[seville009]

Have the cab control for the MVP - was brand new in December 2006.

Started having sporadic problems with it yesterday in that I would push the buttons and the plow wouldn't do anything; moved the truck a little bit, and it would seem to work again for a few seconds.

Finally died - the on/off switch was blinking.

Called the dealer - he knew what it was right away. He said that Western has problems with the controller and is working on a fix. He said that the wires going into the controller are so small and fragile that they tend to separate/break very easily.

Dealer gave me a new controller and it works fine. He said that Western is sending him new cords and would let me know when they came in (because the new controller he gave me could end up having the same problem).


So...just letting anyone out there know that the cab control may die on you and, if it does, Western will replace it.

 

[seville009]

Follow up to my previous post - does anyone know if the joy stick control is interchangable with the cab command control (ie: can I plug the joy stick control into the same wire?).

Thanks

 

[Bugthug]

Same thing here 8.5 mvp plus poly controller lasted about 2 weeks. new one has started giving me trouble already. I think I may try the joystick.

 

[AL Inc]

Seville, just read your post, yes the cab command will plug right in.

 

[Honest Mike]

Wow, isnt anything built to last anymore? Thats totally unacceptable in my opinion! I wonder if I should worry about mine? I dont have the MVP, so obviously the controller is different, but I do have the handheld controller...Mike

 

[seville009]

I ended up spending the money for a spare controller, as I didn't want to risk having it die in the middle of a storm again. Bought a Fish Stik - not sure if they have the same problem or not, but it can't be any worse at least.

Was very annoying to say the least when it died. Had over a foot of snow, blowing and drifting, and more snow to come and the whole plow was dead just because of this little handheld thing.

Once of the reasons that I went with Western was because of what I thought was their good quality. I figured they've been around a while a knew what they were doing. Guess not. Very weak link in the system in my opinion.

 

[EZSnow]

Wow, isnt anything built to last anymore? Thats totally unacceptable in my opinion! I wonder if I should worry about mine? I dont have the MVP, so obviously the controller is different, but I do have the handheld controller...Mike

Mike, I've also heard that they've had some MAJOR issues with the decals coming off the cab-command units. You'll want to look out for that, too.


:wink

 

[Honest Mike]

Oh yea?? Guess I will have to watch out for that too! Mike :wink

 

[William B.]

Well mine took a crap this morning. Started acting stupid when I would try to angle left, it would go right the quickly try to go left and end up going right. Also when raising, I would have to bump the button to get it to raise. Switched controllers with another guy I plow with and it did the same on his plow. The closest dealer wants 288 for a new one. That seems high to me.

 

[seville009]

That $288 is cheap compared to around here - they go for $330.

Pretty crappy deal from Western - pay $4,500 or so for a plow and, oh by the way, the controller will die every month and leave you stranded unless you want to cough up some more dough for us.....

 

[William B.]

Has anyone tried to contact Western directly? I have been thinking about writing an email explaining my displeasure over this. My controller is aprox 3 years old. Is this going to be an on going thing? Every three years am I going to have to get another one?

I opened mine up to see if there was by chance a wire that was loose on the circuit board. Everything looked good. Western probably doesnt sell parts and I highly doubt dealers will do any repair on them. More then likely they will just try and sell you a new controller instead.

Just venting....

 

[Honest Mike]

This is funny because the joystick control I had in my old Chevy worked for years and never gave an ounce of trouble. It was installed in 1993. It is still going strong with the new owner as well...Mike

 

[seville009]

Just an update.....dealer called yesterday to say that they have the new wires for the controller in, and to bring it in for re-wiring.

I'll do that, but won't know really if it is any better until I get through the whole winter without it dying, I guess.

I'm posting this in case others had the wiring problems so that they know that allegedly there is now a fix.

 

[Mark Oomkes]

Why would they rewire it and not just give you a new one?

I wonder how extensively this part was tested and if it is 'improved' over the Blizzard model. :grinz :grinz

 

[squisher]

Reading all this makes me a little nervous for my new MVP+. I would just like to ask if anyone has had this problem with the joystick control as well or just with the button/handheld controllers? Any info would be apreciated as I'm starting to wonder if I shouldn't have a spare controller on hand or not. I have someone to back me up but of course if they are plowing instead of me I'm missing out on $$$$.

 

[Pickering Snow]

Reading all this makes me a little nervous for my new MVP+. I would just like to ask if anyone has had this problem with the joystick control as well or just with the button/handheld controllers? Any info would be apreciated as I'm starting to wonder if I shouldn't have a spare controller on hand or not. I have someone to back me up but of course if they are plowing instead of me I'm missing out on $$$$.

Cant say iam not a bit nervous with the XLS has well, one thing carry a spare . I think it comes down to your dealer again and DD . Last year on the second storm the contoller started failing on my speed wing now keep in mind my dealer is 650 miles from me Jerre had me a spare the next day. He also gave me the repair for the defect one on the phone i belive very late that night.

For the short time i owned my 03 MVP i cant say i had problems with the contoller other than it got to be kinda a hand warmer after a few hours of plowing.

When i had all Uni mounts i always had spare cab commands just a habit, still have a Western uni micro joystick i used if everything failed you can never be too prepared, most likely i will have Jerre pick up a spare for the XLS to carry in the truck again can never be too prepared.

 

[squisher]

Hmm my dealer has been a little less than fantastic so far (I'm a new guy still). He wouldn't get me any actual prices on western spreaders, this after buying a brand new plow off of him. And when pressed about spare parts I may want to carry, the only thing he would say was 'nothing will ever go wrong with that plow' . Really? So I should be calling you at 3:00am when something messes up. I'm gonna try and get my hands on a spare controller I think and I'm sure that my dealer is going to be treating me like I'm some kind of an idiot when I ask him about it.

Oh well I'd rather be treated like an idiot and be prepared then be an actual idiot and not be prepared :huh

 

[seville009]

After my controller went bad during a storm this past winter, I bought a spare to carry around. Cost alot, but it's worth it for the peace of mind.

Since I bought a spare, of course, now my main controller will never ever crap out on me again.

 

[seville009]

After my controller went bad during a storm this past winter, I bought a spare to carry around. Cost alot, but it's worth it for the peace of mind.

Since I bought a spare, of course, now my main controller will never ever crap out on me again.

Regarding the joystik not having the same problems, I don't know. I did as my dealer last year when my controller died, and he told me that the joystik used the same wires, and would have the same problems. Whether that is true or not, I don't know.

 

[seville009]

Just an update - my Western dealer has the "new" wires in to replace the ones in the controller that are apparently too brittle.

Dealer replaced the wires in my controller this week.

Just letting everyone know in case you need to get your wires replaced too.