I have a new idea 323 corn picker. picking corn and the corn elevator stopped working. everything is working up to where you pull the rope to turn elevator on and off. Looking on some help with figuring out the problem. Thanks
3 possibilities come to mind, without being able to look at my pickers. I imagine that the NI323 is very much like our NI324s, on which I am basing my thoughts.
First, check to see if your elevator throwout clutch (which is on the business end of your rope) is in the correct position. When working properly, they are designed to smoothly "land" into either the "elevator on" or "elevator off" position. Sometimes they get a bit sticky, with old oil/grease/dirt/rust, and they don't "settle in" to the right notch. If this is the case, a good cleaning and lubing sometimes solves it (there should be a grease zerk hiding down there somewhere). I seem to remember that there is a "recoil spring" (for lack of a better term) that helps this mechanism reset itself, which might be broken. In general, the clutch shouldn't have a lot of play in it, which would also cause problems. We had one of those throwout clutches come apart on our most worn-out picker (now retired for parts), and it wasn't too hard to reconstruct, just awkward due to its location. That was several years ago, but I remember that it was obvious that it was apart. Can't remember what broke that made it come apart, but we fabbed up something that worked until the picker's retirement.
Second, is there a roller chain missing somewhere after the throwout clutch? The whole picker sort of runs in series from one roller chain to the next, with a few shafts and gearboxes mixed in just for fun. Often, I find that when a series of functions in the same general area on the picker aren't working, a roller chain broke and fell off. Even when you know your picker pretty well, it can sometimes be a head-scratcher trying to find out what is gone. The manual helps a great deal for this.
Third, is something jammed? I think you would know this, since there would be corn piled up and a slip clutch rattling loud enough to wake the neighbors.
Sorry for the lack of detail on the first idea. I'm away from home and so cannot go look at my machines. Please reply back with results. Good luck.
Bleeding Orange covered exactly what I was going to say, however if your a novice, the sip clutch will make a constant clicking clacking noise, the rest of the machine will run but elevator will not. There is a clean out door on the bottom of the elevator, open it up and pullout whatever crap you can. Sometimes if you can't get it all out, with the machine off, put a pipe wrench on the piece that turns the bottom of the elevator and get it turning freely, this will usually bring up a wad of whatever was plugging it up. On my 323, it doesn't take much to plug up the elevator and engage the slip clutch, especially if it has sat. Once it's cleaned and elevator chain is oiled, then it's usually trouble free until it sits for awhile again. Hope that helps a little if maybe your not real familiar with them.
