9/26/05: Maintenance Tip: BATTERIES!

[Capt._Chaos]

With winter approaching, now's a great time to load-test your batteries & replace them if necessary. Load-testing your alternator wouldn't hurt either.

Running a truck during the winter months puts a higher load on the electrcal system, and if your batteries are not taking a charge, you could end up with a premature alternator failure.

Clean every bit of corrosion off of the cable connectors, check them for tightness, and spray them with an anti-corrosive spray (Battery Terminal Protector).

Be safe!

[Chiefwhatdahey]

Don't forget all grounds including the cab ground and starter ground. I also clean the ground strap from the starter solenoid to the starter case this is the culprit in many starter replacements.

[shewolf]

Looks all the Capt's maintenance tips apply to us this week. :D We've been having a problem with batts going dead after as little as 3 hrs of sitting with fridge on. Weve never had a fridge drain batts so fast before so had Freightliner in Tulsa check batts 2 wks ago. Batts are under warranty and they said all was good, including alternator. Hmmm? if u say so.

We had Freightliner in OH check them again today while they were fixing the AC. This time we didnt tell them about warranty until they load tested and found 1 bad battery. :D We are learning. They changed battery but another problem has become more apparent. The truck is turning over faster now and you can hear the starter seeming to catch or hesitate 2 or 3 times before starting. Hubby had noticed that before and checked starter wires, they seemed OK.

He had a mechanic from Freightliner listen to it this evening. He said sounded like a ground problem somewhere, a bad solenoid or key switch. He said first step was check all the grounds and make sure they are tight.

OK, guys, what are the obvious places we should check? The mechanic said something about connections on the sidewall?

[Capt._Chaos]

He had a mechanic from Freightliner listen to it this evening. He said sounded like a ground problem somewhere, a bad solenoid or key switch. He said first step was check all the grounds and make sure they are tight.

There's numerous ground cables & straps to check.

*Ground cable from the batteries to the frame rail (this connection often gets ignored until it's too late).

*Ground strap from the frame rail to the engine block (looks like a steel braided strap).

*Ground cable from the alternator to the frame (goes into the wiring harness, but the connector to the alternator often becomes loose or corroded).

*Ground strap from the frame to the cab (is needed, since most all cabs are air-ride on rubber pivot bushings. Some manufacturers tried going without them until problems surfaced later on. If no ground strap is there, have one installed).

OK, guys, what are the obvious places we should check? The mechanic said something about connections on the sidewall?

I mentioned the possible grounding problems above. Now, let's check the positive cables & their connections:

*Positive connections at the batteries.

*Positive connections AT THE STARTER (used as a "junction point" to supply power to the wiring harness for the rest of the vehicle).

*Positive connection AT THE ALTERNATOR (if this one is loose or dirty, it will cause intermittent dead batteries & eventual alternator failure).

Batteries: If you're running a power inverter constantly to power a refrigerator (like I did in my own truck), try to locate a Deka Batteries distributor. They sell what's known as a "High Cycle" battery that is more capable of handling frequent discharges than regular starter batteries.

If the truck is parked for more than 24 hours with the engine or generator off, it's still advisable to look for a place to plug in the refrigerator so you won't kill the batteries.

Alternator: I'm partial to Leece-Neville alternators for a number of reasons. Their power output is better than any Delco-Remy unit I've seen out there and they're (for a NEW-NOT REMANUFACTURED unit) priced cheaper than a rebuilt Delco-Remy. I bought one for $150 at an International dealer back in march. Those LN units tend to last longer too.

[nitestar]

What CC says about Leece Neviles Alt's

They are not used for a core charge so you can take the bad one with you and have it rebuilt and up graded in amps output if you need a spare. I did that to 2 of them and it cost me $150 for both to be rebuilt, one needed a housing too.
You have a good alt with you for emergencys on the road