Learning Center

Mount the DIG™ stick and bucket sensors

Pick the side, tack the stick sensor plate upright about three quarters of the way up the stick and the bucket sensor plate flat on the dogbone, then bolt the sensors in the right way round and plug in their cables.

  • DIG™ Kit

The two DIG™ angle sensors tell the ECU how the stick and the bucket are angled, so it can work out where the cutting edge is. Each sits in a weld-on plate with a protective cover. Position matters: the stick plate stands upright, the bucket plate lies flat on the dogbone, and each sensor faces a set way.

Where the DIG parts go on the excavator The arm of an excavator with the DIG kit, seen from the operator’s left, with numbered markers. 1: the GPS receiver on the pendulum rod. 2: Tube #2 and the counterbalance plate, which swings so the receiver stays level. 3: Tube #1, welded to the top of the stick. 4: the stick sensor on its mounting plate, about 75% of the way up the stick, with the main harness in its upper port. 5: the bucket sensor on the dogbone linkage, connector toward the cab. 6: the CAN harness runs over the boom, and the GPS cable goes through the loop on the mount. 7: the DIG ECU beside the cab with its port facing down. 8: the CAN patch cable from the bottom port of the stick sensor to the bucket sensor. A dashed line shows the GPS pivot F lined up over the boom-end pin H and the bucket pin B. FHB12345678
Side view of a DIG install, from the operator's left. The GPS pivot F lines up over the boom-end pivot H and the bucket pivot B; if it can't, measure the offset for calibration.
  1. GPS receiver. On the pendulum rod.
  2. Tube #2 and counterbalance plate. Swings so the receiver stays level. Grease the pivot.
  3. Tube #1. Welded to the top of the stick.
  4. Stick sensor. Upright on its plate, about 75% of the way up the stick. Main harness in the upper port.
  5. Bucket sensor. Flat on the dogbone, connector toward the cab.
  6. Cables over the boom. The CAN harness runs over the boom to the stick sensor. The GPS cable goes through the loop on the mount.
  7. DIG ECU. By the cab, port facing down.
  8. CAN patch cable. From the bottom port of the stick sensor to the bucket sensor.

Before you start

  • You've read the DIG safety rules.
  • The GPS mount is tacked on (Fit the GPS pendulum mount).
  • The machine is locked out: level ground, implements lowered, engine off, key out, hydraulic pressure relieved.
  • The machine battery is disconnected, and electronics within 1 m (3 ft) of the weld are removed or isolated.
  • The sensors are not in their plates while anyone welds.

You need: both sensors and their weld-on plates, the factory-supplied sensor bolts, the CAN harness and the CAN patch cable, a welder and welding protection, a Class ABC extinguisher, a work platform or fall arrest, and heavy-duty cable ties.

How long it takes: no set time. The final welds come later, after the whole kit is checked.

Tack on the plates

  1. Pick the left side

    Fit both sensors on the left side of the stick and the bucket linkage, as you sit in the cab. Either side works, but on the left the operator can see them and spot damage.

    Fit the sensors on the left side Excavator seen from above, front at the top. The cab is on the left of the boom. Both DIG sensors are drawn on the left side of the stick and the left dogbone link, where a green dashed sight line shows the operator can see them from the seat. Cab Left side sensors here Right side Front
    Seen from above: with the cab on the left of the boom, sensors on the left side are in the operator's view.

  2. Hold the stick plate upright, about ¾ of the way up the stick

    The plate must stand vertical when the stick hangs straight down, ideally at about 75% of the stick's total height, measured from the bottom.

    Where the two sensors go Side view of the stick and bucket from the left. The stick sensor sits on the stick, upright, about three quarters of the way up the stick. The bucket sensor sits on the dogbone link, lying along it, level with the link. ¾ up topbottom Stick sensor Bucket sensor on the dogbone
    The stick sensor upright about three quarters of the way up the stick. The bucket sensor lies flat along the dogbone.

  3. Tack weld the stick plate

    A few small tack welds only.

  4. Hold the bucket plate flat on the dogbone

    The dogbone is the link between the stick and the bucket linkage (pins A and D). Lay the plate along it, level with the link.

  5. Tack weld the bucket plate

    Same welding rules as for the stick plate. A few small tack welds only.

  6. Check the bucket plate clears everything

    The operator starts the engine and curls the bucket slowly through its whole range while you watch from a safe distance. The plate must not hit anything. If it does, move it and tack it again.

    Then lock the machine out again and disconnect the battery before you go on.

Fit the sensors

  1. Bolt the stick sensor into its plate

    Use the factory-supplied bolts. The sensor has a port at each end.

    The stick sensor bolted into its mounting plate, with a connector port at the top and one at the bottom 1 2
    1. Upper port. The harness from the ECU.
    2. Bottom port. The CAN patch cable to the bucket sensor.

  2. Plug the harness from the ECU into the upper port

    This is the CAN harness that comes over the boom from the ECU. The plugs are keyed: they fit only one way. Don't force them.

  3. Plug the CAN patch cable into the bottom port

    Push it in until it seats. Like the harness, it fits only one way.

  4. Bolt the bucket sensor in, connector toward the cab

    The connector end points toward the cab; the capped end points away. On a right-side install the label may read upside down; that doesn't matter.

    The bucket sensor bolted into its mounting plate, with a connector on the left end and a capped end on the right 1 2
    1. Connector end. Toward the cab.
    2. Capped end. Away from the cab.

  5. Plug the CAN patch cable into the bucket sensor

    Plug the other end of the patch cable into the connector end of the bucket sensor, the end facing the cab.

    Sensor ports and which way round Close-up of the lower stick and the dogbone from the left side, cab to the right. 1: the harness from the ECU comes down the stick into the stick sensor's upper port. 2: the CAN patch cable leaves the stick sensor's bottom port. 3: it plugs into the bucket sensor's connector end, which points toward the cab. 4: the capped end of the bucket sensor points away from the cab. 1234 ← Away from cab Toward cab →
    The cables, seen from the left with the cab to the right.
    1. Harness from the ECU, into the stick sensor's upper port.
    2. CAN patch cable, out of the stick sensor's bottom port.
    3. Bucket sensor's connector end, toward the cab.
    4. Capped end, away from the cab.

  6. Tie up the spare cable

    Bundle any extra cable with heavy-duty ties so nothing can snag as the machine moves.

  7. Later: take the sensors out before the final welds

    After the full movement check (Check every position, then final-weld), unbolt the sensors, have the plates final-welded, then refit the sensors.

Common mistakes

  • Welding with a sensor still bolted in.
  • Bucket sensor fitted backwards, capped end toward the cab.
  • Harness and CAN patch swapped between the stick sensor's ports.
  • Loose cable loops that catch on the linkage.

Next: Mount the ECU and run the cables. Sensors not detected later: Fix DIG problems.

Related

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