CDL in hand... Now What ? Decision time, that's what...

I have a theory about these motors, admittedly based on rather weak data.

Both times that my tractor's blower motor has failed it has been overnight, when the auto-start has been engaged and the engine ran. In both cases I left the aircon on, along with the fan of course, thinking that if the engine needed to start to recharge batteries, might as well run the aircon up in the cab to help keep everything cool.

So my theory is that there is a design flaw somewhere in the combination of the auto-start and air conditioning system electronics. For example, a power surge to the blower motor, but only if the engine starts itself. Once the blower gets replaced I will try and keep the blower in the off position when the auto-start is engaged. Perhaps that will prevent another premature failure.

On a similar note, the rotator switches for the blower fan, the temperature selector, and the aircon/vent/heat selections are very cheap - one can tell by the inconsistent way it feels when rotating it through the fan speed clicks on the knob.

 

Someone was commenting, I think on the Roehl driver check-in thread, about the autostart / battery charging / sleeper HVAC system. They were saying how disappointed they were with how much the engine had to run to keep up the charge on the batteries.

A healthy, fully-charged "12-volt" battery with no load on it should read about 12.7 volts direct current (VDC). When a deep-cycle battery reads 12.1 VDC, it is 50% discharged. If a deep-cycle battery is discharged below 50%, the life of the battery is reduced dramatically.

The auto-start feature of the ProStar, as I understand it, is designed to start the engine when the battery voltage drops below a certain level. Other parameters such as run-time also enter the equation, but I believe voltage is the primary one. I was told that the ProStar will run for 70 minutes to fully recharge a battery system that has discharged enough for the auto-start to start the engine.

My experience so far in the last month of reasonably warm (in some cases very hot) weather has been that the engine will typically start once per night if I leave the sleeper aircon running. I try to run the fan at the lowest comfortable speed and set the temperature at the highest comfortable temperature. The fan is usually set on level 2 of 5 (5 being the fastest) and the temperature is usually in about the middle of the range. With the sleeper curtains closed, those settings seem to provide a balance of comfort and reasonable energy usage.

If the engine does start in the middle of the night, I will check the time it started. It runs at a high idle (1000 rpm), which spins the alternator faster and therefore recharges the batteries more quickly. After 30 minutes, I depress the brake pedal to bring the engine back down to low idle for 30-60 seconds, then shut the engine off.

For those that have a ProStar with the battery-powered sleeper HVAC system, but without auto-start, it would probably be a good idea to check the battery voltage periodically to be sure it does not drop below 12.1 volts.

 

Sitting in the consignee's lot among stacks of different types of lumber. There are no other trucks here and for the most part it is nice and quiet. No idling trucks, no APU's, and best of all no reefers!

There is a railway about 150 feet in front of me and so far one freight train has gone by. I actually find the sound of a train to be very comforting for some reason. Maybe it's because there is railroad blood in my veins, being that my grandfather worked for the Baltimore & Ohio.

 

Unloaded by 0630 and went to a small truck stop 2 miles away to call the driverline & get instructions for fixing the truck. They had a preplan on me but cancelled it due to the needed repairs. They sent me to Cedar Rapids to the Hawkeye International Dealer. Uncoupled the trailer in a lot next door and now in the driver's lounge waiting.

Once the truck is fixed it will be interesting to see what kind of plan they give me - I only have about 9 hours left on my 70 and only pick up 5.5 more at midnight so they can't send me too far.

 

Back in business with cool air in the cab . It was about 2 hours from arrival at the dealer to completed repairs. That makes two good experiences at International dealers.

 

My regular fleet manager is on military training leave for most of June; that's why I have a substitute...