CM871 things to check after purchase?

[Hedley]

the Vin numbers on the string of 2009 Prostar we bought calls for a 14V 325 amp alternator, we had issues like Cluster gauges going dead, blend door would open or close and power to the A/C compressor clutch would go out, the drivers would have to pull over and turn off the ignition for about 15 seconds and the A/C would power back up for a few hours and then go dead again and no..it was not the circuit breakers resetting, all these issues went away once we installed the correct alternator that the Vins called for....9 out of the 28 trucks had 12V 180 amp alternators and those were the ones giving us fits, take it with a grain of salt...if you have electrical issues with yours then give your Vin to any Navistar dealer and ask what your Vin calls for or just dismiss this as Hedley's rotten brain going south again.


*** the replacement alternator is PN# BLP4002H, it is a 12V 325amp Leece Neville

[Rawze]

No one is trying to discredit your experience hedly, just were trying to understand why it would happen like that.

12v alternator sounds a bit low. It would make for lower than normal voltage in the dash etc. and they are supposed to have remote sensing at the batteries, yet most prostars do not have remote sensing wiring at the alternator. Most mechanics will simply install a jumper at the alternator to bypass it and call it a day instead of doing the right thing when putting one on. It could have been part of the problem, who knows. Sounds like maybe someone could have possibly robbed the original (much bigger and nicer) alternators off them before they were sold, 325's are worth a lot and can easily be sold used, or put on another truck that needs them. Used truck dealers will quite often swap alternators on trucks when people say they want to use an inverter on the truck they are buying. Who knows what used junk they might have been replaced with, or how old that junk was. could have even been the original purchaser of the trucks so that they could put those alternators on their other trucks that had smaller ones so their drivers could use Inverters. some fleets do order trucks with big alternators so drivers can install them.



Thank for the story and feedback, maybe others that might be having same issue can benefit from it too.

Waterloo is right too. Prostars are notorious for corroded exposed ground cables between the engine block and starter, and several other places. this can make for some nasty electrical noise going down the road too.

Also mine has remote sensing. It was for the origonal alternator, and I was told,.. and know for sure that you need remote sensing to run gel-cells properly. The whole fleet was toying with gel-cell batteries for a while, but they kept having bad luck with them so they abandoned the idea.


I forgot to mention also that I have a 30-farad HUGE external capacitor on my inverter and it filters a LOT of electrical noise out of my whole system, making it very stable. Maybe that is why my truck runs so well even when the voltage is low?

[yamajason]

Rawze's capacitor got me researching, scroll down & check out the paragraph titled Filter Capacitors http://www.avweb.com/news/maint/182896-1.html

[Rawze]

(03-29-2016 )yamajason Wrote:  Rawze's capacitor got me researching, scroll down & check out the paragraph titled Filter Capacitors http://www.avweb.com/news/maint/182896-1.html

I have worked with automotive systems and high amperage systems long enough to know that capacitors that tiny (MICRO-farad) are ridiculously too small for high amperage applications, like what happens in a car or truck at the batteries/alternator.

All that picofarad and microfarad mumbo jumbo mentioned is clearly form someone who works on circuit boards inside electronic equipment at mostly low power levels, and not someone who deals with automotive/engine related power systems. The info is sketch at best and does not account for high amperage surge currents etc. -- Sounds like some college kid text-book moron wrote it to me.

[reconxlr]

Wealth of information! Wow thank you all will do all those checks at my local mechanic.
AC not blowing cold enough. I heard that could be as low as $10 fix
Overall truck drove fine from dealer to house 3hours 200mi drive.
Is there a forum that has instructions on how to install {**Content removed by protection bot**}? I could not find one.

Any info on where to get a good mandate?

[reconxlr]

(03-27-2016 )hhow55 Wrote:  The best thing to do is read rawze's book, and you should have read the book, before buying the truck!!!!!!

I downloaded it, but yes i need to read it

[reconxlr]

(03-27-2016 )Rawze Wrote:  ...

* Plan on replacing the batteries soon, especially if they look old, or are mis-matched.

* Run the A/C for at least 30 minutes to ensure it is not faulting out. It takes about 15 - 20 min for the A/C to fault out if the thermistors are bad. Very common problem.

* Plan on re-torquing the axle bearings. It has to be done every 200k and no one seems to ever take the time to do it until they loose hub seals, bearings, and have all kinds of wear problems in the rear axles.

* Check the inside of the crank case filter cover. Look for green or yellow slime (coolant intrusion).

* See if the turbo is still factory red, or if it has been replaced. They only last about 600k miles or so, and if it is still factory red,.. you had better have some money saved up for when it goes out.

* Pressure test the entire engine and fix any leaks like the CAC, intake, EGR circuits, Exhaust header gaskets, etc.

* Fix any leaks in the exhaust piping, especially the flex pipe behind the turbo. It will not regen properly unless it is well sealed.

* Immediately REPLACE the IMAP and Exhaust Back-pressure sensors on it.

* Replace the oil in it after at 3,000 mile intervals for the next couple oil changes. GET THAT SOOT out of that motor.

* Replace the Coolant filter, and replace the oil IN ALL GEARBOXES.

...

Thanks rawze! Rawze owner op association!

[Marajin]

(03-30-2016 )reconxlr Wrote:  Wealth of information! Wow thank you all will do all those checks at my local mechanic.
AC not blowing cold enough. I heard that could be as low as $10 fix
Overall truck drove fine from dealer to house 3hours 200mi drive.
Is there a forum that has instructions on how to install {**Content removed by protection bot**}2? I could not find one.

Any info on where to get a good mandate?

I hear it is bundled with a file that walks you through it. You just have to look for it if you want to do it yourself.

As far as the mandate goes, Unilevers, Gearhead, or Mr. Hag -- they all do the {**Content removed by protection bot**}2 very well.

[Marajin]

damn bot!. lol