Bad Grounds Suck
#11
I gave the starter a real test yesterday. I sat with the truck off for about 6 hours with the inverter running, and when I went to start it, it was just under 12V. Fired up without any problem. No lugging, no hesitating, nothing. This starter is a WIN in my book.
Time will tell if the batteries can handle the abuse I'm throwing at them though.
#12
The best way to be sure the starter has a proper ground (and the way it used to be done before truck builders started trying to cut corners by using less copper cable) is to run a 0 gauge cable directly from the ground side of the batteries to the ground post on the starter.
This would be in addition to the existing ground cables attached to the frame. No matter how good of a connection there is where the ground cables bolt to the frame, there is bound to be some amount of resistance, and that resistance will only increase with time due to corrosion from salt spray etc. The newer Internationals where I work have the ground cable to frame, then ground cable from frame to starter setup, and we have had to unbolt & clean the connections on those too, but we went a step further and ran a direct ground to the starter as previously described. Also, in a previous thread I described another cause of poor starter performance: http://www.classadrivers.com/forum/t...art-truck.html Also double check those short cables that connect the 3 or 4 batteries together. We've had a couple of those where the copper terminal fractured inside the plastic covering at the cable end. If this happens to one of the cables between bat # 1 & 2 in the lineup, it causes the truck to only be able to utilize one battery out of the 3 or 4, causing sluggish starting. Externally, nothing appears wrong, but you need to pull them all off the batteries and check the cables for continuity. Also visually inspect the terminal ends, if they look questionable, replace them.
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#13
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Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: jackassville (winnipeg, mb)
Posts: 3,280
Mine is a touch sluggish, but I think that's due to the batteries. Definitely not the starter, it's only a few months old and works fine normally. Just cranks a little slow when it's cold. Maybe it's a ground!
#14
No matter how good of a connection there is where the ground cables bolt to the frame, there is bound to be some amount of resistance, and that resistance will only increase with time due to corrosion from salt spray etc.
Last edited by Musicman; 11-08-2008 at 03:47 PM.
#15
Also double check those short cables that connect the 3 or 4 batteries together.
We've had a couple of those where the copper terminal fractured inside the plastic covering at the cable end. If this happens to one of the cables between bat # 1 & 2 in the lineup, it causes the truck to only be able to utilize one battery out of the 3 or 4, causing sluggish starting. Externally, nothing appears wrong, but you need to pull them all off the batteries and check the cables for continuity. Also visually inspect the terminal ends, if they look questionable, replace them.
#16
Isn't the reason people buy new trucks to eliminate problems?
Funny how my old '96 Fr8shKr gives me no trouble. Ground studs are factory welded to the frame on mine. Kinda throws that new truck/old truck theory under the bus!
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#17
New trucks are not necessarily better than old ones. Had my last truck not been stolen, I'd have kept it. All a new truck is, is a source of unknown problems. Every truck seems to have a "personality." Two identical trucks will have different mechanical issues and drive a little differently. At least with a truck that you've had for a long time, you know what to expect and when to expect it (as far as mechanical problems go.
#18
As a point of interest; anyone who understands electricty, and works with it in a shop should know how to test for a bad ground... it is a measurable parameter in electrical testing, and does not require removal of the jumper cables, battery cables, etc.
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#19
I agree with the gentleman Musicman. The electrical systems in American trucks appear almost to be put in as an afterthought. This comes as no surprise to me, as I am of the opinion that the entire truck is mostly engineered and constructed as an afterthought. Rolling junk. I have wondered where we would be if Toyota and Honda had entered the market already? My employer is responsible for the costs associated with the poor workmanship on my Freightliner(Chrysler). Thank goodness! I jump out and drive away in my personal Toyota. Indeed, a sad state of affairs.
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Last edited by belpre122; 11-09-2008 at 02:13 PM.
#20
Indicative of the overall poor standards to which American trucks are spec'd and built. The posts following the above only reaffirm the frustration felt by operators and owners of these shoddy pieces of workmanship.
I agree with the gentleman Musicman. The electrical systems in American trucks appear almost to be put in as an afterthought. This comes as no surprise to me, as I am of the opinion that the entire truck is mostly engineered and constructed as an afterthought. Rolling junk. I have wondered where we would be if Toyota and Honda had entered the market already? My employer is responsible for the costs associated with the poor workmanship on my Freightliner(Chrysler). :hellno::hellno::hellno::hellno: Thank goodness! I jump out and drive away in my personal Toyota. Indeed, a sad state of affairs. Ooooooooh Gary! Oh deer! Deer deer deer !!! You is mis-informed on who makes your twuck! Spreaken-ze-deutch! The company that owns the manufacturer of your fine piece of "Used to be American" twuck......Is DiamlerBenz!!! They just did away with their Sterling (re;Ford twuck line). :lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol: Time for you to get some beauty sleep...so you may ponder these informative lessonz. :zzz::zzz::zzz::zzz::zzz::zzz::zzz:
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