What have you done to your 5 ton this week?

[tobyS]

I get the series of noises you describe Jon and now I seem to have no lights, but the tires air up to what I think is highway. I haven't had time to really get into it. I did spray some wd40 up into the outlets of those valves, hoping to get into the seals. My left front probably has a bad/dry seal on the o-ring.

Is there any reason that a can or two of latex tire sealer cannot go in the tire getting low? I would drive it around to distribute it well.

 

[Plane Fast]

Sorry. I did not see that it was working before.

 

[JohnnyBM931A2]

Sorry. I did not see that it was working before.

Yeah. Last time I started the truck was when it stopped working. It was flashing the first 4 lights, which seems to indicate a proportioning valve issue. I'm thinking about buying a bad one online and taking it apart to see what fails in there. Maybe it is just something simple like having to clean/oil it?

 

[Ford Mechanic]

I get the series of noises you describe Jon and now I seem to have no lights, but the tires air up to what I think is highway. I haven't had time to really get into it. I did spray some wd40 up into the outlets of those valves, hoping to get into the seals. My left front probably has a bad/dry seal on the o-ring.

Is there any reason that a can or two of latex tire sealer cannot go in the tire getting low? I would drive it around to distribute it well.

Sure but it won't fix it. It doesn't take that much to take the tire off and fix it, or take it to a big tire shop.

 

[gottaluvit]

A couple days back mine needed a jump. I am only running two batteries and until then, even in cold the engine zipped with the starter, so I assumed two were fine. Lesson learned: if it came any way stock, there was a reason so leave it stock. Funny thing is I just got two thinking about putting a long stiff charge on the two that seemed dead when I got my truck. So each one, after two days charging, came to life. After my start failure the other day (which came after realizing I could charge the other two), I checked the installed batteries and one had 12.25v and one had 10v. I gave the one with 10v the same long slow stiff charge and it's now holding 12+v. Gonna give all the batteries a couple days and see what voltage they have.

 

[JohnnyBM931A2]

A couple days back mine needed a jump. I am only running two batteries and until then, even in cold the engine zipped with the starter, so I assumed two were fine. Lesson learned: if it came any way stock, there was a reason so leave it stock. Funny thing is I just got two thinking about putting a long stiff charge on the two that seemed dead when I got my truck. So each one, after two days charging, came to life. After my start failure the other day (which came after realizing I could charge the other two), I checked the installed batteries and one had 12.25v and one had 10v. I gave the one with 10v the same long slow stiff charge and it's now holding 12+v. Gonna give all the batteries a couple days and see what voltage they have.

How long since you last ran the truck? I run mine every 3 days or so because the cold around here tends to wipe out batteries pretty quick.

 

[Another Ahab]

How long since you last ran the truck? I run mine every 3 days or so because the cold around here tends to wipe out batteries pretty quick.

I thought I read somewhere that the cold helps a battery hold a charge, and that it's heat that actually kills the charge in a battery.

And as long as that cold battery isn't "called up" for any use, that the cold helps preserve the charge. Trying to crank a cold battery is what actually drains it REAL fast. But leave it alone (and thaw it to temp before cranking), and you're good. Misinformation?

Any Battery PhD's in the house?

 

[Andyrv6av8r]

Ran the truck again today. Went ahead and hit run flat immediately after it started. Run flat and the highway light flashed together for a short time. After that, it went back to just flashing the highway light. I stayed in the truck while it was running for 10-15 minutes. During that time, the highway light never stopped flashing. There was also no honking. The valve on the floor would buzz for a while, then stop. Then buzz for a while, then stop. It did this the entire time.

