M1010 for my daughter the field biologist

[Another Ahab]

They think they got it all. Plan A is in effect. Thanks for all the prayers!

That's great news to hear! I sure hope you recover to feeling 100% real soon.

 

[Csm Davis]

Hope you fully recover and feel 100% in record time. Praying for you.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

 

[Trailboss]

Great news! Recovering from basal and squamous cell excisions and two completely torn rotator cuff tendons myself. Getting old sucks. Now, back to the trucks, just a little slower and one day/one project at a time.

 

[USAFSS-ColdWarrior]

PRAISE GOD FROM WHOM ALL BLESSINGS FLOW !!!

A prayer of thanksgiving for the learned minds and skilled hands of the medical professionals caring for you. Thanks for them following a calling in their lives that your are benefiting. Rightfully, give all the glory and honor to God for His ordination of and orchestration of all this coming together in His harmony.

 

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Battery Tender Failed

I've kept a 0.8 Amp Battery Tender on the front battery forever. I moved it from my previous truck, a C3500 with a 6.5 diesel. Normally the battery tender LED tells the status of the charge. Solid green means the battery is fully charged and the charger is in maintenance or float mode. Flashing green means the battery is >80% charged. The charger also has a non-green LED which might be amber or red, depending on the vintage of your charger. When this amber or red LED is solid, it's charging. If it's flashing, that indicates an error state. The charger thinks the wiring is wrong, the battery is too sulfated to charge, or the battery is too flat (<3V), and it's not charging your battery.

My ~5-year-old Battery Tender 800 started flashing yellow. I poked around with a meter and couldn't find a problem. I started to suspect the Battery Tender was defective, so I ordered 2 more, one for each battery. I installed them, using the old wiring that was already in place, and they work fine. They both show solid green after a day of charging.

So if your Battery Tender starts flashing yellow, it may be time to replace it. I like having two now, to make fault isolation easier. Next time, it will be much quicker to determine if I have a battery problem, a wiring problem, a fuse problem, or a failed Battery Tender, since I can switch between 2 different Battery Tenders.

The photo below shows them in operation. I haven't decided where to locate them permanently, yet. The plug hangs out the corner of the cab, making it easy to plug in the truck. I use an orange extension cord that runs across the windshield en route to the plug, so I can't forget to unplug.

I know 0.8 Amps isn't much for a 1000 CCA battery, but I only ask the Battery Tender to keep the batteries topped off. They do this very well for me. Even if I don't start the truck for a few weeks in the dead of winter, the batteries are always fresh and 100%, and I get a quick start every time.

I also sometimes use the truck for short trips around town, where the engine doesn't run long enough to fully recharge the batteries from the load used in starting the truck. The Battery Tender may take all day to do it, but it does top them off when that happens.

Good batteries aren't cheap. Battery abuse leads to battery failure, which can happen at extremely inconvenient times. The Battery Tender keeps my batteries topped off, pampering them and maximizing their life expectancy. I never have to wonder about the state of my batteries, increasing my confidence in the truck. For me, the Battery Tender is worth the trouble and expense.

 

[Recovry4x4]

Great news on the battery tenders. I am just entering the world of smart chargers and the NOCO Genius stuff. I own several but this one is on my radar.
https://www.amazon.com/NOCO-GEN2-Waterproof-Battery-Charger/dp/B003JSJS5I
JW4x4 has had a G4 maintaining the 4 batteries in his 5 ton for years and swears by it.
This 2 bank is might be installed before winter.
They also have a cool panel mount plug for 110 input and I bought a few of these for other vehicles here.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B009...3_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=8K3D6G65VS6F9TJAPFRJ

 

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...NOCO Genius stuff...

I bought 2 Battery Tender 800s, mostly because I've used them for years. They're small & light enough to mount easily. They draw little power, so a long light-weight outdoor extension cord is more than sufficient. If there are better products out there now, I'd be interested in learning about them.

This is the first time I've had one fail. I'm a little disappointed that it lasted only ~5 years. Maybe there's a better product out there.

I prefer 2 single-bank chargers over one 2-bank charger because when a charger fails, having 2 makes it easier to diagnose the problem.

The Battery Tenders do the standard 3-stage charge -- a bulk phase where the charger outputs 0.8 amps until voltage reaches 13.8V, an absorption phase where the charger ramps down on the amps until the voltage hits 14.5V, and then a float phase where the charger maintains 13.2V indefinitely.

I've not really looked into this for many years, but last time I checked, this was the right profile for keeping big lead-acid batteries topped off. I realize recharging a depleted battery requires more amps, but that's not what a trickle charger is for. Is there a better way to maintain our batteries?

 

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30-days post-op blood tests show no detectable cancer! :^)

The value of the PSA test has been called into question in the news lately. That test is the only thing that detected my cancer. For me, the PSA test was a huge win. It caught an aggressive cancer early enough that they fixed it with surgery alone.

Thanks for all the prayers and positive thoughts, folks. It worked!

 

[ODFever]

Thanks for sharing the great news with us, jpg!! How are you feeling? Are you back to turning wrenches on the M1010?

 

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Thanks for sharing the great news with us, jpg!! How are you feeling? Are you back to turning wrenches on the M1010?

