Just another day in paradise

[Mike L]

It hooks to your battery or alternator and will run on 12-36 volt. If you touch the probe to a connector or pin it will read voltage or ground. Then it had a switch and if you push it forward it will send power out the probe and backwards will give it ground. It also has a short pigtail which will check continuity or give you and external ground to power say a lightbulb or if you need a power and ground source. It will do more but that’s the basics. Very handy.

 

[icestationzebra]

I picked this up off a government disposal site for $121 delivered to my door. I have used it a few times it was well worth the money. I was even able to find the manuals for it on line. I suspect it was several thousand dollars new in the mid 1980s.

Wow - that's an antique! I'm surprised the capacitors are still good. I have used a Fluke 123 for 20+ years. Rugged and easy to use but the screen is finally stating to give up. The cheapest equivalent form Fluke is ~$2k but there there are options starting at a couple hundred up to $9k+ depending on what ones needs and expectations are.

Just last month was working with the new guy and I told him he needed to use an o-scope. He responded "O what?" ISZ

 

[JPV]

I love my power probe. You can do the same work with a set of test leads, multimeter and test light but it combines all 3 and is much more convenient. The little lights don't suck for seeing what you are doing either. I recommend the extension cord if you are working on trucks also.

 

[Mike L]

Went on a call today for an 848H crank, no start. I got out of the truck and saw welding rod stubs on the ground and fresh patches on the grapple. “What’s going on here”? I asked. “ we welded on it and now it won’t start” “ did you unhook the batteries”. Nope. I did my due diligence and tested all my wires but she cooked the ecm. They had a junked out 748H so we robbed the ecm and it fired right up and ran good. Until we moved it. Started throwing transmission codes. Called my buddy at Deere and he explained the 848 runs a torque converter trans and the 748 doesn’t. Well that explains that. Sent the customer with both ecm’s to the dealer to get the correct software installed. I’m admittedly not a Deere guru but I’m sure getting an education on them down here.

 

[terex herder]

While I've seen lots of warnings, your case is the first documented cooked ecm from welding I've seen. Could you find out where the welding ground was hooked relative to where they welded? I've welded lots of times without disconnecting the batteries. Usually it happens when I get in a hurry after I fixed the equipment and hooked the batteries back up and then decide I want to weld a little more. But unhooked or not, I always run the ground about as close to the arc as practical.

 

[Truck Shop]

Trailer-Landing gear repair involved welding-cooked the mother board in the Carrier refrigeration unit.

 

[Truck Shop]

What’s going on here”? I asked. “ we welded on it and now it won’t start” “ did you unhook the batteries”. Nope. I did my due diligence and tested all my wires but she cooked the ecm. They had

This will cause the {never had that happen} to start removing cables.
Good for posting this Mike L.

 

[Zewnten]

volvo dealer in colorado cooked most of the computers in a new loader jump starting it so that's a new one to add to the list of fears in winter haha.

 

[Mike L]

While I've seen lots of warnings, your case is the first documented cooked ecm from welding I've seen. Could you find out where the welding ground was hooked relative to where they welded? I've welded lots of times without disconnecting the batteries. Usually it happens when I get in a hurry after I fixed the equipment and hooked the batteries back up and then decide I want to weld a little more. But unhooked or not, I always run the ground about as close to the arc as practical.

I’ve seen tons of stuff welded on without disconnecting the batteries that never had a problem but I don’t have that kind of luck. I’ve always disconnected them just because that’s what I was taught. I didn’t even look for the ground clamp location. When I worked on ponsse equipment they had a very specific procedure in a specific sequence to unhook several things before welding. Then you had to reconnect everything in the opposite order of unhooking them.

 

[Mike L]

volvo dealer in colorado cooked most of the computers in a new loader jump starting it so that's a new one to add to the list of fears in winter haha.

How did they do that? I boosted many a Volvo with no issues.

 

[Birken Vogt]

Almost surely they hooked it up backwards. Electronic boxes don't like reverse polarity. But the guy who hooked it up backwards will never admit it. Sometimes the equipment ground looks reddish and the hot looks blackish, which is why I always, always look at the markings on top of the battery first. Fortunately I got to learn that hard lesson back in the days of points ignition, nothing was damaged other than a post and a jumper clamp.

 

[mekanik]

Years ago I was installing the engine I just rebuilt a NTA-400 Cummins in a 1970's Pacific P9.
I some how got the battery cables backwards at the starter reversing the polarity. The engine
fired up and ran and every thing worked except the alternator and the AM/FM Cassette deck.
I could not imagine the damage a mistake like that would do to a new truck.

