Stoffregen Motorsports Posted July 5, 2020 Report Share Posted July 5, 2020 Yeah those hex crimpers are super cool. Using the right cable is important too. The cable I use has fewer strands than a welder cable and they seem to hold the crimp better. I do a double crimp with the hydraulic crimper and do not use solder anymore. A double wrap of heat shrink keeps the connection dry. The only thing I dislike about the tool is that all the dies are labeled in metric. Writing the AWG size on each die with a sharpie was my solution. This is the one I bought - https://www.ebay.com/itm/16-Ton-Hydraulic-Wire-Terminal-Crimper-Battery-Cable-Lug-Crimping-Tool-w-Dies/131890182285?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649 But there are others available. 1 Quote Link to comment
Crashtd420 Posted July 6, 2020 Author Report Share Posted July 6, 2020 Well atleast the fan upgrade helped things... it was hot but not crazy hot and with the new fan I could see it running just a little cooler than before.... As far as the voltage situation no real change after correcting the grounds and increasing the cable size.... I still need to do the test Daniel described and see if I can figure it out.... I have a couple other things I want to try too .... at least I have voltage and the battery is staying charged... 2 Quote Link to comment
Crashtd420 Posted July 8, 2020 Author Report Share Posted July 8, 2020 I guess I spoke too soon... after work I needed to pick up a tube for my sons bicycle and get some gas.. Well I got stuck at the gas station... No power... i though it was a fuse at first but it was more.... I grabbed my meter and I had nothing at the fuses and under the hood.... checked the battery and there was 12.5v.. At this point I was 25 minutes away and had to pick up my son in 30, so after about 5 minutes of cursing and freaking out, I got lucky and I hear the fan come on... they are controlled by a temp sensor... but I knew that ment I had power some how..... I tried to start it quick and it did.... so I got to my son in time, made sure not to shut the truck off while I waited because sure enough when I got home and shut it off to let my kid in the house it wouldn't start back up... I knew I should have backed it in the garage before that... same issue.... So just sitting there this what I'm finding... I have the 1/0 connecting my battery under the bed to a distribution block under the hood, I also have equal size grounds to the frame and back to the engine block... if I disconnect the 1/0 from the distribution block I have 12.5 at the battery and on the end of the cable . If I try to connect anything to the 1/0 the voltage drops to .6-1 volt.... even with that end showing that low of volts I still read 12.5 at the battery.... I tested a fan off the battery with no issue, but it wouldnt work under the hood connected to the end of the 1/0.. So I'm leaning toward the 1/0 is somehow junk.... this is honestly confusing me now... I'm going to bypass the 1/0 with some other cables I have... should be ok for a test.... if it works I might be replacing the 1/0 cable.... Feel free to comment because I'm really not sure what to do ... I'm going to look up some relocation wiring kits and see what's recommended...... maybe they'll have something better then what ever I could get at the home depot... 2 Quote Link to comment
Crashtd420 Posted July 8, 2020 Author Report Share Posted July 8, 2020 Did another quick test before work this morning.... disconnected the battery under the hood and attached a jump box... I had power to everything.... So I'm about 90% confident that cable has been my issue all along.... 2 Quote Link to comment
mainer311 Posted July 8, 2020 Report Share Posted July 8, 2020 Your problem reminds me of old glass fuses, where, if you check the voltage on both ends, you get ~12-14, but as soon as you connect something, the voltage drops way off. It's trickery though, because you can run a continuity test and the meter will still buzz. It's just that the fuse wire is broken on one end and the impedance is really high, so you can't pull any current through the fuse. Think of your 1/0 wire as a glass fuse. You may be able to read full volts at the distribution block side, but you can't pull any current through the wire. It's bottle-necked. Your assumption is correct about the wire being bad. It could be as simple as the connection to the junction block, or it could just be the connection on the + side of the battery terminal. It could even be some broken internal wires somewhere within the cable run. Best bet it to pull the whole thing out and meter impedance from end to end. I'm not sure what you used, but I like to run a high strand wire for the larger stuff. I used this stuff called arctic ultraflex for heavy gauge wire. It has a very thick rubber insulation, but the high strand count makes it very flexible. Since you're relocated to under the bed, I'd even wrap it with something extra, which maybe you've done already. 3 Quote Link to comment