I went back into the house and let the truck run for another 10 minutes while I cooked a pizza. During that time, it may have honked once.. I can't be sure though. After the additional 10 minutes of running I went back out and shut the truck off. Right as the engine shut off the truck honked. As I went around the back of the truck to go over and open the air drains, I could hear an air leak. It was coming from the passenger side front-rear tire. It was a very strange leak that didn't make sense to me.. I couldn't feel any air leaking anywhere. It sounds like the air was leaking out underneath that hexagonal nut piece that goes into the tire. But like I said, I couldn't feel any air anywhere. It sounded like the air leak was inside the tire, which I thought was weird. None of the other tires were making any noise. I went back into the house, ate my pizza, and when I came out 10 minutes later the "leak" had stopped. I double checked, and it was not because all of the air leaked out. There was still a significant amount of air in the system. At that point I opened the drain valves, released all of the air, and went back into the house.

Anyone else ever experience this issue?

I would recommend checking all of your CTIS related hoses and fittings on all 6 wheels before you start blaming the PCU. When you ran the truck today, did you have the RPM's up, not just idling? I'd recommend hitting runflat and taking the truck on a drive to get plenty of air. Or even better is to take 120+ psi shop air from an air compressor, hook it up to your glad hand and overcome any leaks and inflate your tires as needed. You can really listen to the system and check for leaks much better if the truck isn't running. One of my trucks does exactly the same as yours if it sets for 2 weeks and I know I have a leaking tire on the front. It faults to 4 blinking lights and I just hit run flat to air up that slack tire. The system faults to 4 blinking lights if one or more tires is lower than 10 psi than the others I think.

 

[JohnnyBM931A2]

All I know is that I used to have a lot of battery-related problems in all of my previous personal vehicles (Ford F250, Acura, 2 Audis, and then my Ford Fairlane.) I ended up installing batteries in all of those that had a higher rating than the manufacturer spec. The batteries that I used were all in the 900-1000cca range. After that I had zero issues. I have the same battery-related issue with my work van.. My company has to replace the battery every year because they can't deal with the cold. I think Chevy spec for the battery is 550cca, which is really low.. My sisters Jeep Liberty V6 has a spec of 650. The low cca batteries that get installed in my work van can't handle the cold. They just seem to get weaker and weaker as the Winter progresses and gets colder. Eventually it will get to the point where the truck will be dead if it sits more than 12 hours without running. Then I have to go out there in the freezing cold and jump it with another vehicle, which I hate.

As a point of comparison, the 900ish cca battery in my Fairlane is still going strong after 2.5 years. I just started it on Sunday after sitting for a month and a half in the garage. Had to crank it for about 30 seconds (not continuously) to get it running. Battery was still extremely strong, and had no problem spinning over the engine quickly. And that's a 5.8L V8 with pretty decent compression. Granted, it's parked in the garage, which is warmer than outside. But not much warmer, because it an older home with a garage that has no insulation.

Anyway, that's just been my experience over the years.

 

[infidel got me]

battery

I thought I read somewhere that the cold helps a battery hold a charge, and that it's heat that actually kills the charge in a battery.

And as long as that cold battery isn't "called up" for any use, that the cold helps preserve the charge. Trying to crank a cold battery is what actually drains it REAL fast. But leave it alone (and thaw it to temp before cranking), and you're good. Misinformation?

Any Battery PhD's in the house?[/QU
Lower temps.= lower current flow = slow/lazy battery

 

[74M35A2]

I thought I read somewhere that the cold helps a battery hold a charge, and that it's heat that actually kills the charge in a battery.And as long as that cold battery isn't "called up" for any use, that the cold helps preserve the charge. Trying to crank a cold battery is what actually drains it REAL fast. But leave it alone (and thaw it to temp before cranking), and you're good. Misinformation?Any Battery PhD's in the house?[/QULower temps.= lower current flow = slow/lazy battery

Not a PhD, but I did batteries at Jeep for 4 years, and a Chemical Engineer. Both temp extremes do affect a battery. It's available energy is decreased in cold temps, and the energy required to crank/start an engine increase in cold temps, so it is a double ended sword for cranking effort as temps go colder. High temps kill battery longevity. This is why we put insulation blankets around them under hood where temps average 200F and more. Also why semi truck batteries are kept under the cab steps where they can stay cooler, they live much longer and warranty costs are reduced.

 

[Lawrence of Arabia]

Installed a solargizer on it today. Put one on my other 5 Ton a year ago and the batteries seem to be keeping their charge. The truck I installed it on today is always dead. Hope it works as I cannot afford batteries.

 

[simp5782]

I have one of these under each battery in my personal and military truck. Just run the cord and just in case it gets cold over night or a few hours before I plan on going somewhere I plug them in. It helps tremendously. I also have one that is a little longer and smaller that I can wrap around fuel lines or an injection pump for an extreme cold start situation. My old International 6.9L IDI diesel never wanted to start in that -40 temps even with the block heater plugged in.




http://www.amazon.com/Kats-22400-Watt-Battery-Heater/dp/B000I8XDAS

 

[JohnnyBM931A2]

I have one of these under each battery in my personal and military truck. Just run the cord and just in case it gets cold over night or a few hours before I plan on going somewhere I plug them in. It helps tremendously. I also have one that is a little longer and smaller that I can wrap around fuel lines or an injection pump for an extreme cold start situation. My old International 6.9L IDI diesel never wanted to start in that -40 temps even with the block heater plugged in.




http://www.amazon.com/Kats-22400-Watt-Battery-Heater/dp/B000I8XDAS

That link you posted was interesting. I had forgotten that batteries can lose up to 60% of their power when temps drop to 0 degrees. That means that the 550cca battery in my work truck (potentially) only has 220cca when it gets that cold out! By comparison, the 1000cca batteries that I have installed in previous vehicles would still have 400cca.

 

[simp5782]

Yea it is hard on them. My old 6.9 even at 35 degrees will tell me "ruh ruh ruh, screw you" and sometimes will come to live. Sometimes not. Glow plugs with indirect injection isnt always a good thing. So i would even wrap the fuel filter as well. It makes a **** of a difference. She fired off one day like it was 70 outside

 

[com54]

1000 CCA batteries at a minimum I think. AGM batteries are even better.

 

[gottaluvit]

How long since you last ran the truck? I run mine every 3 days or so because the cold around here tends to wipe out batteries pretty quick.

It was just ran two days before the failed start. Gonna wait one more day now to see how they hold power by both using a voltmeter and then if they kept 12v, by installing all four and cranking the engine.

 

[MtnSnow]

Gents,

CA sometimes also listed as MCA = (Marine) Cranking Amps @ 32* F
CCA = COLD Cranking Amps @ 0* F

So if your battery is rated as 550 CCA then you have 550 cranking amp at 0*F and would have even more amps available at warmer temps . Some batteries list CA or MCA on them and some list CCA just need to be aware and choose accordingly

 

[74M35A2]

A higher CCA battery is fabulous for marketing, but is not necessarily always the better choice. A battery with a higher CCA will have a shorter life (thinner plates to get more of them into the cell), and may have a lower total energy capacity, meaning it can't crank the starter as long. Yes, the CCA rating does have a time component to it, but after that it does not tell you the total energy the battery can deliver. Another indicator of total available battery energy is RC (reserve capacity) and Ah (Amp-Hour) ratings. If your 24v starter pulls 500 amps during cranking, then it doesn't know the difference if a 750CCA or 1000CCA battery is upstream of it. The 750CCA's may crank longer and/or last longer. Most original equipment come with lower CCA batteries than what the aftermarket offers, because the consumer can easily feel and think "more is better" when they go to NAPA to buy their replacement, and it will work well for a while, but not as long as the original one. Common example is group 31 semi truck batteries. A new Peterbuilt/Kenworth will come with four 650CCA rated group 31 batteries, but any semi truck dealership offer 750CCA and 1000CCA replacements. The starter max current peak is 2000 amps at -40F. Why don't they come with larger CCA batteries from the factory? Because the total available energy and lifetime is substantially less. Same with automotive batteries.

 

[Piper Cub]

I installed a new horn button and new turn signal flasher box. I also tried out low transfer for the first time and discovered that I have the upgrade with the reverse lockout. Then I tried the windshield washer and it still doesn't like me but atleast none of the air lines blew out this time.