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M1079 start button won't trigger the starter.

GeneralDisorder

Well-known member
Steel Soldiers Supporter
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Portland, OR
Yep. With these trucks you MUST re-do every ground point if you don't want to be chasing electrical gremlins forever. And while you're at that clean all the power connections as well. #1 task for a new FMTV owner IMO is to spend a week addressing every electrical connection and checking/changing every fluid and filter.

THEN we can talk about the state of everything rubber on your new truck..... 😬

If you really want to find every problem. AFTER you do all that - daily drive the truck for ~10,000 miles. Not only will you find more shit you didn't know you needed to fix, you will also be the expert that some of us are. I'm just about up to 20,000 miles of daily driving. I dare say I have one of the best running LMTV's out there...... civilian or military..... have worked on multiple trucks that are still "in service" with the boys down at the local base. I get phone calls because it's easier to just ask me than try to find some problems with the TM.
 

MatthewWBailey

Thanks for this site. My truck runs great now!
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Mesa Colorado
All 3 major ground points are painted with CARC so they don't function. I think they thought that star washer would be enough to cut thru the paint. Every truck seems to suffer from this. RE drill frame on both sides to make a clean attachment for the Alt gnd, Starter/batt gnd, and cab ground. The starter ground is kinda hidden but behind the bolt circled in red...
All kinds of things start working after this very big job.

View attachment 928929View attachment 928930View attachment 928931View attachment 928932View attachment 928933View attachment 928937View attachment 928938View attachment 928939
Here's the 3rd of the "big 3". I added one on either side. These are 18" braids. 24-30 would've been better but these were only $20.

B68BE348-19CD-45D2-83C0-69F67688461D.jpegF7B360E9-0F43-4991-B2ED-18F68D2115D9.jpeg
 

MapleNomad

New member
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Location
Massachusetts
Its been raining on and off all week so my progress has been slow. So far I've cleaned a few grounding points, i haven't had any luck but im gonna just go through and clean all the terminals. But once this weather lightens up im gonna hunt this darn ground fault.
 

MatthewWBailey

Thanks for this site. My truck runs great now!
Steel Soldiers Supporter
794
1,446
93
Location
Mesa Colorado
Its been raining on and off all week so my progress has been slow. So far I've cleaned a few grounding points, i haven't had any luck but im gonna just go through and clean all the terminals. But once this weather lightens up im gonna hunt this darn ground fault.
My water temp and oil psi gauges didn't work at all until I moved that alternator ground strap. Then they just turned on lol.

MA weather. I was with a company in Hopkinton as their EM for 4 years, albeit semi-remotely. It rained on every trip I took back there.
 

Ronmar

Well-known member
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Location
Port angeles wa
You could probably take a small alligator clip lead and connect between the ground leg on the aux start, over to where the ground lug connects to the main starter solenoid(has a short wire that runs tot he main starter ground lug on the front end of the start motor) and it will work fine untill you figure out the OEM ground path…
 
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