The water-in-fuel sensor, a small device embedded in the John Deere machine that monitors the integrity of its diesel engine, is disconnected. I’m not a mechanic or a farmer. I’m poking at a laptop at John Deere’s corporate office in Santa Clara, California.
There’s a cable connecting the computer to a 5130ML tractor sitting on the grass nearby. A bright red notification sits on the screen, telling me something is wrong. I type in a question and the software pulls up instructions and a few images from the user manual that matches the serial number of the machine.
I wander over to the tractor and find the parts modeled on the screen. I spot the sensor, with two very obvious dangling wires that need to be connected together. I press them together, hear a little click, then step away and look back at the screen.
The notification has cleared. Everything seems to be fine. In just a couple minutes, all by myself, I’ve fixed the water-in-fuel sensor.
This fix was an easy one. The John Deere employees surrounding me offer their congratulations. They’ve all been very patient with me, someone who has written several articles for WIRED about their company’s seemingly steadfast reluctance to let anyone but its official technicians repair its products.
In the group is Jahmy Hindman, senior vice president and chief technology officer of John Deere, who has flown in from Illinois. Hindman has worked for the company for 30 years. In that time, John Deere has thrived in an era of technological advancement.
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