| [GMCnet] That Darned Batt! [message #94083] |
Sat, 31 July 2010 12:58  |
Ken Henderson
Messages: 8726
Registered: March 2004
Location: Americus, GA
Karma:
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Senior Member |
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In January I replaced the GMC's chassis and coach batteries. On Thursday
afternoon I needed to crank the engine but when I turned the ignition key on
Nothing happened -- no dash lights, no clicking starter, no nuthin'. Even
with the boost switch On.
Under the hood, the combiner's green light was on (the coach stays plugged
in with the PD9145 running all the time), but a DVM across the battery
terminals showed only 1.96 VDC!
After disconnecting the battery cables, I put a charger on the battery and
watched the ammeter needle swing to and fro quickly as the protection
circuit cycled.
With all 3 batteries mounted on a Ragusa 3-battery tray at the right front,
the only way to R&R the batteries is through the RF wheel well with the tire
removed. I posted recently my battery tray to fit on the end of my "cherry
picker" arm, that Gp 27 chassis and 2 golf cart coach batteries being more
than I'm willing (able?) to lift. Thursday was too hot to go through that
rigamarole so I knocked off.
Up early yesterday, I went to WalMart and swapped batteries with them. Then
pulled the inner 1/2 of my longitudinally split wheel well liner and removed
the old battery. That was enough hot work for a Friday.
This morning I started back on it, finding, as usual, that there are about a
dozen other things I need to do while it's partially disassembled. Like
re-routing and securing the heater hoses to improve appearance and
convenience and to eliminate some possible abrasion problems. With
fabricating a new aluminum bracket and moving the other batteries to provide
clearance for the drilled needed to mount it, that took a couple of 90*+
hours. TIme for the pool & lunch.
With lunch settling, I'm debating whether to go modify the wheel well liner
again so that only the front section must be remove for battery swaps. If
Wal-Mart batteries are only going to last 6 months, I'll be in there
frequently. :-(
Before going to Du Quoin, I've got to pull the Cad500 rocker covers and
recheck/set the lifter pre-loads I forgot to do when assembling the engine.
That's another couple of hot days. :-(
And the cam gear cover's got to come off to correct the little oil leak I
built into the engine. Another hot day. :-(
While I'm at it, I guess I'd better fabricate the additional brackets to
ensure long-term stability of the serpentine belt driven alternator. It's
working VERY well, but I'm not comfortable with depending almost entirely on
one 3/8" stud out the front of the block to support it. There aren't many
bracing options, but I need to find something for redundancy. Another hot
day or two. :-(
Ain't this fun! :-(
Ken H.
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Ken Henderson
Americus, GA
www.gmcwipersetc.com
Large Wiring Diagrams
76 X-Birchaven
76 X-Palm Beach
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