4200 Dash Problems.

Welcome to DT.

You don't say where you're located; but it sounds like a humid climate. Did you buy the tractor new or used? How many hours are on it?

The 4200 - 4400 dash has a series connectors that are gasketed to keep dirt and water out. I'd suggest you pull the black dash panel and check the integrity of the connectors and dash light bulbs too. As I recall there are just four black screws holding the panel in place and you can lift it high enough to get a look see behind there.

If nothing obvious is staring you in the face, then I suggest you get the shop manual on CD from Deere's publications web site. The CD is half the price of the paper manual and is a treasure trove of information.

Also I'm hoping one of the members who is a Deere mechanic sees your post and can give you pointers.

Welcome to DT!

I seem to remember very early in the 4x00's life there was a recall/DTAC for the fogging issue and the panels where replaced under warranty. If you are not the original owner I would suggest you take your S/N to a dealer and see if was ever changed.


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Thank you both for the tips, I am the original owner of this tractor which has around 500 hours or so on it. When it was new I did take it back to the dealer complaining about the issue, they could not get the tractor to duplicate the problem at the time and just gave it back to me. Since then I have lived with it but in the last month or so it has gotten worse and would just like to be able to see the dash work. I will call up my local JD dealer and see if mine has been recalled or not, I did not receive any mail from JD regarding a recall so I did not know of one. As well as look at the back of the dash and see if any connectors have corroded or not.

Some of those recalls were what my dealer called "Fix as found" and the battery corroding the hydraulic oil cooler was one such example I experienced. The "Fix as found" recalls did not result in Deere issuing recall notices to owners, only bulletins to dealers. The cynic in me says that was one way for Deere to quietly say publicly they addressed the problem; but at minimal cost to the company in money and negative publicity.

mjncad said:

Some of those recalls were what my dealer called "Fix as found" and the battery corroding the hydraulic oil cooler was one such example I experienced. The "Fix as found" recalls did not result in Deere issuing recall notices to owners, only bulletins to dealers. The cynic in me says that was one way for Deere to quietly say publicly they addressed the problem; but at minimal cost to the company in money and negative publicity.

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I just went to my Deere dealer yesterday and talked to the service writer about this issue. You are correct about the "Fix as Found" recall, this dash issue is one of those, I asked if I could at least take the tractor in and have them replace the dash Plexiglas, he told me that Deere does not even have the fix as found order anymore on the 4X00 series tractors since it has been a good 9 years since they were last produced. That made me a bit angry that they would not honor replacing the glass, but on the other hand I cannot expect that order to last forever, it comes a time when you have to let those go.
I am going to take the dash out and see if there are any connectors that have come undone or worked themselves loose from general operating and see if that fixes the problem, so stay tuned I will let you guys know what I find once it comes out. If that doesn't fix it I guess I am going to have to shell out $400 on a new dash :unknown:

The anti-fog lens is still available. The part number is RE72944. The new lens has a coating on the inside to prevent fogging. If your instrument panel is stopping working, the lens won't help that, but it will help the fogging issue. When installing the lens, it is important to not touch the inside of the glass. The coating is soft to the touch and is smeared easily. There was no program to replace these that I remember. It is simply an improved part for people that had this issue. It seemed to only happen in humid climates. If it fogged up under warranty and you complained to the dealer, it should have been replaced free of charge. After warranty the customer was responsible for the cost.