# Salt Dogg SHPE 0750 - First Impressions and Controller Failure



## merrimacmill (Apr 18, 2007)

I bought a Salt Dogg SHPE 0750 on Friday. Just need it for a few small lots, and want to save space for the transfer tank and tool box in the bed. I used it today for the first time, and had a controller failure.

First, when I took it out of my truck upon getting back from the dealer, I noticed the remote grease fitting, and thought that's nice. Touched it, it broke off the bearing, leaving the threaded part in the bearing.... I mean I barely touched it....

I installed the spreader, easy enough. Perfect size, nice construction. Was impressed with packaging and completeness of its contents. The chute seems nice and I like how it attaches.

I'm using it for the first time today, first 10 mins of use and the spinner fuse blows that's inside the controller, showing "F" on the screen. I opened the box up and replaced the 40a fuse with a 30a fuse because that's all I had. It worked fine for the remainder of the day.

My question is - could I have a bad controller? I am 100% sure it's wired correctly and I'm experienced enough in automotive wiring to say that with confidence. I just don't see a reason this would happen. It was not being strained or anything salt was perfectly dry.


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## Showmestaterida (Dec 28, 2006)

Sucks about the grease fittings and controller. There older controller where more prone to failure. I would put 40 fuse back in and go from there. Hopefully it was a one time ordeal. U said the fuse was in the box not inline the wiring? What was date of build. I know there older controllers had the fuses inside of them but thought all the newer ones were external of the box. Might have an older controller . I bought mine 3 years ago and fuses where external. Many have upgraded to the Karrier controllers , not cheap and not what u want to hear about a new spreader. Take back to dealer if happens again, warranty.


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## John_DeereGreen (Jan 2, 2011)

merrimacmill;1918442 said:


> I'm using it for the first time today, first 10 mins of use and the spinner fuse blows that's inside the controller, showing "F" on the screen. I opened the box up and replaced the 40a fuse with a 30a fuse because that's all I had. It worked fine for the remainder of the day.
> 
> My question is - could I have a bad controller? I am 100% sure it's wired correctly and I'm experienced enough in automotive wiring to say that with confidence. I just don't see a reason this would happen. It was not being strained or anything salt was perfectly dry.


Welcome to the joys of Saltdogg.

If you're relying on it to work every time, the first time, throw your factory controller on the shelf as a backup and order a Karrier Omega

www.karrierco.com


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## merrimacmill (Apr 18, 2007)

Wow, the "joys of salt dogg"? Haha

How can they put out such a crap product, yet still be able to still sleep at night?

It is beginning to really anger me that I may need to replace a brand new controller because the manufacturer can't get their act together...


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## nighthawk117 (Nov 29, 2008)

Fuses don't blow because the product is a piece of crap, there are specific reasons behind it, changing the fuse will never fix the problem. Make absolutely sure that you have a solid , clean , secure ground source !! Check all major connections, use dielectric grease or fluid film on them. I have never encountered problems with mine, take it out of storage in the fall, use it all season, clean it, fluid film it and good to go !!


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## bosman (Oct 20, 2008)

Buyers is a great company to work with, if you are not happy, give them a call. I ran the very same spreader for the same reasons for 6 yrs. The controller was the only thing I had an issue with, I received a new one being under warranty. Just sold it for 1/2 what I paid and had all original motors (auger, spinner, vibrator). Upgraded to a Karrier control after a few seasons, and kept original as backup.

Good Luck


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## nighthawk117 (Nov 29, 2008)

Maybe the unit was dropped or hit, check the spinner motor shaft to see if it's running true. Something is causing an increase in amp draw to blow the fuse.


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## merrimacmill (Apr 18, 2007)

nighthawk117;1919385 said:


> Fuses don't blow because the product is a piece of crap, there are specific reasons behind it, changing the fuse will never fix the problem. Make absolutely sure that you have a solid , clean , secure ground source !! Check all major connections, use dielectric grease or fluid film on them. I have never encountered problems with mine, take it out of storage in the fall, use it all season, clean it, fluid film it and good to go !!


I completely agree that there should be a reason for the fuse to blow. However, since replacing the 40 with a 30 (again, all I had on hand), it has run 5 loads without issue.

I double checked all my wiring, and its clean and perfect as can be. Also I should mention we are talking about a new truck here, not a unit with a lot of issues/corrosion, etc..

You have a good point about extra load being put on the motor to cause it to blow. I ran the unit and went behind it to check things out. Auger seems great. Spinner has some wobble, however it is quite apparent that all the wobble is in the disk itself, the shaft is running very true with no wobble...

One thing I noticed today, with a full load, I would turn on the unit and it wouldn't start spreading right away. Instead the controller would turn on, it would do its blast feature for a few seconds, and then nothing would work for about 20 seconds after that. Sometimes the auger display would flash a few times, and the vibrator would not work. Then all of a sudden, it would all start working again and the auger would stop flashing...

This is my first electric spreader, until now its been all gas. I enjoy the benefits of the electric so far, especially the independent controls of auger and spinner.


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## nighthawk117 (Nov 29, 2008)

Okay, cool, didn't know what you put it on as far as trucks go. If you are having problems and aren't comfortable with it operation, take it back, I would have already been there unloading it and getting my money back, period. If there are serial numbers on it, check the build date, or better yet call buyers and ask. But again, it's brand new and might be defective and you don't and shouldn't have to deal with it. Just my two cents in today's society :waving:


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## rnolloth88 (Nov 18, 2014)

Had a similar situation yesterday as well. I just purchased a new shpe 1500 vbox. 5 minutes into the first lot i was salting. The controller burnt up, all fuses were good in mine though. Smelled like an lectrical fire in the truck. Needless to say i wasn't impressed. Was done for almost 12 hours before i was able to get another controller from dealer under warranty. In that 12 hours I lost roughly $800 from work i had to give to others because a brand new spreader was down. Hopefully that's the last of the bad luck for everyone with salt dog controllers..


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## John_DeereGreen (Jan 2, 2011)

rnolloth88;1921045 said:


> Hopefully that's the last of the bad luck for everyone with salt dog controllers..


Get on Karrier's waiting list for an Omega controller. You won't have the controller issues that happen with these junk digital's.

www.karrierco.com

Sucks to shell out big bucks for a new controller for a brand new box, but that's the only good way to fix it.


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