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Refuzn-To-Grow-Up

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    SoCal
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    Gold prospecting, bird hunting with my three pups, off-road riding.

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  1. I have taken a lot (information and help) from this forum. It took me about an hour to reflect and summarize what happened. I felt that I owed it to this group of folks. BTW - the other thing that I learned is when I am "over my head" to get local help. A good way to do that is to send a bcc email (or text) to fellow local gearheads and ask for help. And, that is how I found the mechanic who fixed my Volvo.
  2. FINAL STATUS: The truck is fixed. 😀 THE REPAIR: Using an electric drill and a wire brush, cleaned the corrosion off of the starter motor cable (positive and negative) lugs. Replaced the corroded starter nut that secured the cable to the starter motor THE TRUCK: 2008 Volvo 780 VNL with a D16 engine with about 700,000 miles. It spent its working life in the snow country of Canada. THE PROBLEM: When I turned the ignition key to start the engine, the dash lights went out (instantly) and the starter motor did NOTHING! AFTERTHOUGHTS: Given my work load and my skill level (or lack thereof), I knew that I was in over my head. So, I reached out to friends for a referral to a good diesel mechanic. And, I found one. His initial thought was that it sounds like poor cable connections on the starter motor. He load tested the batteries. At the batteries, he checked all cables to verify correct polarity. He checked all of the fuses (in the dash fuse panel). He cleaned the , cable lug connections on the alternator. Then, he removed the cables from the starter. I have no idea how he did that because the starter is "buried" on the right side of the engine. He wire brushed the starter cable lugs and installed a new nut. When I first bought the truck, I had the dealer install a shut off switch. The dealer wired the starter motor cable through the shut off switch. When I replaced the batteries, I removed the starter motor cable from the switch because of the high starter current. The mechanic confirmed my concern and told me that the cable should not go through the switch. I wire brushed all of the heavily corroded cables lugs in the battery compartment. I replaced the heavily corroded mega fuse holders (also in battery compartment) and the mega fuses. For the last few years, the starter sounded like it was struggling to crank the engine. Now, it cranks the motor over really "snappy." One of the AWESOME things about the HDT forum is that we share our knowledge. So, I wanted to share what I have learned so that others will be able to fix their HDT's.
  3. Fuse holders and fuses replaced. Battery cable terminals cleaned. No change. :( I decided to seek help because I am "over my head" and too busy to diagnose the problem. I reached out to one of my fellow gearhead friends (local to me) and he referred me to Jim, his diesel mechanic friend who works on big diesel trucks. This past Thursday, I spoke to Jim and I told Jim the following: I have a 2008 Volvo with a 16 liter engine. The Volvo spent its working life in Canada (lots of snow). Battery cable ends were seriously corroded. When I try to crank the engine, the starter does not crank (nothing) and the dash lights go completely out. Volvo always seemed to be "slow" cranking as if the starter motor was struggling. Jim, like most of you, said it sounds like internal cable corrosion in the big (high amp carrying) cables (positive and/or negative). He said the corrosion is not apparent because the cable to lug crimp area is covered (appears to be shrink tubing). He is coming by the house next week to work on the problem. He has the equipment to make new cables. Based upon what you folks have told me and what Jim told me, I am going to have him replace ALL of the high current cables (and any others Jim recommends) because this internal cable corrosion sounds like an electrical issue with the Volvos, as they age. When I eventually sell the Volvo, the new owner will love me. LOL. I am very thankful that I was not on the road when this happened to me. I will keep you posted and thanks to all of you for the help. Safe Travels.
