Scared myself today

[wallew]

Went out to start the deuce. Flipped the accessory switch and hit the start button. I saw sparks arcing underneath the space next to the drivers seat. Opened the panel up on the drivers side floor and hit the button again. HUGE sparks and then nothing.

I crawled up under the truck but didn't SEE anything remotely electrical.

So, exactly what did I short out? Truck now has zero power to anything.

HELP!! Also, any TM suggestions would be appreciated.

jim

 

[cranetruck]

Jim, you may simply have burned up a battery terminal. If the connection was loose, you may have seen the sparks across the bottom of the cab. The second try could have opened the battery terminal completely. Should have made a bit of noise too.

 

[wallew]

Bjorn,
I thought of that and inspected the batteries. They LOOK ok, but I'm going to go out and check them with a voltmeter.

Having said that, is there ANYTHING under the 'trans tunnel' that IS electrical??

thx.

jim

 

[wallew]

OK, upon closer inspection, one of the neg connectors was loose just a little. I tightened that up and now have power back.

BUT as soon as I touch the start button, MEGA SPARKS under the cab. What have I DONE??

thx in advance.

jim

 

[CGarbee]

Did you check the cable running from the battery to the starter?? It runs under the cab on it's way forward and may have chaffed along the way and be shorting out when you crank the truck... You also have the electrical line to the pump in the fuel tank running along the rear edge of the cab, but if that was shorting out I would expect it to do so when you turned the power on unless it is doing it when the turck rocks as the starter engages (intermittent contact with the cab...), rear harness runs along the driver's side frame rail as well (in fact, it includes the lines running to and from the fuel tank)...

Crawl under the truck and look...

Good luck,

 

[cranetruck]

I think you should check your battery connections one more time. Take them off, clean and reinstall and don't forget the jumper between the batteries.
After the spark occurs, go around and CAREFULLY touch the terminals, a bad connection will be very hot. (Use common sense here)

 

[wallew]

ALL of you were dead bang on the money. The culprit was the bolt that attaches the negative cable to the frame. Boy did I fry that puppy!!

I'll post the results after I replace it with a better one.

thx to everyone. SCARED MYSELF SILLY!

jim

 

[wallew]

One new bolt, washer, lock washer and nut later she fired right up. Purred like the kitten she is.

I started today being scared silly by loads of sparks from an unknown problem.

I finished today having my ego boosted by reconfirming that this is absolutely THE BEST VEHICLE I've ever owned.

I owe it all to this website AND everyone here who gave me the courage to purchase this truck and then the knowledge and prodding to stand firm and fix my own truck.

I CAN'T THANK YOU ALL ENOUGH. Long live Steel Soldiers!

jim

 

[WillWagner]

Ditto.The knowledge and info and the willingness to share the previous, is awsome

 

[emmado22]

So where exactly was the bolt, and what did it do?

 

[wallew]

emmando22,
This bolt is attached to the frame of the truck. If you pull your battery tray out and look at the negative cable and where it goes up under the cab, it goes from there to the frame (attached by this bolt) and then another cable goes up under the passenger seat to the Nato slave cable outlet on the passenger side of the truck.

I had checked all my cables and they all seemed tight. As I pulled the battery tray out, I looked at how the cables were routed and saw that it attached to the frame by this bolt.

One tug on the cable showed this bolt to be loose. WHO KNEW? It's a little awkward to get to the bolt back up under the frame, but I finally got it off. It was completely rusted, which made it a challenge.

jim

 

[Armada]

Good work Jim. You've only had your truck a couple months and you're already getting to be an expert!
You are right, always learning on this site!

 

[wallew]

It's funny. THIS IS EXACTLY like owning my Harley. At first I was real nervous about doing ANYTHING to my brand new bike for fear of 'screwing up' something.

But I have been working on my vehicles for thirty plus years. So one day I pulled out my tool boxes and then jumped onto a problem the dealership just couldn't figure out. At least they didn't charge me anything because they didn't DO anything other than a few quick electrical tests.

I even wrote a story about it and got that published in a Harley rag on the West Coast. Pictures and all.

Anyway, this is EXACTLY the same, though less nervous about doing the work, I was a bit hesitant. It's like doing the Super Single swap. I have the tires. I have the new lug nuts, the seals, and the gaskets. ALL I've got to do is flip four hubs and away I go.

But I've been using the 'it's way too cold' type of excuse to not do the work. While it HAS been cold and VERY windy and I don't have a garage (which doesn't really matter, because even if I did the truck would NOT fit into it due to it's height) but it's still just an excuse.

We should be having a warm spell in the next few days. THEN the tires ARE going to be switched out. I just needed a little nudge from the truck and help from you guys.

THANKS AGAIN.

jim

 

[emmado22]

Wallew,

Heres your Nudge! GET US SOME PICS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[DrFoster]

Interesting help tip of the day - (From my military days) Since a lot of those grounding bolts like to come loose , put some thick CA glue on the threads, clean the hole, Clean the surrounding metal and tighten that turd in there. After that, some guys would put metallic epoxy over the bolt.

It'll never come back out.

 

[wallew]

emmando22,
Thx for the nudge. Here are the pix.

 

[colyork]

but sure is great have everyone here when you have a question!