Question for those who have installed a 3rd function on loader

Virtual Guy

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Kubota L2501, loader, Land Pride box blade and grapple, John Deere MX5 cutter
Jul 17, 2022
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Osage County Oklahoma
I'm installing a 3rd function valve from Summit. So far I haven't run into any real issues but I do have a few questions you all might help me with. I've searched but can't seem to find exactly what I'm after.

1. How did you rout the hoses from the valve down the loader arm to the crossbar? Any pics? I can make an educated guess but there's no obvious way to keep them secure as you get out towards the bucket end.

2. Where did you get power from? I've seen a few threads on this but there's never quite the info I need to understand the conclusion.

3. I removed a backhoe and sold it. Should I leave the lines going back there or just pull them out and replace with a short hose? I realize this is near irrelevant but I would appreciate others' opinions.

Thanks
 

bird dogger

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Very nice! Care to make me one of these?
View attachment 84074 ;)
I rattled off a few of those from some scrap HDPE that I had laying around. I think there's still a few left in a bag somewhere. Be happy to send you one for the postage.....pretty sure I can still find them. If you'd message me your mailing particulars that could do it. Not sure what they'd cost in a hydraulics store.....so you'd have to weigh the cost of postage against their cost. Guessing postage is a few $ at this point.
David
 

bird dogger

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So do I understand correctly that you wired straight to the battery but added an inline switch? That seems pretty reasonable. I'll go out in the morning and look for a good place to mount a switch.
Not quite. I tapped into a "switched" power lead somewhere so that when the tractor key is "OFF" there is no power to my grapple circuit. But my grapple circuit also has it's own switch (in series with the "Key Switch" so that I can remove power from the grapple circuit when I don't have the grapple mounted.....as in the winter time. And....also prevents me from forgetting to leave that circuit energized when the key is off. Just in case something has shorted, etc. My little LED light tells me my circuit is energized.

Personal preference as to which way it should be wired up. No real advantage or disadvantage to either method.

Edit: My memory was foggy....as usual. I did tap into a "Key switched" power lead. But that "tap" powers a 12vdc relay that supplys my seperately fused/switched grapple circuit. You can find those 12vdc power relays at most any auto parts store. I mounted mine up in the battery compartment and found a wire that was "Hot" from the key switch right in the same location.
 
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Virtual Guy

Member

Equipment
Kubota L2501, loader, Land Pride box blade and grapple, John Deere MX5 cutter
Jul 17, 2022
86
70
18
Osage County Oklahoma
Not quite. I tapped into a "switched" power lead somewhere so that when the tractor key is "OFF" there is no power to my grapple circuit. But my grapple circuit also has it's own switch (in series with the "Key Switch" so that I can remove power from the grapple circuit when I don't have the grapple mounted.....as in the winter time. And....also prevents me from forgetting to leave that circuit energized when the key is off. Just in case something has shorted, etc. My little LED light tells me my circuit is energized.

Personal preference as to which way it should be wired up. No real advantage or disadvantage to either method.

Edit: My memory was foggy....as usual. I did tap into a "Key switched" power lead. But that "tap" powers a 12vdc relay that supplys my seperately fused/switched grapple circuit. You can find those 12vdc power relays at most any auto parts store. I mounted mine up in the battery compartment and found a wire that was "Hot" from the key switch right in the same location.
Got it and thanks. I just need to be figure out where to find one of those. I'm not worried about it, just always curious what others figured out.

And thanks for the offer to ship one of those but I've found a couple possible solutions locally that look promising. I'll sure let you know if these don't work out.

I have everything installed except for the 12VDC and the Power Beyond lines. I'll knock it out tomorrow.

Thanks again.
 
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Virtual Guy

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Equipment
Kubota L2501, loader, Land Pride box blade and grapple, John Deere MX5 cutter
Jul 17, 2022
86
70
18
Osage County Oklahoma
Ok I think I"ve figured out 1 & 2. I didn't get photos of how I routed the hoses but I will later.