 

[Truck Shop]

Years ago I was installing the engine I just rebuilt a NTA-400 Cummins in a 1970's Pacific P9.
I some how got the battery cables backwards at the starter reversing the polarity. The engine
fired up and ran and every thing worked except the alternator and the AM/FM Cassette deck.
I could not imagine the damage a mistake like that would do to a new truck.

In a Freightliner Cascadia with 12 modular controllers-dead zone.

 

[Birken Vogt]

The trouble is jump starting is frequently done in austere conditions. Dark of night with wind and snow, while blocking the road. Makes people not double check what they are doing.

No problem so bad you can't make it worse.

 

[ahart]

I see most of my jump starting issues after the operator or job foreman have tried to boost a piece of equipment using another. Having a mix of 12V and 24V equipment on site and people with no knowledge of how they connect to one another is not friendly to batteries/alternators or ECMs. Usually when I get a call asking how to jump a 12V machine with a 24V machine, the damage has already been done and I know where to head next.

 

[Zewnten]

How did they do that? I boosted many a Volvo with no issues.

I'd guess reversed polarity or maybe everything was keyed on and got a good spark?

Delivery driver at work suggested they carry jump boxes so they can pick up dead equipment. Most of these guys can;t figure out how to start a machine normally how are thye going to remove the covers, jump it properly, and then move the equipment. Last week we had so many no start issues and it had nothing to do with the equipment.

 

[stinky64]

When I worked at Yellow Freight we had a service truck (old Ford city truck) with a compressor and a " hot start " generator that would make up to like 18 volts for jumping dead trucks. Didn't see any cooked ecm's but did witness several "incidents" where some ding dong tried to jump shorted or frozen batteries and blew them clear out of the box, covered in acid running around like a chicken on fire. The ends of the cables were quite arc marked from hooking them backwards. oops. The best option on that beast was a piece of 16inch channel mounted to the front, you could get behind a set of doubles square up to the ICC bumper and push start anything as long as it had enough power for ecm. Didn't work too well for all the new automatics they were buying right before I pulled the plug. Oh and yes I'm a battery disconnecter too, just the way I was learned.

 

[Mike L]

Well I got roped into an engine swap on a D6T with a C9. The details of the failure were a little murky but the last guy who touched it installed the injectors with a hammer. It had been sitting for 3-4 years. So like a fool I dove in. Pulled the engine and left the torque converter. Swapped it all over and installed a new long block. Got it all installed (holy smokes that took forever). Short wiring harness to the electric fuel lift pump was missing and fuel lines strewn about. Figured all that out and ran a jumper wire to the lift pump. Hooked up car et and cranked it. I built oil pressure and got tons of fuel smoke but no fire. Too much fuel smoke really. It would pop once in a while but won’t run. Talked to an old cat guy who said I should see around 8 volts to the heui pump. I’ve got nothing out of the ecm going to the pump. We sent out the ecm to be tested but I’m not convinced that’s my issue. So I’ve got some questions. How many volts should be going to the heui pump and does it vary? I haven’t put in the injector trim codes yet. I didn’t think that would prevent it from running? With no voltage does the pump go full stroke? I’ve got cat et and sis. I can stumble my way around but I struggle to find what I need. I’m contemplating starting a cat sis thread and hopefully the cat gurus on here would chime in and we’d all learn something.

 

[Nige]

If you're getting tons of fuel smoke and no fire that doesn't immediately suggest an electronic issue.
Normally if the electronics won't come out to play there is no smoke at all.

If you have ET get communication with the engine ECM, go into the Configuration screen and watch 2 parameters - Desired Injection Actuation Pressure and Actual IAP. They may be titled a bit different to that but I'm sure you'll be able to find them. Electronics do not activate to fire the injectors until Actual IAP equals or exceeds Desired IAP.

Did the long block have injectors in it.? What is the injector Part Number.? While you're at it need the machine S/N as well.

Got any Active Diagnostic Codes or Events.?

 

[Mike L]

The long block didn’t have injectors in it and the injector harness is new. I’ll have to get back to you on the part numbers. The serial is an sly? I can get that as well.
It did have a couple codes. 172-3 intake manifold air temp sensor voltage above normal.
269-4 sensor power supply voltage below normal
1589-3 turbo air inlet pressure voltage above normal
1785-3 intake manifold pressure sensor voltage above normal.
I didn’t think any of these would prevent it from starting except the 269-4. I wasn’t sure about that one.