msgjd
Well-known member
- 1,085
- 3,338
- 113
- Location
- upstate ny
Has anyone out there ever discovered whether there's a 24V version of the intake heater plug? ..
Been round and round a bit on the web and on the champion site, wasting a lot of time and finding conflicting/incorrect info going against what most of us on here already know about the 12V plugs and their application(s)..
For a very long time my thoughts have been that the 12V plug draws down one battery at a higher amperage than need be, thus can compromise the start on the worst of days/nights.. A 24V version, if they exist, would draw across all the batteries equally and at half the amperage.. That should be a no-brainer to shoot for.. The MEP002 and MEP003 use a pair of CH49's (12V) wired in series for 24V.. They look similar to the CH48's in the M809-series trucks, and it's too bad there isn't a pair of plugs on the trucks. What I have found so far alludes that there were no 24V plugs made
All of the "ancient" Caterpillar equipment I ran or later owned had 24V preheat systems and never seemed to draw down the battery bank much at all.. I never understood why the M809-series got stuck with a 12V heater.. But then again, how often does common sense come into play when it comes to gov't design & procurement?
Of course there's the solution to wire a big resistor ahead of the heater plug and hook it up to 24V, but that's wasted heat .. Maybe I should mount the resistor on the cab floor for my cold feet while I pump the primer
Been round and round a bit on the web and on the champion site, wasting a lot of time and finding conflicting/incorrect info going against what most of us on here already know about the 12V plugs and their application(s)..
For a very long time my thoughts have been that the 12V plug draws down one battery at a higher amperage than need be, thus can compromise the start on the worst of days/nights.. A 24V version, if they exist, would draw across all the batteries equally and at half the amperage.. That should be a no-brainer to shoot for.. The MEP002 and MEP003 use a pair of CH49's (12V) wired in series for 24V.. They look similar to the CH48's in the M809-series trucks, and it's too bad there isn't a pair of plugs on the trucks. What I have found so far alludes that there were no 24V plugs made
All of the "ancient" Caterpillar equipment I ran or later owned had 24V preheat systems and never seemed to draw down the battery bank much at all.. I never understood why the M809-series got stuck with a 12V heater.. But then again, how often does common sense come into play when it comes to gov't design & procurement?
Of course there's the solution to wire a big resistor ahead of the heater plug and hook it up to 24V, but that's wasted heat .. Maybe I should mount the resistor on the cab floor for my cold feet while I pump the primer
Last edited: