Refuzn-To-Grow-Up

Thanks. I will look for it tomorrow and check it out. Since it is in the engine compartment, I am guessing it might be one of those round metal can solenoids, as opposed to the plastic relays that I saw in the dash fuse box.

Does anyone know if there is a fuse and a relay (maybe located in the dash fuse box) that sends power to the starter motor solenoid? Even these older trucks have so many computers on them, I am wondering if the computer sends a signal (through a fuse) to a relay coil and the relay contacts then send power to the starter solenoid. A good place to install such a fuse and relay would be in the dash fuse panel.

The cable lugs that were connected to the battery was NASTY. I cleaned all cable ends and the buss bar with a wire brush. I will clean all the cable ends, the maxi fuse connections and the shut off switch connections. The truck is coming up on 20 years old and it spent its working life in Canada.

Since I was sitting in driver's seat, I only noticed the dash gauge lights turn off down. Maybe the dash gauge lights are supposed to turn off during the crank mode and I never noticed it. Would someone start their engine and observe if the dash gauge lights shut off during cranking. Thanks. I will measure volts at the starter motor while trying to crank.

Oh that's not good. I'll check for rodent poop and damaged wires. I sure do hope that you are wrong because that sounds like a very expensive nightmarish problem.

Hello to all. It has been a while since I posted here. I am looking for some folks, who are smarter than me (which is not saying too much LOL), to help me figure out why my engine does not crank. In the past, I would reach out to Mr. Seas (Scott Almquist) for electrical help. Sadly, Scott passed away. I miss him as a friend and as a "go to techie." I have a 2008 Volvo VNL with D16 engine and an I-shift transmission. Due some personal issues, it has been "sitting" at my house way to too long. I need to get back on the road!. I would start it up about every month or so. I had a battery tender plugged in all the time to keep batteries charged. The batteries were about five years old and I knew they were due for replacement. When I went to start the motor, nothing happened. I checked the batteries and they were at 7 volts. Today, I cleaned all of the terminals and replaced the four batteries. I started the on board generator and let it run for a while. When I turned the key to start the D16 engine, nothing happened. The engine did not crank. So here is what I know so far. I waited for the computer to go through its start up sequence and then turned the key to crank. The engine did NOT crank. The dash lights all shut off. The battery voltage (13.6 volts) did not drop. It is acting like no signal is going to the starter motor telling it to start the engine. Other than low air pressure for the system and transmission, there were no faults. I have a power shut off switch that shuts down all of the power to the truck. There are two mega fuses in the battery compartment, one for negative and one for positive cables (from the battery). When I tested the shut off switch, the voltage going into the shut off switch read 12.71. The voltage coming out of the sut off switch was 12.68. So, there is a little voltage drop across the shut off switch. The voltage on the mega fuses was the same on the input and the output. So, there was no voltage drop across the fuses The computer recognizes when the I-Shift is not in gear. So, ithe I-shift shifter is "talking" to the computer. To summarize, I turn the key to start the engine but the engine does not crank. The dash lights go completely off. I mean "lights out." There is no voltage drop when I try to crank the engine. If there was some short, I would expect to see a voltage drop. I have not yet checked the brake pedal switch. As I recall (it has been a while since I drove the "Big Boy"), I had to have brakes applied and the transmission in neutral to start the engine. I am not "stuck" away from home. There is no urgency. The Big Boy is sitting in the driveway of my home. I am planning a trip sometime in May. I am in Anaheim, California. If anyone is local and wants to drop by, your help would be very much appreciated. Jim Dromi (714) 821-5820

Scott's Big Boy is back on the road again, traveling to new places. We just got back from a three-week trip in gold prospecting country. It was below freezing and windy almost every day. I did not venture into the mountains that I love so much. Locals said when it rains, the rain freezes on the dirt roads. Then, when it snows, the snow covers up the ice. People think that they are snow, but they are on ice . . . and off the road into the ravine they go. Not my idea of fun and adventure. Some day, we hope to make it back to the West Coast HDT Rally.

Mr. Seas (Scott) has passed away. Scott was a frequent poster on this forum. His wife is selling their 2012 NuWa Hitchhiker 38LKRSB Champagne. Go to the for sale section for more details. Scott was my "go to geek" for Volvo and RV issues. For those who do not know, Mr. Seas, along with Chad, organized the first West Coast HDT Rally. As Scott was fond of saying, "The rally was AWESOME." I went to the first West Coast Rally. You may not remember me, but you may remember my three bird dogs, Rusty, Sadie and Abby. Rusty and Sadie were liver and white English Springer Spaniels. Abby is an English Setter. Sadly, Rusty and Sadie got into baited poison and died. Abby, although getting old, is still fond of hunting birds. Scott was a good friend of mine. I will miss Scott. I met Scott through this forum. I was struggling with the decision to buy an HDT. He drove his "Big Boy" to my home to let me and the wife inspect it. BTW, the nicknameI Big Boy is from the steam locomotive named Big Boy. When the fully restored Big Boy was passing through California, Scott and I drove out to see it. This fully restored fire breathing, steam hissing monster machine was AWESOME to see up close. Good Bye Mr. Seas. Safe travels to all.

Would you post photos of the box on your truck?

PERFECT! Just what I am looking for, even if it does NOT have a maglev elevator (whatever that is). And, it looks like a 780, short wheel base, just like mine.

COLLAPSIBLE SUNROOF! I like it. How do you get to the roof? Outside ladder? Pull down stairs on the inside?

Dave: I am leaning toward building my own because I will get the exact features that I want. I have a tube bender and welders. Since I do not have the equipment to lift the completed box onto the bed, I am thinking about a modularized design, whereby I could fabricate pieces and then lift them onto the bed for assembly. So many projects and so little time . . . SIGH! Do you have any photos of your build?

Now that looks super heavy duty! I have been flip-flopping back and forth on what I want to do with a bed for a few years. And, for our needs, the drom-garage looks like the way to go. We have a toy hauler (flip flopped on that for sometime) and although, the living area s reduced by the garage, the toy hauler works out best for our needs. It would be much easier to go in to the drom-garage to get something instead of pulling things out from under the trailer. I also want to shift weight from the trailer to the Volvo. I will also be adding two joboxes to the back of the Volvo, one on each side.

I am thinking about installing a Drom box "garage" on my Volvo (see photo). I am singled short. I am even thinking about installing a smaller version of an overhead crane system similar to the one installed on Henry's Volvo, Ketchup. The crane would be used lift the things into the garage, like barbeques, recumbent trike. For those of you have done this modification, I have a few questions. Did you build or buy the box? If you bought, who did you buy from? How do you access your fuel tanks to fill up? How do you access the cab suspension components at the back of the cab? Any other comments and/or suggestions would be appreciated.