  4. Yesterday, I was going to install the Meg fuse holders when I noticed that the nuts were not in the packages. I drove back to the Volvo dealer and was told that I have to buy the nuts separately. When I screwed the nuts onto the fuse holder, there was extreme resistance at the very end. The parts guy told me they are lock nuts. These nuts are the type of lock nuts that has the ending threads mechanically "deformed." I do not like these nuts because they damage the bolt threads. So, I decided to buy nylok (250F temperature rating) from McMaster Carr. Nuts should be here in a couple of days. For those of you folks who never heard of McMaster Carr, I have used them for years. They sell quality parts and ship (usually within a few days) to me for a reasonable price. Here is a link to their website. https://www.mcmaster.com/
  5. If I did it correctly, below is a link to a photo of the back of the fuse panel. [IMG]https://i.imgur.com/VSIk2Jwl.jpg[/IMG]
  6. Chet, I just sent you a PM. I tried attaching the photo of the fuse panel to the PM, but the photo was too large. I am still trying to find out how to post large photos
  7. Hi Rickeieieo: NEUTRAL SECURED? I could have shut the engine off while in gear. The dash indicator shows when I shift the gear shifter from drive to neutral. BUT . . . I suspect (but could be wrong) that there is another sensor, inside the transmission, to make sure that the tranny is, in fact, in neutral, before allowing the engine to start. The Volvo is at my house and the trailer is in storage. I tried to air up the Volvo system with my home compressor, but the compressor is old and could not reach the required air pressure to shift the tranny into gear and back to neutral. I have a compressor in the trailer that will do the job. I just have bring it home. STARTER WIRES: I just purchased a borescope. See link below. I should be able to snake the camera down to the starter and get some nice close up photos of the motor and the cable connections. Raining all day, so I will do when the rain stops. https://depstech.com/products/endoscope-with-screen-ds700-triple-lens
  8. Hi Marcel: Yes, I could have shut the engine off while in gear. I have had my DAHH moments in life. The dash indicator shows when I shift the gear shifter from drive to neutral. BUT . . . I suspect (but could be wrong) that there is another sensor, inside the transmission, to make sure that the tranny is, in fact, in neutral, before allowing the engine to start. The Volvo is at my house and the trailer is in storage. I tried to air up the Volvo system with my home compressor, but the compressor is old and could not reach the required air pressure to shift the tranny into gear and back to neutral. I have a compressor in the trailer that will do the job. I just have bring it home. As I recall, prior to starting the engine, the tranny has to be in neutral AND the brake pedal has to be depressed.
  9. STARTER PHOTOS: I just purchased a borescope. See link below. I have been meaning to buy one of these for years. I could not pass up the "half price deal" on it. I was practicing with the borescope last night. I should be able to snake the camera down to the starter and get some nice close up photos of the motor and the cable connections. I wish that I had the borescope, to inspect the fuses, before I violently (see below) removed them. Raining all day, so I will do when the rain stops. https://depstech.com/products/endoscope-with-screen-ds700-triple-lens FUSE INVOLVED: I tried to attach photos of the fuses, fuse block and cable end, but the files were too large. I will try again. NOTE: The nuts securing the cables to the fuse block was so corroded that I had to use a mini impact wrench to remove the nuts. This mechanically damaged the fuses and the holders. But the 150 amp fuse looks like it had been heat damaged. I had to cut up the fuse holders to remove them from the mounting plate.
  10. Thanks Chet. That clears up some confusion on my part. I just returned from Volvo. I looked for an "old dog" with the hopes that he knew how to work the parts computer, and he did. The parts diagram, for my Volvo, did not show the mega fuse, so he went back to the parts house, pulled a fuse holder and used the part number to find where used on my Volvo. Per Volvo, the fuse rating is "from 150 amps to 400 amps." So he went out to the shop and asked a mechanic, who said 150 amps in both fuse holders. Hopefully, I will get installed this weekend
  11. Well, today was an adventure! I decided to check out and clean up the connections on the mega fuses. A simple project. LOL. The positive and the negative cables, from the battery, are wired directly to to the mega fuse. Then the fused side of the mega fuse feeds the truck. The nuts, securing the cables, were so corroded that I could not remove them. So, I cut the studs off to free the cables. Shesh! The bolts securing the mega fuses to a mounting plate also had to be cut off. All of this corrosion may not be the problem, but as long as I am in this far, I may as well clean it all up. When I eventually sell the Big Boy, the new owners will love me for cleaning up everything. The fuse on the positive cable is black and has the following markings: Buss AMG 150A 32V. I am assuming that is a 150 amp fuse made by Bussman. The fuse on the negative cable is reddish in color and is marked 400A 32V. There are no manufacturer markings (China?). I am assuming that this fuse is a 400 amp fuse. I am no electronics genius (far from it). I do not understand why the positive cable is fused at 150 amps and the negative cable is fused at 400 amps. The way the fuses are wired (immediately from the positive and negative terminals of the battery), it would seem to me that the current going through the positive cable is the same as the current going through the negative cable. Therefore, the fuses amperage rating should be the same. Anybody have any idea how many amps the starter motor draws when it is turning over a 16 liter (976 cubic inches) diesel engine? I am on my way to the Volvo dealer to buy new maga fuses holders and fuses. Hopefully, their parts computer should be able to tell me what the fuse amperage is for the two fuses.
  12. I'll check Mark Buss' website. Only diagnostics are low system air pressure and low transmission air pressure.
  13. Yes, I agree. The solenoid is mounted on the starter. BUT, it appears that the relay that activates the solenoid is also mounted on the starter, as opposed to the firewall. If i can get to the starter motor, I will take a photo with my I-phone. If not, then I am thinking about buying one of those cameras that will allow me to "snake" the camera down to the starter connections and take a picture. As an admitted "Tool-O-Holic," ya can't have too many kool tools.
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