I found that the ignition key switch comes out very easily and the back just has screw terminals. That's a short run and easy to tie into with a second ring connector on the correct terminal. I did add an inline rocker switch mounted on the plastic base of the loader lever just behind the 3rd function QDs.

NOTE TO FUTURE READERS: You will need an inline fuse between the ignition switch and your solenoids. That ignition line has a 40A fuse and this wire is not rated for that.

The bigger pain was how to get a wire from the new equipment to inside the console/dash for power. There's a gap there and I really didn't want a wire hanging across it...but that's more or less what I did. I drilled a hole in the side of the front dash cover, installed a grommet, and ran a protected wire into it.
1658680111550.png

Did anyone else have a better idea for that?
 

Virtual Guy

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Equipment
Kubota L2501, loader, Land Pride box blade and grapple, John Deere MX5 cutter
Jul 17, 2022
86
70
18
Osage County Oklahoma
Oh one more thing, why did they make these cables so dang long? I seriously considered cutting and splicing just to get rid of the bulk but in the end I just coiled and zip tied. Not very pretty but easier.

I recognize that they likely make one cable for all or at least many tractors but that really uglies up an otherwise nice kit installation.
 

Virtual Guy

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Equipment
Kubota L2501, loader, Land Pride box blade and grapple, John Deere MX5 cutter
Jul 17, 2022
86
70
18
Osage County Oklahoma
Here are a few pics. Let me know what I did that's going to bite me later :D

1658681240658.png

1658681294501.png

1658681350765.png

1658681383976.png


Oh and this cabling bothers me too. It seems pretty vulnerable to damage.
1658681447584.png
 

PoTreeBoy

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Virtual Guy

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Equipment
Kubota L2501, loader, Land Pride box blade and grapple, John Deere MX5 cutter
Jul 17, 2022
86
70
18
Osage County Oklahoma
You may be able to rotate the coils on the solenoids so the connectors are oriented differently.
I'll take a look at that but I get the feeling I might just run into something else. Mechanically the kit fell into place perfectly. I hat to start adjusting that much.
 

MOOTS

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If you ever take your loader off, may want to stagger the connections on the block. So they always go back right and doesn’t change which button does what.
 

Virtual Guy

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Equipment
Kubota L2501, loader, Land Pride box blade and grapple, John Deere MX5 cutter
Jul 17, 2022
86
70
18
Osage County Oklahoma
If you ever take your loader off, may want to stagger the connections on the block. So they always go back right and doesn’t change which button does what.
Not a bad idea. The kit included color coded dust caps. I just haven't installed them yet.
 

bird dogger

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Virtual Guy.....that's looking nice! Presently, I have my front loader grapple connections the same as you.....1 female and 1 male connector. That way the grapple is always connected the same way. However: I'm going to change mine to both male connectors on the loader and both female on the grapple.
My dust caps don't always stay on and the female connector and its dust cap on the tractor end always needs cleaning before connecting/disconnecting the grapple. It's much easier to clean two male connectors on the tractor.....even if both covers have fallen off. The female connectors shouldn't get too dirty.....even uncovered.....when the grapple is off and just sitting inside the shed when not in use.
 
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Crash277

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BX23S
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If you ever take your loader off, may want to stagger the connections on the block. So they always go back right and doesn’t change which button does what.

For mine, i used a zip tie, so one hose fitting and the corresponding fixed fitting each have a zip tie. did the same on the other end for the grapple, and i have both female fitting mounted to the loader.
 

MOOTS

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For mine, i used a zip tie, so one hose fitting and the corresponding fixed fitting each have a zip tie. did the same on the other end for the grapple, and i have both female fitting mounted to the loader.
If that works for you, great. But zip ties deteriorate in the weather, and eventually fall off. At work I have to stagger anything hydraulic or electric for the guys..... bunch of geniuses.
 
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Crash277

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BX23S
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If that works for you, great. But zip ties deteriorate in the weather, and eventually fall off. At work I have to stagger anything hydraulic or electric for the guys..... bunch of geniuses.
You do need to buy good quality ones. ive had them on there for well over a year with no issues. o