck partially open, if it the bypass silonoid I don't understand how it works with the auto feed switch off, hoping to hear an easy fix from OP, 
Thanks Paul


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## treeclimber101 (Jan 29, 2013)

If your auto feed is working , it will stop the wheel not slow it down , you may have a bad pressure valve . I would tend to think yours is more hydraulic related then computer related .


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## ROPECLIMBER (Jan 29, 2013)

Thanks 101, the Auto feed works great after lunch then after 15-20 hard minutes it quits feeding and when I hit nuetral to revers and back it trys to turn the wheels but wont then switch to Auto feed off and the wheels feed fine, turn machine off for a while then it works again for a few minutes then quits again, it is a 02 model with manul feed valves and only one bypass looking silonoid that apears to devert pressure back to resevoir, ??
Paul


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## treeclimber101 (Jan 29, 2013)

ROPECLIMBER said:


> Thanks 101, the Auto feed works great after lunch then after 15-20 hard minutes it quits feeding and when I hit nuetral to revers and back it trys to turn the wheels but wont then switch to Auto feed off and the wheels feed fine, turn machine off for a while then it works again for a few minutes then quits again, it is a 02 model with manul feed valves and only one bypass looking silonoid that apears to devert pressure back to resevoir, ??
> Paul



You could have a bad pump , seems when your involve heat the machine starts to quit on ya , there is a pressure valve on the back of the machine , mine was blue and likewise and pressure valve with the set handle , somewhere to start , if the impellers on the pump were wiped the pump will cavatate air as the fluid thins , something to also think about , check the filter for metal chips and filings


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## ROPECLIMBER (Jan 29, 2013)

101,It feeds fine with the Auto feed switched off, just have to manually feed the bigger stuff, the auto feed does work great at cold startup then cuts out, and had to finish chipping with auto feed turned off,
Paul


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## treeclimber101 (Jan 29, 2013)

Have the voltage checked going into the tach and Murphy switch , seems if it is getting hot the unit itself may be either partially wiped or losing voltage somehow , cold weather may be just buying ya some time before it overheats and quits . Prolly wouldn't work at all on a hot day .


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## Eq Broker (Jan 30, 2013)

I'll see if can help you all.

Auto-feeds can be a finky issue. The tach either reads off of the flywheel by a speed sensor/tach probe or off of the altenator. It could be one these issues along with many others. There are usually valves that have a magnetic solenoid and the solenoid could be bad. Also, over time the valves can become weathered and corroded and we usually use a light emory cloth and clean the valves so they shift easier. We use a light oil such as 3in1 to oil these. You may also have a bad toggle switch on the auto-feed. It could also be a bad relief valve and it's not operating properly. If the chipper works fine without the auto-feed and it seems to be pulling in material just fine, I doubt it is a bad hydraulic pump. If it isn't taking in material with the auto-feed off, it might be a bad pump. Usually a bad hydraulic pump effects everything not just one issue. It doesn't sound like a bad pump.

I hope this helps and good luck with your issues.

Dave
Global Equipment Exporters


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## ROPECLIMBER (Jan 30, 2013)

*Water in filter*

Now I feel dumber than dumb, the whole problem was the fuel filter,The chipper was acting up yesterday, it would chip fine for 10-15minutes then the auto feed would shut down feed wheels, so I would manual feed, then shut down to stage more brush, then the same thing, then this morning it got worse auto feed shut down in 5-7 min. then would bearly chip in manual feed, not the feed but the engine was bogging, then after seeing a couple of white /grey puffs out the exaust I new it had water/dirty fuel. I went and got a new fuel filter and man it runs good now.Thanks to every one for the tips and I'm glad it was a $19 fix, I guess the filter would settle then re clog after a few minutes running then finally got so cloged it ran the rpm's down to the point auto feed would not activate feed wheels, will have to keep track of that now that I am running a diesel chipper, my old chunk and curse was gas.
Paul


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