{"id":2270,"date":"2020-03-13T18:07:50","date_gmt":"2020-03-13T18:07:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quicktransportsolutions.com\/blog\/?p=2270"},"modified":"2020-03-13T18:07:52","modified_gmt":"2020-03-13T18:07:52","slug":"the-technicians-log-hows-your-electrical-maintenance-program-doing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quicktransportsolutions.com\/blog\/the-technicians-log-hows-your-electrical-maintenance-program-doing\/","title":{"rendered":"The Technician\u2019s Log: How\u2019s Your Electrical Maintenance Program Doing"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>We are providing all the most valuable information to our fleet technician readers this week with another installment of <em>The Technician\u2019s Log<\/em>, our blog series that aims to talk about anything and everything trucking and trucking maintenance. In today\u2019s article, we are going to talk about your electrical maintenance program. Considering how technologically advanced <a href=\"https:\/\/quicktransportsolutions.com\/blog\/are-there-limits-to-electronic-safety-systems-for-trucking-industry\/\">today\u2019s equipment<\/a> is, you must have a robust electrical maintenance system to get the most life out of your fleet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>                                                   [wp_ad_camp_2]    <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Take trailers as one example. Most lighting problems on\ntrailers are related to failures or damage related to the lighting and\nelectrical harness of the system. As corrosion builds, these components become\nmore likely to fail. But even worse than trailer lighting is the truck itself.\nMost electrical truck systems have become highly sophisticated. Whether it be\nthe massive number of micro-processors controlling different aspects of the\ntruck or the sensors or video equipment being used, there is a lot of computing\ngoing on. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The Importance of Electrical<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The electrical systems on trucks today touch on almost every\npart of the vehicle. From performance to efficiency and safety, the semi-truck\nis now a rolling computer with a trailer attached. All these new systems,\nsensors, camera, and other equipment puts stress on the truck\u2019s electrical\nsystem. When you have limited time to diagnose and fix an issue with a vehicle,\nthe electrical system is often a problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Any time there is any resistance in the electrical system,\nit could alter any number of signals and data points the fleet relies upon.\nWith electronics, if you do not have a proper power flow, it could disrupt the data\nflow. More sophisticated electronic systems require a rigorous and\nsophisticated maintenance program to keep them properly maintained. All too\noften technicians replace a battery or another component when the problem was\nin the electrical system the entire time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One of the best ways to ensure your vehicles\u2019 electrical\nsystems stay in good shape is to follow the American Trucking Associations\u2019\nTechnology &amp; Maintenance Council Manual. Shop technicians should conduct a\nthorough assessment of every aspect of the system. But what should this\nassessment include?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here\u2019s our recommendations:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Understand the basics of how electrical systems\nwork.<\/li><li>Know how to read simple electrical wiring\ndiagrams.<\/li><li>Study up on what specific electrical symbols\nmean.<\/li><li>Be able to perform circuit measurements with a\nvolt-ohm meter.<\/li><li>Solve basic circuit equations.<\/li><li>Understand how the data bus on a truck works. <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>While many fleet technicians have an adequate knowledge of\nhow electrical systems work and how to use a multimeter, there tends to be an\ninformation deficit when it comes to electrical analytics. If a multimeter\nprovides a particular reading, will we know what it means? Many truck drivers\nalso have a knowledge gap where the data bus is concerned. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There are plenty of real-world examples where technicians\ncouldn\u2019t analyze a circuit correctly or understand the implications of a meter\nreading and it ended up costing the fleet more money than is should have. If\nyou don\u2019t have a robust battery or electrical maintenance program, you may wind\nup spending $5,000 on a transmission overhaul only to find it was actually\ncorrosion within the electrical supply. You don\u2019t want to end up with a $5,000\nmistake on your hands. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>All-too-often, the battery becomes the default culprit when\nan electrical problem occurs. In many cases that may be true. Frequently, an\nissue can be traced to something as simple as a battery cable or loose\nconnection. Of course, it could also be corrosion in your electrical system. The\nbest way to find out is to complete the necessary diagnostic work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>More than Plug-and-Play<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Diagnosing, troubleshooting and working on complex\nelectrical systems is about more than just plug-and-play. You need to be able\nto understand and troubleshoot errant electronic devices, starters circuits, and\nbatteries. The industry-standard best practice is to use a fault tree. If you\nsee a symptom, you can generally trace it to its root by using an \u201cif this,\nthen this\u201d evaluation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Common problems technicians run into when troubleshooting electrical systems includes corrosion, parasitic draw, and battery charging problems. \u00a0Corrosion prevents the electrical system from conducting electricity in the proper manner, which in turn causes resistance. Intermittent flickering of lights or diodes on LED lights are usually because of corrosion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>                                                   [wp_ad_camp_2]    <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is especially true if you are running double or triple\ntrailer configurations. The longer a wire or harnessing solution needs to\nstretch across a trailer sequence, the greater the chance for a short somewhere\nin the system. And there are good reasons why electrical systems are so\nsusceptible to corrosion. As an electrical system is powered and unpowered, the\nwire within it heats up and expands. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When a wire then cools and contracts, it draws in air from\naround it. If there happens to be moisture in the air or de-icing chemicals, there\ncould be serious corrosion problems. The chemicals used in de-icing solutions\nare 50% smaller than road salt. They can also pull moisture from dry air, which\naccelerated the corrosion process. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Fortunately, there are companies out there that make corrosion-resistant\nelectrical system components. Technicians should regularly inspect these\ncomponents to keep wiring and electrical systems clean and free from damage. Additionally,\nif you must repair a wire harness or any kind of wiring, make sure to use\nheat-shrink terminals. Heat-shrink terminals conform to the size and the shape\nof the wire, which will ensure a permanent seal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>A Tale of Two Batteries<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Parasitic draw is a problem in that if the vehicle\nelectronics continue to pull current long after the vehicle is turned off, they\ncould drain the battery down to nothing. If the batteries become too discharged\nyour truck drivers won\u2019t be able to get the vehicle cranked. Even more,\nbatteries that are kept fully charged will not only function better, they will\nlast longer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The most common mistake a fleet technician or truck driver\nmakes is letting the battery completely discharge without bringing them back to\na full state of charge. Trying to start a heavy-duty commercial motor vehicle\nwith a low state of charge or weakened capacity can create a dangerous\nsituation with high amperages and low voltages. The last thing anyone wants to\ndo is overheat the starter motor or even possibly damage the battery cables. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Above all, fleets should prevent batteries from becoming\nextremely discharged. If they drop to less than 10V, you could be in for some\nbig problems. This can happen when a battery is sitting for an extended period,\nsuch as during the holidays, or if the vehicle is currently undergoing\nunrelated maintenance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Always remember that your electronics system starts with\nyour batteries. No matter what you do, everything always starts with the\nbattery and battery maintenance. One of the biggest electrical connections at\nthe battery bank. Dirty and corroded terminations generally account for nearly\nthree-fourths of all electrical failures. Always keep batteries and battery\nterminals clean and keep them fully charged. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Preventative Maintenance is Key<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We have talked about a lot of different truck components. If\nthere is one thing that has come from all this, it is that preventative\nmaintenance is extremely important. Are you completing a preventative\nmaintenance program and then benchmarking trucks based on how long they are on\nthe road before required maintenance?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You should have regular reports run in advance and allow\ntrucks to be scheduled at the right intervals. In addition to a full 160-point\ninspection, you need to keep files on each vehicle, just in case a truck driver\nnotices something, or a technician discovers a problem that otherwise would\nhave remained hidden. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Above all, when it comes to electrical system maintenance, you need to make sure you always sweat the small stuff. Small things matter during electrical system maintenance procedures. Are the connections clean and tight? Is anything corroded or lose? How are your bearings doing? In order to keep your fleet running in prime condition, you\u2019ve got to keep these things in mind. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>                                                   [wp_ad_camp_2]    <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And though many times we can work ourselves into a hole by\ncompleting the wrong troubleshooting steps, if we consult the manuals and don\u2019t\nstick to methodologies used on far older trucks, then we should be good to go!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We are providing all the most valuable information to our fleet technician readers this week with another installment of The Technician\u2019s Log, our blog series that aims to talk about anything and everything trucking and trucking maintenance. In today\u2019s article, we are going to talk about your electrical maintenance program. Considering how technologically advanced today\u2019s &#8230; <a title=\"The Technician\u2019s Log: How\u2019s Your Electrical Maintenance Program Doing\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/quicktransportsolutions.com\/blog\/the-technicians-log-hows-your-electrical-maintenance-program-doing\/\">Read more<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">The Technician\u2019s Log: How\u2019s Your Electrical Maintenance Program Doing<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2270","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-trucking"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v18.4.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The Technician\u2019s Log: How\u2019s Your Electrical Maintenance Program Doing - Quick Transport Solutions Trucking Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/quicktransportsolutions.com\/blog\/the-technicians-log-hows-your-electrical-maintenance-program-doing\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Technician\u2019s Log: How\u2019s Your Electrical Maintenance Program Doing - Quick Transport Solutions Trucking Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"We are providing all the most valuable information to our fleet technician readers this week with another installment of The Technician\u2019s Log, our blog series that aims to talk about anything and everything trucking and trucking maintenance. 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In today\u2019s article, we are going to talk about your electrical maintenance program. Considering how technologically advanced today\u2019s ... 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