smoke and burning plastic

[airbournein2001]

Hello to all, I'm new to the forum and the GATOR. I'll start of by Thanking John Deere for developing this machine...What a performer! I picked up the 825 yesterday and had great time on it for the few hours I had left before dark. However, after an hour of use I had blue and white smoke billowing out from the engine compartment. After lifting the bed to check it out I found that it was coming from the heat shield near the O2 sensor on the front of the engine. Blue smoke finally quit, but the white smoke and plastic burning odor still remains. Anyone out there ever encounter this? Dealer says it's probably a misalignment of a guard and will send a tech out in the morning.

On a similar but different note, I did burn the casing off of four wires under the cargo box! Terrible luck i tell you. got the machine all warmed up from riding. Raised the box to check out the engine and didn't realize one of the rear wiring harness's had popped out of it's holder. It dropped down and laid on the muffler. Melted right through the grommet and into the actual wiring! Don't have 2 hrs on the machine and already have to pull it in the shop to fix. I wish JD would have used solid cable ties to mount the wiring harness under the cargo box. the little plastic twisty's don't seem to be the ticket.

Thanks for any info! I love the xuv and my new baby girl will too......one day!

[purplewg]

On first extended use mine smoked a bit and smelled. Next time wasn't too bad. Third time I didn't smell anything. While installing stereo systems and multiple lighting systems I was able to really have a good look around at stuff. I plugged a bunch of holes where splash could get into stuff, tied down some stuff that looked like it needed it, and just gave it a good look over and tie wrapped a bunch of stuff. One area is the el-cheapo wiring holders on the underside of the bed for the tail lights. I guess it was the cheapest thing they could find.

Remove your plastic cargo box from under the hood and look at the cross member. You will see a couple big holes that you can look straight down the ground through. I plugged them and sprayed undercoating over that. Dirt, dust, and water could easily come up through those holes and get into stuff everywhere not to mention getting in that cross member and rusting it out.

I also plugged the bottom of the rear roll bars. No need to let bee's make their homes in there.

[Deputy347k9]

Purplewg, great advise my friend. I order a few more extra for my gator, one bine the turn signal harnes/4ways. When that arrives I will install and check out the entire harness to make sure it's secure. I will also locate and plug all the holes that I think should be plugged.

Larry

[Zephyr74]

Mine smoked and smelled awful for the first few trips......white smoke coming from the heat shield....I assume it is normal because it is all gone.

Larry--what are you ordering a few more of?

Ryan

[Deputy347k9]

Ryan, I ordered the turn signal/4 way harness as well as the clamps for the bed of the gator to hold my metal detectors. Also, after reading so much about the XT40 and how it will fit the 825i I am ordering one in the morning. Once the winch, signals, and clamps are installed I only need a good cover, well maybe, front hood rack, cvc plates, mirror and an ops organizer to put my junk in. Wondering if I really need the hood rack and cvc plates? Is there an end to this?

[Deputy347k9]

Wife just came into the study and said to me; "oh I forgot to tell you that Hall's (John Deere Dealership) called earlier today, they said your harness and clamps are in". Then she said, "what harness and clamps do you need now"? I told her I was only thinking of her safety and well being! I bet she thinks I am full of it! Tomorrow to the dealership!

[airbournein2001]

Thanks for the reply's. It seems the smoke and smell are slowly letting up. Maybe by tomorrow it will be gone. Great advice about plugging holes and tie wrapping the wiring harness. I have repaired the exposed wires under the cargo box and started the tie wrap process. Might as well continue on from back to front. Even with these minor issues I'm still impressed with the 825i. 45MPH is all I want!

[trainman]

It was a pretty funny site when me and the wife took our first ride, we stopped and she jumped out and said, "It's on fire, it's on fire". I didn't get too worried as this was not my first encounter with this on a new vehicle, showed her what was happening at the exhaust header, just goes to show that the factory doesn't run them very long on the test start up.

John

[purplewg]

We call it, burning the new off.:Thmup:

[BarnDoor]

Mine didn't smell terrible when it was new, just that nice new smell. However, after had the exhaust gasket recall performed, it smoked and smelled horribly! I was running it pretty hard, top speed for a minute or so. When I stopped smoke came up through the cab. It was coming from the manifold, but wasn't on fire. Probably sealant on the new gasket. A few miles of full throttle and it was gone.