We Blindly Bought a Dead Florida Salt Dozer at Auction

John Deere 650H Dozer Auction Gamble: Electrical Failure, Frozen Water Pump, & Hydrostatic Troubleshooting. We bought this John Deere 650H hydrostatic crawler dozer sight-unseen from an online auction out of Florida, and it arrived completely dead. The previous owners said the engine wouldn't run and the digital dash display was entirely non-responsive. In this video, we bring the machine into the shop to systematically trace the electrical system, isolate a broken main accessory relay wire, replace a compromised machine interface wiring harness, and swap out a dead instrument cluster to pull the actual hours and service codes. Once we got power restored to the transmission controller and engine ECU, we tackle a frozen water pump causing belt slip, unstick a seized neutral safety detent ball in the shifter assembly, and replace a faulty left-hand track motor speed sensor that was causing erratic drive behavior. We also detail undercarriage inspection, including a worn-through track adjuster yoke that's actively blowing grease past the seals, and step-by-step idler replacement. 0:00 - Rain Day Projects & Shop Bird Rescue 2:02 - The Auction Gamble: Unloading the Dead John Deere 650H 3:06 - Battery Compartment Inspection & Core Fluid Check 5:15 - Tracing the Dead Electrical System & Accessory Relay Failure 8:34 - Inspecting a Worn Track Adjuster Yoke & Blown Idler Seals 9:33 - Harness Inspection & Swapping the Digital Dash Display 11:07 - Cutting the Fuel Tank Lock & Priming the System 13:46 - First Engine Start & Diagnosing the Belt Squeal 15:48 - Checking Hydrostatic Drive Codes & Shifter Disassembly 18:22 - First Move & Isolating the Faulty Left Track Speed Sensor 20:12 - Water Pump Teardown: Diagnosing a Seized Pulley 24:05 - Explaining H-Series Adjustable Speed Sensors vs. J-Series 26:55 - Fabricating & Prepping the New Idler Assembly 29:04 - Pressing Out the Old Track Idler 33:56 - Installing the New John Deere Water Pump & Gasket 37:06 - Routing the Engine Belt & Reassembling the Fan Shroud 40:44 - Installing the New $400 Machine Interface Harness 42:31 - Pressing the New Idler and Yoke Assembly into the Track Frame 45:03 - Adjusting Track Tension & Pumping Grease Seals 49:07 - Final Field Test & Identifying Hydraulic Cylinder Leaks 51:01 - Parts Availability & Wrap-Up #HeavyEquipment #JohnDeere #AuctionFinds #mechanic Emails [email protected] [email protected] Equipment and attachments www.ccsurplus.com Parts www.ccsurplusparts.com