I gave the starter a real test yesterday. I sat with the truck off for about 6 hours with the inverter running, and when I went to start it, it was just under 12V. Fired up without any problem. No lugging, no hesitating, nothing. This starter is a WIN in my book.

Time will tell if the batteries can handle the abuse I'm throwing at them though.

The best way to be sure the starter has a proper ground (and the way it used to be done before truck builders started trying to cut corners by using less copper cable) is to run a 0 gauge cable directly from the ground side of the batteries to the ground post on the starter.

This would be in addition to the existing ground cables attached to the frame.

No matter how good of a connection there is where the ground cables bolt to the frame, there is bound to be some amount of resistance, and that resistance will only increase with time due to corrosion from salt spray etc.

The newer Internationals where I work have the ground cable to frame, then ground cable from frame to starter setup, and we have had to unbolt & clean the connections on those too, but we went a step further and ran a direct ground to the starter as previously described.

Also, in a previous thread I described another cause of poor starter performance:

http://www.classadrivers.com/forum/t...art-truck.html

Mine is a touch sluggish, but I think that's due to the batteries. Definitely not the starter, it's only a few months old and works fine normally. Just cranks a little slow when it's cold. Maybe it's a ground!

I still have a couple of days 'til I hit the road again. I'm working on spaying the connection I made at the frame with as many coats of frame paint as I can before I go out. It was a real bear to get the nuts tightenend down on the bolt in the frame, because of where it was located (near the bottom of the rail, between the starter and the frame). In fact, it was a two person job, but it was easier than drilling a new hole in the frame.

If by copper terminals, you mean the brass or copper ring that they have put inside the hole in the wire connector, I took those out when we cut all the insulation of the ends of the wires. I just have a huge flat spade at the end of each wire now. Lots of nice bare surface area to make good contact with the other wires and the battery itself. Ever since we did that, we have not had one single battery issue, and I will sit for 24 hours or more with the inverter running, a cooler / fridge hooked up, radio on, satellite radio on, notebook computer running, and bunk light on and the truck still starts right up every time.

Isn't the reason people buy new trucks to eliminate problems?

Funny how my old '96 Fr8shKr gives me no trouble.

Ground studs are factory welded to the frame on mine.

Kinda throws that new truck/old truck theory under the bus!

Having the ground studs welded would not make the ground any better, as it depends on how much bare metal to bare metal contact there is between the wire and the frame. It would make the little modification I just made to my ground a lot easier, though.

New trucks are not necessarily better than old ones. Had my last truck not been stolen, I'd have kept it. All a new truck is, is a source of unknown problems. Every truck seems to have a "personality." Two identical trucks will have different mechanical issues and drive a little differently. At least with a truck that you've had for a long time, you know what to expect and when to expect it (as far as mechanical problems go.

As a point of interest; anyone who understands electricty, and works with it in a shop should know how to test for a bad ground... it is a measurable parameter in electrical testing, and does not require removal of the jumper cables, battery cables, etc.

Indicative of the overall poor standards to which American trucks are spec'd and built. The posts following the above only reaffirm the frustration felt by operators and owners of these shoddy pieces of workmanship.

I agree with the gentleman Musicman. The electrical systems in American trucks appear almost to be put in as an afterthought. This comes as no surprise to me, as I am of the opinion that the entire truck is mostly engineered and constructed as an afterthought. Rolling junk.

I have wondered where we would be if Toyota and Honda had entered the market already? My employer is responsible for the costs associated with the poor workmanship on my Freightliner(Chrysler). Thank goodness! I jump out and drive away in my personal Toyota.

Indeed, a sad state of affairs.

:hellno::hellno::hellno::hellno::hellno::hellno::h ellno::hellno::hellno:


Ooooooooh Gary! Oh deer! Deer deer deer !!!


You is mis-informed on who makes your twuck!

Spreaken-ze-deutch!

The company that owns the manufacturer of your fine piece of "Used to be American" twuck......Is DiamlerBenz!!! They just did away with their Sterling (re;Ford twuck line). :cool::cool::cool::cool:

:lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:

Time for you to get some beauty sleep...so you may ponder these informative lessonz.
:zzz::zzz::zzz::zzz::zzz::zzz::zzz: