New Holland 644 Auto Wrap timing issue

I have having troubles getting my 644 New Holland round baler to tie a bale. First problem was getting it to leave a long enough pigtail hanging out of the twine tubes. I discovered that this was happening because the twine tubes that are supposed to fold up and out of the way after wrapping a bale are not folding up all the way which causes it to not pull enough twine out to leave a long pigtail. I am getting out of the tractor to manually push the twine into the bale so that it will wrap. I have been fighting this a long time with very little noticable effect. I did adjust the arm that controls the twine tubes to maximum length, this helped a bit but not much.

Now the problem is even worse, the twine tubes don't even go up that far anymore, now they don't even go up far enough to even cut the twine. I find myself getting off of the tractor after tieing a bale to cut the twine. These twine arms need to go up at least another 6 inches or more than they are. It seems like a timing issue. The tieing indicator (that shows the process of tieing) on the front of the baler is off too. Its like a chain jumped a gear or something. Any ideas of things to look at? I'm about ready to take this into a dealer, but can't imagine what it would cost or how long it would take them to get to it. Any helpful advice or ideas would be appreciated. Thanks!

If you don't have the service manual I'd say take to dealer. There are so many adjustments. Its not like a set of knotters on a square baler. Usually 2-3 hrs will get it all set back to spec unless you've got to have some parts actually replaced.

The only piece of machinery more touchy than a combine is a baler - especially a round baler. I consider myself lucky to understand the combine and be able to tinker with the square baler. The round baler I just hook up and pray that it works. And every time it ties. And every time it starts a new bale. Really, pretty much all of the time that it is hooked to a tractor.

Check for worn or bent parts. If the twine is not staying out, loosen the tension on the twine.

I had issues with my auto tie on my 855 for the first 10 bales this year. My first bale it tied almost all the way, then the arms stopped coming back up. This is only my second year with the baler and auto tie. I tracked the problem down to a spring loaded arm behind the pulley that drives the auto tie, if the spring arm is opened up at all, it disengages the drive to the auto tie, and stops the arms. I sprayed it with lube and worked it several times, after the 10th bale it finally started working properly so I did not have to get off the tractor anymore. I'm guessing the mechanism on your baler is not much different, look for the shaft driving the auto tie, follow it to the back side of the pulley, if it is the same you will see two arms off the shaft with a spring between them, lube it and work it, hopefully this helps.

I just looked up the parts, If you look at the online parts lookup, Menu item (35) Auto-Wrap Twine Wrapper Drive, Part Number 62 is the parts and area I had issues with on my baler, may not be your issue, but worth looking at.

First thing- get a manual. It will tell you how far to adjust the needles together when the are all the way into the feed throat. Second- make sure the twine arms are latched. There is a catch to keep them from breaking if they meet an obstruction. You should be able to do this by pulling the arms toward the tractor when they are retracted. You'll feel a snap when they lock into place. It is pretty stiff, but they should be (at my guess) around 8' or so in front of the cutoff plated at this point. This is also the amount of twine that will dangle in front of the bale when the arms are extended into the baler. Another BIG thing you may be encountering is the twine 'bullet' on the end of the twine arm. Your baler, like mine, is getting some age on it, and therefore, wear. The twine has a tendency to run on the inside of the arm end as it retracts and eventually cuts a groove in the collar of that bullet, letting the twine retract a little bit as the arm snaps into the chamber. It's aggravating as hell, because that isn't quite enough twine going in to start the wrapping process. Try putting the right bullet on the left side, and the left on the right. It only takes one or two bolts on each to swap them. Don't forget to change the twine sides, too. Make sure you have the couple of inch separation in the needles when they're in the chamber, the needles are retracting correctly, reset your twine in the holders and try it. Mine was giving me a fit tying until I figured that out, and the CNH mechanics I talked to were no help. But, I did mine last year, and knock on wood, the machine hasn't missed a bale since. I take that back- the twine broke when a knot hung up and it missed a bale before I noticed it.......Oh, yeah. GET A MANUAL......