Planters and Drills Equipped with Seed Monitor Systems
Symptoms
Seed tube sensor shows low or high population or no population on SeedStar™ or ComputerTrak™ monitor. What are the best procedures to ensure that that the seed tube sensors are operating properly?
Situation or Problem
Seed tube sensor is counting incorrect population or wiring harness is pinched.
Radar is not calibrated.
Check the following items on the seed tube sensors and wiring harness:
Clean seed tube sensor lenses with soft brush.
Swap sensor to a different row which is functioning correctly. If the symptom follows to the new row, the sensor is malfunctioning.
If a sensor shows no population, run a Seed Tube Sensor Test when using a SeedStar Monitor to determine if sensor is detected by the monitor.
Use the "Seed Count Mode" or "Seed Drop Test" feature which allows you to put the monitor in a mode where it will count the number of seeds that pass by the sensor (drop a known amount of seed through the sensor and see if the monitor agrees). This info can be found in the operators manual.
If using sensors with LED lights, the LED on the sensor should blink when you drop a seed down the seed tube.
In some cases, a cut or pinched wiring harness can cause one or more seed tube sensors to malfunction. Inspect the harness, paying close attention to flex and fold joints on the planter frame. If operating in no-till, look for areas where residue can contact the harness.
Check the following items on the radar:
Calibrate radar in the field to ensure accuracy.
Verify population reading on monitor by doing a field verification. Count number of seeds dropped by meter and calculate actual population.
