A 'what if' situation thats been bugging me...

[Rot Box]

The other day I was unloading firewood at my house and accidentally left my keys turned on Sure enough the batteries were so dead the next morning the starter wouldn't even click. I carry a healthy yellow top Optima and a good set of jumpers just in case. That said I found out the hard way one battery and hopes and dreams is NOT enough to light the glowplugs and turn the engine over fast enough to fire in 75* weather.

What do you guy's carry for a backup? Right now I'm thinking I probably need 2 spare batteries. I spend a lot of time traveling solo in the backcountry out here and I want to do a better job of being prepared especially with winter rolling in. I know I should be more careful and not leave my keys on but what happens if you kill your batteries and there is nobody around to jump you and you can't roll start. Carry two extra batteries? What do you guy's think? Thanks,

Andrew

 

[bbjordan]

A can of Ether is my backup. Just don't go crazy with it, and disconnect the glow plugs!

 

[dgr]

You couldn't start on one well charged battery in 75 degree weather?

 

[Hardass559]

one good battery shuld do the trick if you un hook the dead ones and hook it direst to the truck no jumper cabels but if your really worryed aboutit pick up small camp site gennerator and a 50 amp charger and hope your not in hurry

 

[gunz]

I keep an old solar charger in the truck. its a trickle charger. If the power is low for some reason I plug it in. It isnt a quick fix, but if you catch the problem before you need the truck, You can give em awhile adn you will be amazed at how much those little panles can do.

 

[franklin2]

I have never been able to jump these trucks off with one good battery or vehicle running, and one set of jumper cables. Like you found out, it's just not enough, even in warm weather. Some of the tricks mentioned above may work, but the standard jumping method doesn't seem to. I have got it to start with one good battery SITTING IN THE BATTERY TRAY BY ITSELF, so that may be the trick, take the old batteries out first.

 

[lindstromjd]

Or carry a good jump-pack with a minimum of 900 cca. It won't last very long (maybe 3-4 engine rotations) but it can help.

 

[icanfixall]

My question is about how many cycles to start has the starter been used. Are there any long cranking trys to start the engine... Reason I'm asking is these starters will slowly die on you. Its really tuff to "feel" this too. I'm not telling you your starter is worn out but its something to think about. I always look at the batteries this way... Cold starts, one battery for the glow plugs and one for the starter. As for having something as a spare way to start the engine in the back country... I think 2 batteries wil do it. How was it you left the key turned on but the engine off. Got an electric crane on the back of the truck for lumber...

 

[Rot Box]

Great ideas everyone For fun I'll unhook all the batteries and try jumping it off one just to see what happens. I'm thinking that might do the trick. I had a 1200 ca battery in my old first gen Cummins maybe one like that would be a good spare?

bbjordan, I'm pretty confident it would have fired up with ether. The motor would crank fine but it wouldn't after I let the plugs burn for about 10 seconds. That might be the ticket in a pinch. I have a manual GP switch too which helps

Gary, I left the key on for the radio As for the starter I don't know how old it is but the whole system is very healthy. Even in the winter it will roar to life without much stress as long as the batteries aren't dead .

 

[SparkandFire]

On my van I have have two separate 12 volt circuits. The engine room battery and the deep cycle battery for the interior lighting, furnace, fridge, etc.. There is a key-on circuit that powers a tie up relay to connect the truck electrical circuit to the deep cycle to keep it charged when the engine is on.
This saved my butt a few weeks ago while back-country camping with the family. My son was playing with the radio and left it, and the XM receiver powered up overnight.
I forgot to check it before going to bed...
Anyway, truck main battery was dead as could be come morning. No cell service. Wife in a panic, what to do... AH! The deep cycle battery! I pulled it out of the storage compartment, dropped it into the engine room, and "TA-DA" got the truck started.

I would keep the one spare battery in a bed box and run a Key-on charge circuit to it to keep it always fresh. Two batteries are better if you've got the room. I have been able to get IDI trucks fired up with just one battery before, I am somewhat suspect of the charge level in your emergency battery... They do drain a little over time unless hooked to a charge circuit.

Also, I have never had success jumping a truck with a battery connected by jumper cables. There is a tremendous amount of loss in jumper cables, between the alligator clamp and the cable itself. I've always pulled the passenger side battery, pulled the negative cable off the driver's side battery, and dropped the fresh battery in the passenger spot...

 

[subway]

you should be able to start with one battery and some either can help out. the key is to get a positive connection. you cant get enough amperage through a jumper cable connection, at least i have not been able to. you have to positivly connect the battery through the cables to get the energy flow you need.

they do make gizmos that will cut power to your battery when it gets to low from a light drain ( like when you have the key on listening to the radio) so you have enough battery charge left to start after you reset them. i will have to try to find one, i have not used on personally just remember seeing them.

 

[RLDSL]

if going way backwoods, I'd have to agree with the small generator and charger route. A second set of batts is just a second opportunity for more dead batts when Murphy strikes in the worst of places. You can get a very compact genny these days that wont burn much fuel or take up much space and can come in handy for other things if stranded and needing to make repairs or charge up cell phone or 2 way radio for rescue communication. An extra set of batts is a one time shot. If youve had a fuel line snag and loose prime to the point where the ip goes dry you could easily run two sets of batts dead trying to re prime after repair and still be dead in the water.

 

[icanfixall]

Snagging a fuel line is a problem if you do not have an electric lift pump. If I were to go that deep in the back country I think a charger and a small genset would fit the bill. It may take longer than you have to slowly charge up the batteries but at least the senset can be used for more than one purpose. It can even make a radio run till all th fuel is used up. Now something about trying to start our engines when the battery is low. A slow cranking engine has less chance to start because the pistons are not able to compress the air fast enough to make the heat needed to ignite the diesel. Diesel ignites at 940 degrees. The faster the engine turns over the hotter the air gets in the cylinders. Thats just science working there.Plus when the starter is cranking slow its drawing lots of amps which turns into lots of heat in the windings. Then you release all the mystry smoke thats hidden in the starter. Now your in a pickle unless your on a hill and have a standard trans.

 

[Exekiel69]

Small generator and charger is a great idea, I have a solar charger for mine in case they loose charge.

 

[dgr]

...

I would keep the one spare battery in a bed box and run a Key-on charge circuit to it to keep it always fresh.....

I'm pretty sure you can use the unused spade on an externally regulated alternator for a RUN signal. However, I don't know how much amperage it is capable of delivering. It would keep someone from leaving the key on and killing 3 batteries instead of just two.