Husqvarna 265ACX (or 260ACX) Automower.

[Perry]

Shiny New Cover

Well, Coxy has his new, shiny cowling, devoid of cracks.

Also devoid of the aluminium Husqvarna logo on the front, too. But as that has
no relationship to functionality, I can live without that cosmetic appendage. The
dealer called in and collected Coxy on Monday. I took to Coxy with the compressed
air gun, before he arrived. That proved to be a good idea, as he put Coxy in the
back of his vehicle. Better to have all those grass shavings on my lawn than in
the back seat floor of his vehicle.

The dealer brought Coxy back on Tuesday, but he had a fault displayed that he
could not remedy. It was a simple one - Mower lifted - but he had to take Coxy
back to the workshop. I wasn't here when he returned, but the lady of the house
said that the dealer had returned, later that day, and the problem was fixed.

Accordingly, I can't report on what he did to fix it. Dealers have a computer pro-
gram called Autocheck that they use to query and program the on-board computer
in such beasties. However, he told me on his first Tuesday visit that he'd ordered
another interface cable, as he had been unable to interrogate Coxy's on-board
computer, on Monday.

I had expected to have to take Coxy in to his workshop. However, he passes near
here on his way to and from home, each day, so that made it easy to call in, I sup-
pose. Despite that, the dealer is providing me with good support service.

I still see Coxy hit obstacles (e.g. tree), at full speed, but the ultra sound sensors
do seem to be working, based on the test data that can be displayed on the Coxy's
display panel. There's no discernible pattern. Coxy does slow to half speed for one
or two of the slender-trunked trees on the lawn, then inexplicably, hits a larger
-trunked tree at full speed.

 

[lawn mower fanatic]

I wonder how long it will take for it to crack again?

 

[mickeygray]

Hi - I have just purchased an 230ACX - and we are doing our own installation. We have 20 trees that are in the lawn - the auto mower hits them from time to time and reverses away. Should we have looped them with boundary wire? Its a lot of trees to loop wire around and back again.

My next question - we just assumed that it would trim right up to the grass edges. We've set out boundary wire at 12 inches on the garden edges, and have a nice strip of unmown grass all around our boundaries. However, we are thinking about moving them all to 5 or 6 inches and allowing the mower to drive into the gardens - the gardens are all mulches and level with the lawn with a wooden edge that is at dirt level. What do you think? I might just move one section closer and see if the front wheels have any trouble driving in the gardens before reversing.

Kind regards
Mickey

 

[Perry]

Howdy, Mickey. Welcome to the Forums. Good to have another kiwi here.

Hi - I have just purchased an 230ACX - and we are doing our own installation. We have 20 trees that are in the lawn - the auto mower hits them from time to time and reverses away. Should we have looped them with boundary wire? It's a lot of trees to loop wire around and back again.

It should not be necessary to do that and I suspect that it would
be a huge task, never mind the amount of wire used. The 265ACX
manual says:

Obstacles that can withstand a collision, for example,
trees or bushes higher than 15 cm, do not need to be
demarcated by the boundary wire. Automower will
turn when it collides with this type of obstacle.

The manual for the 230ACX says the same thing on page 25 of
the manual copy I have. The NZ version may be paginated in
a different way. So, based on what you've posted it seems as
if your installation is correct.

BTW - Is the 230ACX a single speed machine? The 265ACX is
a two-speed machine.

My next question - we just assumed that it would trim right up to the grass edges. We've set out boundary wire at 12 inches on the garden edges, and have a nice strip of unmown grass all around our boundaries. However, we are thinking about moving them all to 5 or 6 inches and allowing the mower to drive into the gardens - the gardens are all mulches and level with the lawn with a wooden edge that is at dirt level. What do you think? I might just move one section closer and see if the front wheels have any trouble driving in the gardens before reversing.

If the gardens are indeed at the same level, you may solve the problems
by changing one of the automower settings. Does your screen use the
expression 'garden' or 'installation?' Either way, that's where you need to
get to so as to program some changes. Presuming the word 'installation,'
see if you can follow this:

Installation > Advanced > Drive past wire (or 3-4-2 on the keypad). In the
manual, it's under 6. Menu Functions > Advanced > Drive past wire (3-4-2)

Press [Yes] then see what the default setting is. (cms) Try increasing that
by 12 cms (if that doesn't exceed the maximum). Then get back to the
main menu, using the curly arrow key. Once there, point the e-beastie at
one of the garden beds and set it going. See how well it works and tweak
the setting again, until you get the desired effect and tell us the result.

 

[Perry]

Pessimist!

I wonder how long it will take for it to crack again?

Given the number of times Coxy strikes an obstacle
at full speed, that very thought nags me, too.

 

[Perry]

First The Front Cowling, Now a Front Wheel

I recall that, years ago, when I was delivering a new tractor from a dealer-
ship to a customer, the power steering pump failed before completing the
12 mile trip. All-too-soon, the main gearbox shaft broke. The dealer was
philosophical and shrugged: we call 'em five-o'clockers - they come along
every now and then.

Maybe I have a five o'clocker?

I happened to be out on the lawn when I looked up and saw this:

Uh-oh. Even on three wheels, Coxy got to the cast-off wheel before I did.

Amazing how good those five razor blades are at making a mess of things.

You can guess how tricky it was to use a cordless drill to make a small hole
in the end of a pivoting stainless steel shaft and not break the bit in the
process. The rpm of the drill was too low for that small-a-bit and SS work
hardens, so I had to sharpen the bit at least twice.

Coxy's back on the job, now. I couldn't find the clip/fastener that was to be
seen on the other wheel. It was this sort of thing:

I suppose Coxy will sooner or later find that missing caplock
and that will see another set of blades ruined.

Grass control to Major Husqvarna, do you read me? :confused2:

 

[mickeygray]

Re: First The Front Cowling, Now a Front Wheel

Hi there

Thanks so much for replying. You are right, ours only has one (slower) speed. So when it hits the trees its not going as fast as yours does when the sensor is not picking up an obstacle. So we will leave the trees unmarked.

Hmmmm, I forgot to check for a reply on this forum about the boundary wire, and went ahead and moved the wire to 4 inches from all edges! It took a whole day, but it has worked. Our mower is now perfectly trimming all of the edges. It seems fine at driving into the garden beds, they are all pretty much level with the grass so its no problem. But I am laughing at not checking the forum first for your idea which might have worked.

Really gutted for you about your wheel! I hope mine doesn't do anything silly like that, especially because we imported ours from ebay and therefore have no warranty!!!

 

[Perry]

Seems you need to tweak one of your forum settings.
Up the top, there's an cog icon above MY HOME. Click
on that and find your way here:

You need to change your e-mail notification setting
to what's shown, so that you get an e-mail each
time a post is added to any thread you post in.

The peril of an o'seas purchase warranty problem
was what decided me against doing what you've
done. But I have done what you have with some
other purchases, where the cost/benefit looked ac-
ceptable and the price was good enough that send-
ing the item back for repairs was 'within budget.'

 

[Perry]

Looking back, I was not very lucid with the descriptors:

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[Perry]

OMG! What Might Be Next?

Unfortunately, it gets worse. Maybe not a five o'clocker - just a damned lemon?!

After calling in to the dealer's, earlier in the day, on an unrelated matter,
I returned home on Tuesday 7 January to this:

The countersunk cap screw had fallen out of the retaining hubcap. The capscrew was
nearby, so I successfully re-attached the wheel assembly, but I am starting to wonder
just what the hell will be next!