Proper battery maintenance during the hot summer months is just as important as it is during the frigid winter months. Your truck battery powers your business. Follow this checklist to extend the life of your battery:
Preventative Maintenance
During scheduled preventative maintenance (PM), check and confirm the following:
Battery connections are clean and free of debris
Battery connections are tight
Hold-downs are properly secured
Battery pack is fully charged
Battery Inspection
Inspect the truck battery pack as part of your regularly scheduled vehicle inspection, any time the operator is experiencing ‘hard starts’ or the truck is being used for shorter runs with hotel loads. When the battery pack is tested, look for the following factors:
State of charge of the battery pack
Full charge is 12.6 volts for flooded batteries and 12.8 volts for AGM batteries
Hold-downs and battery connections are securely fastened
Batteries are fully recharged and tested with either a load or conductance tester
Evaluate what loads are being used and how much power is being taken by the additional use of air conditioning during warmer months
If the battery pack is 2-3 years old, the user may want to consider replacing batteries to reduce the risk of a no-start situation or emergency repairs.
Conductance Testing in our Truck Repair Shop.
Conductance uses the battery’s response to a very small signal in attempt to predict the effects of a much larger current. Conductance testing is ineffective on a discharged battery. If the battery is known to be discharged, or if the tester tells the operator to charge before testing again, the battery must be completely recharged.
State-of-Charge
State-of-charge is estimated from the open circuit voltage (OCV) and is used to determine if the battery is in a testable state or to estimate how long charging will take. Worth noting:
Battery design varies
Typical values are shown on the charging time tables
A true 75 percent or better charge state is needed for most testing
Depreciation
When you buy a brand-new semi, it depreciates in value as soon as you drive it off the dealer, just as a new car does. And most of the depreciation that follows happens within the first months.
When you buy a used truck that's been "around the block" for several years, depreciation no longer becomes a real issue, making your investment in a used truck much more solid. In fact, used models hold their value as time goes on, more so than a new truck does.
This becomes a huge advantage when it comes time to sell, particularly if you have to sell soon after buying; you won't take as much of a monetary loss as you would when trying to sell a new truck.
The Importance Of Cleaning Diesel Filters
When was the last time you had your diesel particulate filter (DPF) or diesel oxidation catalyst (DOC) cleaned? If the answer is, “I don’t know” and your truck is newer than a 2007 model, it is time to visit a repair shop. If your diesel engine is newer than 2007, here are a few things you should know to extend your filter life and increase your fuel efficiency.
What Does a Diesel Particulate Filter or Diesel Oxidation Catalyst Do Exactly?
Before we go into detail on why you need to clean your DPF and DOC, we need to discuss how these engine components work together. The DOC protects the DPF. Vapor can interfere with the DPF’s ability to trap and remove particulate matter, so manufacturers route the exhaust through the DOC first, then into the DPF. The DOC forces the exhaust over a honeycomb ceramic structure coated with catalyst which chemically changes carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons to carbon dioxide and water. Then the exhaust gases go through the DPF where it is forced through porous channel walls, trapping and holding the remaining ash and soot.
When Is It Time To have Your DPF or DOC Cleaned? A good rule of thumb is to go in for a cleaning about every 200,000 miles or less depending on your duty style. It is possible to burn off this excess ash and soot on your own using either passive or active regeneration. Passive generation uses the normal exhaust temperatures and nitrogen dioxide to oxidize the build up and active regeneration requires much higher temperatures. Even with these different cleaning cycles, it is still important to take your truck to get serviced.