Help please, Dead Batteries

Tried and true method is always the old school carbon pile load tester. Each battery should be tested individually. If they've just been charged I put about a 100 amp load on it for around 5 seconds to remove the surface charge. Then I give it a good 60 to 90 seconds to recover before hitting it with a load equal to half the CCA rating for 15 seconds. If the battery voltage drops lower than 9.6 volts at room temperature or if a cell smokes, battery is toast.

 

I agree and will have it turned up luckily don't have this issue it was only once in the 18 months since I bought it.

 

The 2018 Cascadia i drive that i got new in April of 17 is still on its original batteries. We have the load shedding start at 12.0 volts and completely cuts the mains off at 11.8. Never had a problem starting, even here in ND. I'd say either parasitic drain or a bad battery sucking the life out of the rest.

 

Battery cables aren't securely tightened, especially the links between batteries.

The high-quality the dealers put into prep often over looks this and little things like lug nuts securely fastened.

Pop the cover off the battery box. Takes 1/2" or 7/16" wrench to check the connections.

 

I would check the grounds as well. One bad cable will cause the entire system to act this way. Jumps just fine but won’t crank

 

My previous company I had a 2018 KW with Auto Idle. Over five times, maybe ten, I put it in the shop because the truck wouldn't start and idle when using the bunk heater and with a small refrigerator. The service writer claimed that they couldn't raise the voltage(I'll refer to it as "cut-in voltage" because I don't know what it's called) because the company wouldn't let them. This created a situation where the batteries were deep-cycling every night. It's also why the company had to replace four sets of batteries in a two-year period. I never knew if the truck was going to start in the morning.

Previously, I had a Cascadia that had no problem starting when the voltage dropped but would run for several hours until it would do an exhaust regen then shut down. So, I have a pretty poor opinion of these idle management systems and would have to seriously consider whether I wanted to work for any company that didn't have APU's.

 

It's all electronic garbage made in Taiwan.

 

I don’t understand what help you want, but I have a serious suggestion.


Being a team and running the truck as you do, your company needs to install a Maxwell Engine Start Module. The cost of it is less than a grand, and this will offset the losses when the truck is stuck. Putting in deep cycle batteries for house batteries when maxwell unit is installed, with a proper regulator, should give five to six years out of those batteries.