2 weeks until I'm cleared for lifting.

 

[Another Ahab]

2 weeks until I'm cleared for lifting.

That's almost nothing. It's right around the corner.

 

[WARWAG]

Thank God. Glad to hear the great news.

 

[cucvrus]

Good News. We sure missed you at Rausch Creek this fall. The guys all ask where Santa Claus was. I told them you were resting up and getting ready for Christmas and you would be back at Spring Rausch Creek to show off the M1010 and its awesome off road capability. Lest we ever forget. You sure did show up quite a few last spring. Kampfgruppe B ran without a medical unit this fall. All was well but others did mention and miss you. Take care Friend. We had a lot of fun. Hope spring time is right for you.

 

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Leaving the office, the starter solenoid clicks, but no juice to the starter. I crawled under the truck to poke around. The starter battery cable had come out of one of the clamps that hold it in position. I pulled gently on the starter battery cable, to move it back into its clamp, and I got a BIG spark at the back end of the starter, where I couldn't see. I disconnected the batteries, and looked again. It's all covered with grease and oil down there, but it appears the starter cable insulation is melted near where the spark happened. No surprise there.

So it's time to replace the starter battery cable, at least. I've searched and read for half an hour, and I can't see how you get to it. I can see in the drawings where the cable attaches to the starter solenoid, but I can't see it on the truck, from above or below. What do I need to remove in order to access this?

I'm off to dinner. Then I'll check back for any wisdom before going back under the hood. At least I'm parked near the subway, and only a few miles from AutoZone.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[Tow4]

I haven't had to pull my starter, but it may be one of those situations were it's easier to drop the starter to take the wires off.

 

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I spent some more time under the truck, looking. The bad cable runs from the 24V distribution block, forward above the inner fender, under the front battery, under the lower alternator, along the engine block to the starter solenoid. There's a cable clamp conveniently located beneath the lower alternator, with at least 1/2" clearance between it and the alternator, just in case access was too easy.

The point where the cable connects to the starter solenoid sits beneath a heat shield which is beneath the exhaust, so access from above is not an option. It sits directly above the front diff and drive shaft, so even if I managed to unbolt it, I couldn't lower it more than a few inches without first removing the drive shaft. There's engine mount in front, and bell housing behind. I'm guessing what I need to do is get it up on a lift so the diff and axle drop away and create some room. Is there a better way? I suppose I could remove the inner fender, but if I remove that I'll need to replace it with a new one. It's in rough shape.

I'd really appreciate some guidance on the best way to fix this. All my ideas suck. I was thinking I could just use a jumper cable to get it started so I could drive home, but I have no access to the terminal on the starter solenoid. Of course the cable broke right at the starter solenoid, not at the convenient and accessible end. My next step is to get out the mirror and try to see exactly where the cable is broken, not that I could do anything about it even if I could see it.

I guess I'm sleeping in the truck tonight. It's not just a truck. It's an adventure!

 

[richingalveston]

put a jack under the frame on passenger side near radiator and jack that side of the truck up for a little more room.

Remove the drive shaft it is easy and worth the time to get out of the way. you can just unbolt it at diff. and push it over to side or tie up out of way. normally don't have to remove t-case end.

wire must be installed before mounting starter.

once the drive shaft is out of the way and the jack in place, you should have the room needed to remove it.

a lift really helps and even a lift kit makes it easier. it can be done laying on your back under the truck

good luck.
Rich

 

[ODFever]

Remove the starter. It's a big pain, but doable with the passenger side jacked up like Rich suggested. I've replaced the starter on my M1009 so many times I got it down to 30 minutes including finding the right sized wrenches and sockets. I never pulled the driveshaft. Anyway, you'll have a better idea of what's happening to the starter once you have it in your hands. Slide a drop light under the truck so you can really see what's going on.

My advice for removing the starter: bust loose all of the bolts but keep them tight, then climb out from under the truck. Grab a spare small floor jack and slide it underneath. Jack it up so it can take the weight of the starter. Remove the bolts and set the starter on the jack. Doing so makes it MUCH easier to remove the wire from the solenoid, and prevents you from setting the starter on your chest (been there, done that. It HURTS).
If you're puling the starter, I HIGHLY recommend installing a gear reduction starter in its place. Fix the wiring issue, and save your current starter as a spare. The gear reduction starter will dramatically reduce the load on your batteries when you start it up. Gear reduction starters require a different rear bracket than standard starters. I don't know what the part number is off the top of my head. It might be a good idea to replace all of your battery cables when replacing the starter. That way, you can evaluate your current set and save the good ones as spares.

 

[ODFever]

I'm sorry. My post didn't address the root cause. I think the thick battery cable that attaches to the starter has come loose, and is the reason you saw sparks. Over time, that sucker loosens up, and can cause intermittent starting issues - weak starts or no starts.

A couple more gems of advice: Put lock washers on the starter wires. Hit the cables with NO OX before you bolt up the new starter. The NO OX will ward off corrosion; a true blessing when you're driving around on salt covered roads.

 

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The cable end was solidly connected to the solenoid. 2-3" back from that point, the insulation was gone. As a get-me-home measure, I wrapped it in several layers of electric tape, then got a work call. I'm on my way now to test it. Wish me luck.