2013 at the Hammond Barn

[Bob Carriere]

We always hear about how important it is to have a good grounding connection particularly on 6 volts system........ well it also applies top 12 volts.

Although weeks apart, on 3 occasions the truck would not turn over and a fully charged battery made no difference. Because I am still running the truck as a rolling chassis it is easier to work on.... but after removing the starter 3 times....taking it apart, cleaning the segments as I assumed I had a dead spot somewhere...... no difference. Tuesday it started well Wednesday it was dead cold again.

After sweating bullets removing the starter again with no improvement I decided to push it into the barn for shade and ease of working. I tried to start it by towing it but no spark.....????

Everytime I used the tester it showed 12.88 volts.... so I assumed that power was getting to the starter.......

So went back over every thing one step at a time..... cleaned the battery terminals ..... no change..... checked the black ground wire tied to the bellhousing.... gave it another quarter turn .... still no change.

Decided to remove the bolt holding the ground wire..... installed two new star shaped washers one on each side of the cable ferrule..... bingo started right away.

Don't think that faulty connections can only happened on 6 volts system.

I have concluded that although the ground wire was conducting enough voltage at the low amps generated by the tester the connection was bad enough that on a high load for the starter it failed to carry the amperage.

Lesson learned.

Bob C.

[hrpearce]

Same for 24v Bob. When I was driving a N12 Volvo for work we thought the alternator was failing as the batteries lost power during the day and we had to leave the charger on overnight to run it the next day. After a few days of doing this the throttle cable went up in smoke while I was starting the truck. I fitted a new earth directly from the engine to the chassis and magically the alternator started working properly again and the starter worked a lot better.

[Wpns 421]

Hi Guys
I am sure the title caught your attention soooo!!!!
Gilles and Carolle are having a corn roast on the 17th Aug and we are inviting all the hermits/recluses from the Hammond Barn. Tomorrow we will post the official invitation and directions.
We plan on having some seminars on various subjects and a ssmall swap meet, bring your wives and we will send them to Merrickville on the sight seeing and shop visit tours.
RSVP

Gilles Carolle

[Stuart Fedak]

Originally Posted by Bob Carriere

We always hear about how important it is to have a good grounding connection particularly on 6 volts system........ well it also applies top 12 volts.

Everytime I used the tester it showed 12.88 volts.... so I assumed that power was getting to the starter.......

Decided to remove the bolt holding the ground wire..... installed two new star shaped washers one on each side of the cable ferrule..... bingo started right away.

Don't think that faulty connections can only happened on 6 volts system.

I have concluded that although the ground wire was conducting enough voltage at the low amps generated by the tester the connection was bad enough that on a high load for the starter it failed to carry the amperage.

Lesson learned.

Bob C.

Bob,
Good information. I have also seen this on 12/24 VDC systems. Just because the meter shows appropriate voltage, does not mean that the circuit is capable of drawing sufficent current to start a vehicle. Case in point, last year I had some issues with my Jeep Grand Cherokee on the North Shore of Lake Superior, on a Sunday. I dropped into a gargage, where the mechanic was not around, but someone offered to take off the battery cables and clean the terminals. The terminals were pried off, and the terminals were cleaned, and re-installed. The vehicle started but continued to act up intermittently. I would measure the voltage on the battery, and all seemed good. I ended up replacing the 12 VDC battery. When taking the terminals off, it became apparent that the lead connector on the battery was cracked at the plates of the battery. So at times it worked well, and other times it was unable to provide enough current because of the break.

Now I have purchased a battery terminal puller, which is very low cost, compared to the cost of replacement of a battery. I try to use the battery termninal puller now on all my vehicles, rather than just using some random tool to pry off the connectors.

In Ottawa, one fellow was having problems setting the voltage regulator on the alternator after assembling the system back up. The battery voltage kept on getting lower, and adjusting the voltage regulator was of no use. Voltage regulators need a reference to ground to work. It ended up the large ground wire from the engine to the body was not connected up. As soon as that was done, the voltage regulator was functional and could be adjusted. Then the batteries could accept a charge and their voltage increased.

Lots of little things to look at with batteries and starter/alternator circuits when they do not work properly.

Cheers!
Stuart

[RHClarke]

Bob was off murdering lobster in Maine. Grant has been busy at work. I have been spending time at the barn stripping down the Pilot Model HUP, working at home and helping Gunner with museum issues out in Kars, Ontario.

The Pilot Model is coming apart with surprising ease. With the exception of the nuts on the sheet metal, all the other parts came off nicely. The engine came out in the blink of an eye using a rudimentary “A” frame and pulley system - just like the one Bob and I used in our first engine recovery all those years ago! The next step with the Pilot Model is to pull the bottom end off the engine and then prepare the frame for eventual sandblasting. I will be tackling some of the sheet metal issues this fall and winter.

At the Swords and Ploughshares Museum, Mike and I discussed the operations of the museum and the way ahead. We also tackled some ground maintenance issues. It is amazing the amount of work that gets done behind the scenes by Mike. Running a museum with so much going on as a "one-man-show" is near impossible, but somehow Mike makes it work.

My youngest son Jesse helped us out with brush clearing and general cleaning tasks at the museum. It was good to see him un-tethered from his electronic devices for a morning of hard work. I hope to drag Jesse out to the barn to begin working on his truck in earnest this year, but time will tell!

See the photos - any ideas of what Jesse is sitting on? Note the use of the old axle shafts...

Photos:
1 - Jes taking a break
2 - Re-purposed vehicle axle
3 - Same - new angle

[hrpearce]

Originally Posted by RHClarke

See the photos - any ideas of what Jesse is sitting on? Note the use of the old axle shafts...

1; Jesse is sitting on a dozer blade
2; Jesse is sitting on his backside
Rob your boy is growing up fast, just like my boys it's great to watch their progress as time passes.

[RHClarke]

Originally Posted by hrpearce

1; Jesse is sitting on a dozer blade
2; Jesse is sitting on his backside. Rob your boy is growing up fast, just like my boys it's great to watch their progress as time passes.

Robert, You win a tour of the Hammond Barn!*
Yes, the boys do grow up quite fast. I am always surprised by what he will do next (hopefully it does not involve medical treatment).

The dozer blade was made to fit the Canadian Ram tank. In this case I believe it was post war - Gunner may step in to correct this assumption. The neat thing is the use of axle shafts for pivots at the front corners of the blade. This thing is a beast.





*Transport costs not included...

[hrpearce]

Originally Posted by RHClarke

Robert, You win a tour of the Hammond Barn!*
*Transport costs not included...

Love to Rob but my passport is not current. Vicki and I have talked about visiting Canada but it will have to wait until I retire unfortunately.

[RHClarke]

It was a very quiet summer at the barn. Bob entered into retirement spending his time putting together old tractors and cutting wood for the coming winter. Grant did some work on the cab of his truck, and I was able to do some more work on the Pilot Model HUP when time and circumstances permitted.

Bob took a break from the wood pile and the painting of tractors to do some maintenance work on some of the barn's assets. His custom made truck ramps are now highly visible and will be easy to spot in the snow this winter.

Today, we had a good chat about our late friend Alex Blair and recounted the many interesting and enjoyable conversations we had with Alex here at the barn and at Gracies. We say good-bye to him tomorrow.

Photos:
1 - The ramps sporting their new coat of paint.
2 - Bob's girl "Alice".