‘Tis the season for not-so-fun combine problems stalling progress on your last few rows this harvest. To navigate through combine challenges, the folks at AgWeb pulled together the five most common combine-related issues equipment dealers here during harvest – and more importantly, how to handle them:

1. The yield monitor display is blank after starting up the machine. How to manage: Shut off the engine and wait 30 seconds, then restart. If that doesn’t work, disconnect the battery cables for 30 seconds.

2. The combine won’t move. How to manage: Shut the engine off, reposition the hydro lever in the cab, then see if the hydro pump control arm moved appropriately.

3. The automatic header height control system doesn’t work when switching fields. How to manage: Inspect electrical connectors between the combine and the header. Bent pins are management but female sockets sliding back into their housing when harness connectors are pressed together are trickier. Use a small screwdriver against each socket to see if any are loose.

4. Someone else ran the combine and now the header height control system is out of whack. How to manage: Check activation buttons to see if they are “on” or “off”.

5. Auto Height control worked fine last fall but now it is doing weird things. How to manage: Be suspicious of varmint damage. Remove and inspect wiring harnesses hidden in frame tubes.

Read more common combine problems and tips for solving them here.