Crashtd420 Posted July 8, 2020 Author Report Share Posted July 8, 2020 I dont think it's any of the connections points. I have something I'm going to try after work to make sure but I have pretty sure its the main cable.... it was a good quality cable... but it has to be 20 years old . I'm looking at high quality 2/0 battery cables now, not the ebay stuff..... Same outside diameter as what I have now.... just need to verify and see how much length I need.... good cable is not cheap... 2 Quote Link to comment
mainer311 Posted July 8, 2020 Report Share Posted July 8, 2020 What's your junction block look like? 1 Quote Link to comment
Crashtd420 Posted July 8, 2020 Author Report Share Posted July 8, 2020 46 minutes ago, mainer311 said: What's your junction block look like? Something similar to this... But the connection is more of a compression collar not a set screw..... I think its monster cable stuff.... The block has no affect on the voltage... I checked... 1 Quote Link to comment
Crashtd420 Posted July 8, 2020 Author Report Share Posted July 8, 2020 Are you guys getting this error? Been getting it since last night 2 Quote Link to comment
john510 Posted July 8, 2020 Report Share Posted July 8, 2020 Yes.I'm getting it every time i come here now.It was happening occasionally,now it's every time the last day or so. 1 1 Quote Link to comment
d.p Posted July 8, 2020 Report Share Posted July 8, 2020 (edited) Its just because the cert is/was fucked up on whomever is hosting this site. It looks like it was just renewed on 7/3 so maybe some lingering issue. Edited July 8, 2020 by d.p 1 Quote Link to comment
Charlie69 Posted July 8, 2020 Report Share Posted July 8, 2020 Something I never thought of until now, when you install a higher amperage alternator should you increase the gauge of your positive and negative battery cables? 1 Quote Link to comment
Crashtd420 Posted July 8, 2020 Author Report Share Posted July 8, 2020 43 minutes ago, Charlie69 said: Something I never thought of until now, when you install a higher amperage alternator should you increase the gauge of your positive and negative battery cables? It all depends.... Look back one page stroffgren posted a chart that compares altenator output vs length of wire.... I also like match my negative to the same size as the positive .... And I'm pulling my main cable out, it has to be the issue... couldnt even light a small light bulb..... I need to measure the length and get that ordered up..... 1 Quote Link to comment
Crashtd420 Posted July 8, 2020 Author Report Share Posted July 8, 2020 Well apparently I just suck at electrical.... I fixed the ground under the hood the other day and decided to do a better ground at the battery.... I guess I fucked that up..... Today I ran an 8 gauge power wire off the battery just to see if I could restore interior power.... I got nothing????? Wtf...... I guess it wasnt the power cable.... I went back with my light bulb test and instead of grounding it to the battery I started check the connection to the frame.... it was barely, if at all, making a connection to the chassis... I ground down the metal and reinstalled the ground and guess what power was restored...... So now I have to put everything back together and see what happens.... 1 Quote Link to comment
mainer311 Posted July 8, 2020 Report Share Posted July 8, 2020 I get that error every time I visit this site. Bad ground is just as bad as a bad positive. It's all a big loop, and the batt is just a source of potential. Quote Link to comment
Crashtd420 Posted July 8, 2020 Author Report Share Posted July 8, 2020 (edited) 35 minutes ago, mainer311 said: I get that error every time I visit this site. Bad ground is just as bad as a bad positive. It's all a big loop, and the batt is just a source of potential. I think they fixed the error so that's good.... Worse part is I'm usually the first to tell someone check the ground.... problem was when I was testing I was touching the terminal not where I bolted it to the frame..... I never really verified I had a solid chassis ground.... I'm gonna make sure and double check and redo all my ground points now... Edited July 8, 2020 by Crashtd420 1 Quote Link to comment
