Must-do truck battery maintenance in the shop
You want to catch as many potential truck battery problems before they happen as you can, and that means checking the truck electrical system during preventative maintenance. Here’s how to get started. First, safety. “Technicians should always follow the shop rules for PPE equipment,” said Larry Rambeaux, sales application engineer for Purkeys. “The most obvious
Don’t let parasitic loads take a bite out of your truck batteries
More on-board, electronically-driven and controlled systems means more strain on your batteries that are already faced with tackling tough applications and pandemic-driven changing duty cycles. “Parasitic loads are ever-increasing,” said Vicki Hall, director of transportation technical solutions for EnerSys. “The more electronics and creature comforts are being added to trucks, especially sleeper cabs, the higher
How summer heat drains your truck batteries (and what you can do about it)
Ask any heavy-duty truck battery or electrical system expert about the summer heat’s adverse impact on battery performance and they’ll likely share the age-old adage: “Summer heat and sun are what kills a battery; it just doesn’t know it’s dead until it gets cold.” (Seriously, I asked five experts and that was every single answer.)
Avoiding lighting problems and CSA citations
Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) lighting violations or safety concerns often result from intermittent flickering of lights, diodes being out on LED lights, voltage drop on double or triple trailer configurations and non-functioning lights on the trailer. “Just one inoperable lamp can make a law enforcement official suspect that the vehicle, the driver and the fleet
Purkey’s introduces Direct charging system
Purkey’s Fleet Electric has introduced a new generation of its Direct charging system. The new Direct system is fully integrated into the nosebox of the trailer, which the company says will help save space and cost. The new generation offers a line of three options: The Direct Plus charges through the seven-way; The Direct Flex
Purkey’s releases Aware audio interface management system
Purkey’s Fleet Electric recently released their Aware audio interface management system, which connects with the speaker system in a truck’s cab to wirelessly route messages from the telematics alert system through the speakers. Features of the Aware system, described by the company, include: Allows for hands-free phone operation with any common 3.5 mm mono microphone
Preventing costly trailer electrical system failures
“Corrosion-causing moisture is always present and any breach in integrity enables it to invade an electrical system,” says Brett Johnson, president and chief executive officer of Optronics International. “When connections aren’t maintained, not only can it mean an early death for that particular component, it can mean that the entire system may be in jeopardy.”
How to maintain good electrical connections in your trucks
When it comes to tractor-trailer electrical connections, there is no such thing as “plug and play.” In other words, all electrical connections need to be secure and properly maintained. “Testing in the proper sequence is critically important to not only perform the correct test, but also in the correct sequence and repair as you go,”
Purkey’s offers handheld preventative maintenance tool
Purkey’s Fleet Electric introduces its Handheld Electrical Analyzer, which the company says allows technicians to quickly and easily test the electrical systems of heavy-duty vehicles from the palm of their hand. The portability and light-weight design of the Handheld Electrical Analyzer allows technicians to use it in the field or in the shop to perform proper preventative
Purkey’s introduces milliamp clip-on ammeter
Purkey’s highlights its milliamp clip-on ammeter, which helps detect the existence of a parasitic load by accurately measuring low current in electrical systems without disconnecting any cords from the power source, helping fleets deal with the growing issue of batteries that are drained even when not in use. According to the company, technicians equipped with
Purkey’s Fleet Electric introduces Dual Shield
Purkey’s Fleet Electric has developed the Dual Shield to simplify adding additional electrical devices to heavy-duty vehicles and protect the source that powers them. The Dual Shield provides a single source with multiple protected ports for electrical devices. It gives the vehicle two levels of protection to help counteract parasitic loads from these electrical systems: a
Purkey’s releases liftgate charging system testing solution
Purkey’s Fleet Electric has unveiled the Liftgate Double Check (LDC), a new way to easily test liftgate charging systems. The LDC comes with an LED light display that will inform the user that they are connected to a good power source. The LDC will show how many amps the batteries are pulling. Its connections can fit a dual pole,
