Move the kit to another machine

A Ditch Assist® kit moves between machines in as little as 20 minutes once each machine has been set up (a first install takes about an hour). The parts that bolt to a machine can stay on it. The Control Module, the harnesses, the GPS receiver and the tablet move.

What changes with the machine is its shape and its hydraulics, so repeat the checks below on the new machine before you grade.

Before you start

• The implement lowered to the ground on both machines
• The tractor engine off and the key out
• The power harness switched off
• The hydraulic pressure relieved before you uncouple any hose

You need: the tools you used for the first install, a tape measure if you measure blade height by hand, and the tablet with the Ditch Assist app.

Time: as little as 20 minutes once each machine has its own mounts, plus the checks below.

What stays and what moves

Take the kit off the old machine

1. Switch the power harness off

   The module's lights go out.

2. Relieve the hydraulic pressure and uncouple the hoses

   Full Automation Kit. Uncouple at whichever end you are moving: the tractor remotes if the valve moves with the implement, or the implement couplers on the valve if the valve stays on the tractor.

3. Unplug the power harness from the main harness

   Press the latch on the Deutsch plug and pull the two halves apart. The power harness can stay on this tractor's battery.

4. Lift the Control Module off its mounts

   Leave its plugs in the ports, so no dirt or water gets in.

5. Take the GPS receiver off the implement

   Coil its cable so it can't be stepped on or caught.

On the new machine

1. Mount the parts by the first-install rules

   • Control Module: ports facing down, in sight of the cab. Mount the Control Module
   • GPS receiver: on the part that moves with the cutting edge, with open sky in every working position. Mount the GPS antenna
   • Power: from the tractor battery only. Power harness

2. Check every cable

   Go through the seven-point checklist on Connect all cables, including the plugs in ports B and D. Route cables and hoses with slack for turns on the new hitch.

3. Run the raise and lower test

   Full Automation Kit: connect from Pre-Flight Checks, then hold Raise and Lower. Steps: Connect the tablet and test raise and lower.

   A different implement can be plumbed the other way round. If Raise lowers it, swap the two small plugs on the valve's solenoids. Never reverse the flow at the tractor.

4. Set blade height for this implement

   Blade Height is how high the cutting edge sits above the ground with the implement raised in transport position. It differs between implements, and the app uses it while you record a survey. Measure it, or use Auto Measure. Steps: Set blade height.

5. Open Settings and find Swath Width

   Tap Settings, the gear button in the column of buttons down the right side of the screen. Scroll down to the IMPLEMENT section (how to scroll).

   Swath Width sets the width of the coverage the app draws on the map. Full steps: Implement and survey settings.

6. Type the new implement's width

   Tap the box next to Swath Width. The keyboard opens. Delete the old number, type the new implement's width and hide the keyboard (typing on the tablet).

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7. Check the valve settings

   A bigger or smaller implement can need different valve settings. In Settings, scroll down to the CONTROLLER section and check:

   • Min Valve DC (app's starting value 301 = 30.1% power): the power the valve starts at whenever auto grading moves the blade. If the blade waits a few seconds before it moves, raise it. If it jumps at every start, lower it.
   • Max Valve DC (app's starting value 701 = 70.1%): the most power the valve gets in auto. Raise it if big corrections crawl, lower it if they overshoot. It must stay higher than Min Valve DC.

   If you wrote down working numbers for this implement before, set those. Otherwise change them about 25 at a time. Then tap Apply at the bottom of the section: nothing reaches the controller until you do. The control module reads the new values the next time auto grading starts. Full steps: Controller settings. Raise Sensitivity and Lower Sensitivity only change the app's manual Raise and Lower buttons, so they don't need changing for a new machine.

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8. Calibrate, if the job needs it

   Moving the kit does not by itself call for a benchmark. If you survey and grade on the new machine in one session on the same base station setup, you don't need one.

   Calibrate if you are working to a survey or design from an earlier day, or if the base has been moved or set up again. Park on your benchmark and calibrate before the first pass. See Benchmarks and calibration.

Common mistakes

• Keeping the last machine's blade height, so surveys recorded with the new implement come out off by the difference.
• Skipping the raise and lower test because "it worked on the other one".
• Leaving the antenna on the tractor because it is quicker.
• Changing valve settings and not tapping Apply.

If it doesn't work

• Raise moves the implement down
• Slow, hunting or chasing
• Grade is off