Ever have this happen to you?

[Kevin0915]

Today, was sitting at a shipper for over 5-6 hrs in chicago, idling. Finally get into a door and get loaded. Idling the whole time. Get a knock on my sleeper, i turn the truck off to better hear the broken english from this guy, then when i go to turn the truck back on....it has ZERO power. NONE. CB went out...no dash lights, it was almost as if someone unplugged my batteries. While on hold with On-road, i turn the key to 'power' and all of a sudden i have power again.

Now i dont know if this was some fluke thing, or if other drivers have had problems like this. FYI..i drive a mid roof 2009 volvo. Never have had this happen before. However, about a week or so ago, I drove darn near 7 hrs straight (15 min break about half way thru) then get to drop the trailer at a Costco. When i turned the truck off, i almost immediately got a buzzer warning from my inverter, telling me the battery power is low. I turn the ignition to 'power' and notice my volts went from 13.8 to 11.1 and got a 'low voltage' warning on my dash. Once i disconnected, it seemed fine...so i figure it was an issue with a short in the trailer....

anyway....just curious if this has happened to anybody else...

[sgreer78]

Make sure all of the cables on all of the batteries are tight and corrosion free.

[Mr. Ford95]

Happened to me on my granddad's John Deere farm tractor when the starter solenoid was messing up. Everything would be fine, start up originally but if I stopped for lunch it would not fire back up the next time. Had to hit the starter solenoid with a hammer while turning the key.

Like sgreer said, check your terminals just in case, my pickup did the same thing once while driving home from Cincy. My positive cable was a little loose.

[Pack_Rat2]

I agree with the above. Check and tighten all the battery cables. And clean the corrosion off.

[Windwalker]

I have not had that happen, but I had a truck next to me trying to leave a loading dock, and he had a fire in is battery box because of a corroded connection. It got hot... VERY HOT. When we got the fire out, he had a bare wire between batteries. Sure does funny things to the plastic cover over the batteries. Entirely new design.

[Chunker]

I drive a 07 Volvo 780 and had battery problems. The old junk batteries would hold a charge about 5 hrs with the inverter on, after that it was a guess whether or not it would start. The inverter draws quite a bit of amperage and can cause other problems too such as giving out false codes on the system due to low voltage. Have the batteries load tested and if any of them are on the marginal side of worn out, replace them all or you could stand a chance of being stuck somewhere. The terminals have to be kept clean as dirty ones reduce the amperage to the system.

[Kevin0915]

I run a 400w inverter that plugs into a cigarette outlet. Now i know if i left the truck off, and ran the inverter, the batts would die.

i got the truck NEW in Feb. of 2009. within a week, i needed a jump cause i sat for a day. I was 10 miles from the terminal, so they sent out a terminal guy. He replaced 2 of the 4 batteries. Just a couple months ago, i said to the shop (cause i was in for preventative maintence) "can you check the batteries"...and he said they did that as part of their routine checks. The truck was finally done about 11p. By this time i was checked into a bunk room upstairs and slept there for the night. I went out in the morning at about 9a...to start the truck and guess what....yep....needed a jump !!! I went back asking if the batteries were checked and they checked out....how do i need a jump? So i went inside to talk to my driver manager, and ended up getting the fleet manager involved. I asked for each battery to be tested. They found two that needed replaced....one of the originals and one of the replacements. I did find that the guys who did the PM need to requalify on the reading section of the exam because they obviously didnt catch the instructions of putting back on the coolant and oil caps. Found them to be missing a few days later. (granted i should have caught them if i had done a PROPER pre-trip) =) So it is possible that the contacts are loose. will check that out. i am due for another PM in a couple weeks.....i'll be sure to have it done in Columbus, OH where i seem to NEVER have any problems.

[Jackrabbit379]

I agree with the above. Check and tighten all the battery cables. And clean the corrosion off.

I was thinking the same thing. I would also write it up, and let the shop know that they may need to check the starter/solenoid.
The slightest movement in your battery cables could cause them to not have enough contact to have enough voltage. It could be the simplest things that causes a breakdown.

[GMAN]

A loose battery cable can cause problems when trying to start. Only a few months ago I was in Virginia at a truck stop and when I came out after breakfast the truck would not start. It turned out to be a loose battery connection. A couple of weeks later I had to replace a couple of batteries. It is a good idea to check battery cables every few weeks. In fact, it would not hurt to take a look every week. Any corrosion should be cleaned off immediately and any loose cables should be tightened. Either can shorten battery life. Using an inverter without the engine being on can also pull down batteries very quickly, especially if any of them are weak. It takes a little more effort to check batteries and cables, but it can save you from having to replace batteries more frequently and keep you from having to call road service for a boost. By the way, you can buy a battery tester for about $15.00 from Harbor Tools and check them yourself.

[Chunker]

One other thing I remembered, there are lights under the bottom bunk for the side boxes, I've left them on and forgot about them. They don't draw much, but any draw on weak batts can hurt.

[GMAN]

One other thing I remembered, there are lights under the bottom bunk for the side boxes, I've left them on and forgot about them. They don't draw much, but any draw on weak batts can hurt.

That reminds me of a time when I accidentally hit a light switch on my dash which controls a floor light on the passenger side. It isn't very visible during the day. I parked for a few days and my batteries were completely drained. It took a bit to find the problem. I hit the switch with my knee when I exited the truck.

