An engine that runs fine while the machine sits paralyzed is a specific kind of frustrating. The good news: the list of causes is short, the first half of it doesn't need tools, and the machine is usually telling you which half you're in.

Start in the seat

• Seat bar and seatbelt switches. Most skid steers kill the drive, not the engine, when the restraint system isn't happy. Lift and reset the bar, check the belt is latched, and look for a flashing lockout light on the dash.
• Parking brake. Bumped switches happen. So do brake solenoids that stick after sitting in the weather.
• The lockout ladder. Work through every interlock light the display shows. A machine that thinks the door is open, on models with door switches, won't move and won't say why in plain English. The operator's manual has the interlock list; five minutes with it beats an afternoon of guessing.

Then the drive system

• Hydraulic fluid level. The drive runs on the same fluid as everything else. Low enough to starve the charge pump means no drive, sometimes with the loader arms still working, which is exactly the combination that fools people.
• Cold fluid. If it only refuses to move when cold, that's a different article and a different fix: thick fluid, water freezing in the reservoir, or a tired pump showing its age.
• Tow valve. If the machine was ever towed or winched dead onto a trailer, the bypass valve may still be cracked open. It's a small valve, it's easy to miss, and it makes a perfectly healthy machine roll dead.

When it's deeper

Charge pressure problems, a failing hydrostatic pump, or a drive motor are diagnostic territory: gauges, not guesses. If the machine is stuck on a jobsite, that's a normal call for us. The service truck comes to it, we test before we swap, and every job is quoted before the van rolls. Call 660-280-3880 or use the service request form.