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Development of an affordable and dealer friendly Electronic Performance Support System (EPSS) involved extensive dealership involvement and proactive project management. Through the effective selection of technology and tools, technical information is developed, maintained and distributed in both electronic and paper formats. The developed EPSS makes recommended diagnostic procedures and related technical information more accessible and easy to use. This results in better customer service by increasing dealer technician knowledge and service skills.

This paper reviews the development of an electrical diagnostic presentation adopted for John Deere products worldwide. Deere has adopted IEC 617 electrical symbols and incorporated them into a standard presentation format to simplify and improve the communication of electrical information to dealer technicians who service John Deere equipment. The diagnostic presentation is designed to provide the end user, the service technician, a common method for diagnosing electrical problems. It utilizes a combination of diagrams prepared by product engineering and service groups. Engineering is responsible 1) for developing a functional schematic diagram to explain the operation, function and interaction of the electrical devices, and 2) for developing a wiring diagram to show the harness flattened out with connectors and devices.

DURING THE PAST 20 YEARS, North American farmers have been using increasing amounts of conservation tillage. This movement has resulted in about 30 percent of cropland currently being under some form of conservation tillage. Farmers indicate that their mails reasons for adopting conservation tillage are to reduce cost and increase net profits. Optimum tillage practices have become site-specific much like fertilizer and pesticide recommendations. Tillage and planting equipment is being designed to handle a broader range of field conditions. Capability to operate in and maintain surface residue, as well as integration of pesticide application, are important characteristics of conservation tillage machines. Most major machine types have been modified for conservation tillage. Combines have also been altered to provide more uniform straw distribution after harvest. Tractor design has been changed very little due to the shift to conservation tillage.

A 16 channel, 5 mile range telemetry system has been constructed. This equipment can be easily adapted to a wide variety of vehicle measurement tasks. A modular signal conditioning concept has minimized the time required for initial setup on each measurement project. “Calibrating through” the system on all channels avoids some of the alignment pitfalls present in the day-to-day operation of a complex multichannel system.