[One]

You Sir, Have a bad connection somewhere... The 0 power thing happened due to the little connection u did have, having gotten hot and completely interrupted. Look for corrosion, loose wires. One good trick is to feel for heat, wich is a sure sign of resistance wich produces that heat. This is best when the truck has not been running obviously...dont burn yourself.

[Kevin0915]

Well, it happened again about 2 weeks or so ago. Drove for about 6 hrs, went in to scan some paperwork, and when i came out....zip. I call on-road, and they have a guy from a shop across the street come over, and he found the problem. Some newer Volvo trucks have this 'engine shut-off' switch that a company can lock after turning it 90 degrees, to prevent the truck from being started. This guy found the back of it, where the batteries are connected then continue onto the engine, were black and arcing when i try to start it. He jiggled it..and it worked just fine. I stopped at a shop in Gary, they didn't have one. Stopped at my home terminal, and they had one, but they don't care about how many units they work on per day, just do what they can to milk the clock (hence the 15 trucks+ that always sit behind the shop, and the 2-3 stories i hear when i'm outside smoking a cigar, about how someone has been in the shop for 3-4 days, and wont be done till tomorrow). So they dead head me up to our terminal in Iver Grove Heights, MN saturday......nobody bothered to find out if the shop was open Sunday......it is not. But today...it is fixed. I saw the old one sitting on the shop floor, getting new steers, a new RF shock...and i'll be as good as new.

[ronjon619]

That;s the battery cut off switch. I have one my Peterbilt. Mine sits right above the battery box on the frame. Every time I wash the truck they seem to get that switch moved to the off. I also use it when I leave the truck parked for a few days.

[Kranky]

Well, it happened again about 2 weeks or so ago. Drove for about 6 hrs, went in to scan some paperwork, and when i came out....zip. I call on-road, and they have a guy from a shop across the street come over, and he found the problem. Some newer Volvo trucks have this 'engine shut-off' switch that a company can lock after turning it 90 degrees, to prevent the truck from being started. This guy found the back of it, where the batteries are connected then continue onto the engine, were black and arcing when i try to start it. He jiggled it..and it worked just fine. I stopped at a shop in Gary, they didn't have one. Stopped at my home terminal, and they had one, but they don't care about how many units they work on per day, just do what they can to milk the clock (hence the 15 trucks+ that always sit behind the shop, and the 2-3 stories i hear when i'm outside smoking a cigar, about how someone has been in the shop for 3-4 days, and wont be done till tomorrow). So they dead head me up to our terminal in Iver Grove Heights, MN saturday......nobody bothered to find out if the shop was open Sunday......it is not. But today...it is fixed. I saw the old one sitting on the shop floor, getting new steers, a new RF shock...and i'll be as good as new.

They could have just took the cables off of the shutoff switch, put a bolt thru the eye terminals, tightened it to connect the cables together and wrapped it up good with electrical tape, secured the cables with zip ties and it would have been fixed immediately.

Of course then it wouldn't have had a disconnect switch in the circuit, but it WOULD have power!

.

[flood]

we have an 09 pro-star and that same thing has happened 3X to us. first time we had driven for 38hr's and turned the truck off to take to the speaker box at the gate and when we tried to start the truck nothing.....? had a short inside one battery. 4 months later same thing happened to the same (replacement battery) 8 months later same thing with a different battery.

the pro-star batteries ONLY have a 6 month warranty......!

[Mr. Ford95]

I had this issue bite me yesterday on the scales at a landfill. Turned the truck off to talk to the weighmaster and it acted like the batteries were dead. Got pulled off the scale while trying to pop the clutch and got nothing. Sat there for a few minutes, check all my connections, even tried to jump it at the solenoid with a screwdriver, nothing. Called in and they had me turn the key so they could hear the sound and it magically cranked but since I wasn't expecting that I had already let off. Tried again and got nothing. They get there an hour later and everything checks out, it just would not crank. Out of the blue it suddenly turned over and started when I tried it again. Next 3 times I tried it, everything was fine............musta been a ghost at the landfill f-ing with me. No corosion, no loose connections, no cut off switch on this model.

[Kevin0915]

you driving again, ford?

(p.s. not really thrilled about this new CAD layout...guess i'll get use to it.)

[Mr. Ford95]

Yep, everything was fine yesterday. Pulled into the shop in the morning and just for the heck of it we pulled all the battery terminals loose and cleaned them along with attempting to tighten down all the grounds. We found a very tiny bit of corrosion down in 1 terminal connection on the ground side and that's all we could come up with as causing it to happen, none of the grounds were loose. When it started the other day, the mechanic has just hooked his meter box to the starter on positive only and asked me to try it and got nothing. He then hooked his ground to it and tried it and the truck started. So it led us to believe that the very tiny bit of corrosion on that 1 ground terminal caused the whole problem.

[Musicman]

If this happens in the future, check the main relays. Most trucks I’ve been in and the Petes I’ve owned have two main 50 or even 75 amp relays. In most trucks, the proper way to start them is to turn the key to the on position and wait for a few (usually about ten) seconds. During that time you will usually hear some clicking and the gauges may cycle to maximum readings and then back to zero. That clicking you hear is the relays cycling. After having a truck stolen a couple years ago, I won’t leave mine unattended anymore without removing the main 70amp relay. Makes it kinda hard to steal the truck if you can’t start it and I doubt most truck thieves aren’t running around with the correct spare relay in their pockets. That is until they read this post.