Crashtd420 Posted July 11, 2020 Author Report Share Posted July 11, 2020 I got a little time in the garage once the family was asleep... I redid both frame ground points , made sure I had good clean metal and good contact.... i still need to wire tie some stuff back up but atleast that mystery is solved... I also recieved a some replacement marker lights.... I have one that been taking on water.... if I remember right I cracked the lense last year.... Out with the old... In with the new.. Also these are not 521 lights.... The sell them for the 510/240/260/280, The trim would have been chrome but I painted the ones on the truck and was able to re use it.... I think they fit the opening, but I might have had to make the opening slightly bigger, I dont remember... I do know only one the screw holes lined up so I had to drill the second.... 4 Quote Link to comment
Crashtd420 Posted July 13, 2020 Author Report Share Posted July 13, 2020 Today felt good driving the datsun.... Everthing worked good after fixing the grounds.... the alternator seemed a bit happier too, still had some fluctuation but was running around 13.5 -13.2 Also the bigger fan helped, today was pretty hot and the needle was at the center line... even idling with the a/c on it only climbed up a little bit, about half of what it did before..... 2 Quote Link to comment
Crashtd420 Posted July 22, 2020 Author Report Share Posted July 22, 2020 I was able to order one of these today from the guy on Facebook... From what it sounds like he's doing some preorders of the final product for $65.... He's still tweaking the final product a bit but he had some that he says fit and work fine but have some blemishes, which I dont really see.... I figure my whole truck has blemishes so it will fit in just fine... I just needed functionality, so I opted for a blemished one for $55... I figure this helps him get some money back on ones that he might not be able to sell as easily..... 2 Quote Link to comment
d.p Posted July 22, 2020 Report Share Posted July 22, 2020 Does that go on the front of the heater? If so I don't think I even have anything there, if I do I never noticed it before. Quote Link to comment
Crashtd420 Posted July 22, 2020 Author Report Share Posted July 22, 2020 21 minutes ago, d.p said: Does that go on the front of the heater? If so I don't think I even have anything there, if I do I never noticed it before. Yes it bolts to the front of the heater box and then connects to that fresh air inlet thing coming off the hood.... Quote Link to comment
Crashtd420 Posted July 22, 2020 Author Report Share Posted July 22, 2020 I dont think there are too many good ones left out there.... I got one from Charlie with the heater box I bought but it's just not usable, the rubber just gets dry rotted after 50 years and would have just fallen apart if i tried to use it... I keep it in case some one wanted to repop it but someone did with out me having to do anything other than buy it.... Quote Link to comment
mainer311 Posted July 22, 2020 Report Share Posted July 22, 2020 (edited) I hope he post-processes those with acetone or something. If it's not taking a lot of load, it'll probably be fine, but 3D prints shear between layers like a SOB. I also hope he's at least printing with ABS and not PLA. Edited July 22, 2020 by mainer311 Quote Link to comment
Crashtd420 Posted July 22, 2020 Author Report Share Posted July 22, 2020 2 minutes ago, mainer311 said: I hope he post-processes those with acetone or something. If it's not taking a lot of load, it'll probably be fine, but 3D prints shear between layers like a SOB. I also hope he's at least printing with ABS and not PLA. From a few comments I read it seems like he know what hes doing.... This was a comment from brothersgarage.... "He has some images of the "final" on the left here, and has videos of smacking with a hammer to show it's durability: - he is using a TPU 'rubber' to print" Quote Link to comment
mainer311 Posted July 22, 2020 Report Share Posted July 22, 2020 Huh, that's interesting. I was actually going to say, he might be better off 3D printing molds and injecting them with urethane. 3D printing with TPU sounds neat. Quote Link to comment
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