Ray, go back to your old shop and get a new battery under the manufacture's warranty. I buy all my batteries at Costco, can't beat their warranty, if it dyes under "4 years" you get a brand new one at no cost, there after is a prorated warranty.😃👍
Rather wired to too charger the trailer with the towing vehicle. With the size of solarpanel you can fit and given that the angle to the sun is always bad, you be lucky getting 0,5A on a sunny day, obvious nothing in bad weather or shade.
@@jamram9924 I know, but just do the math, he probably can only fit a 20watt panel that would be about 1,2 Amps. Mounted flat probably only 0,8 Amps, because it is dirty since it is flat and the rain cant wash it of down to 0,5 Amps. He would probably mount in on the ontop of the battery box, he had to worry about the shade of the dumper body, he needs to watch out in which direction he parks the trailer and if there is debrie on the solarpanel. Wiring it to charge with the tow vehicle is probably cheaper than a solarpanel and provites relaible 10-20 Amps as soon the plug is connected. The solar panel only provites enough power for a single dump a day, wiring it to the tow vehicle enough for a dump every 20 minutes.
@@jonasstahl9826 he would need to put that panel on a swivel type frame to angle it towards the Sun. Obviously, it wouldn’t get the afternoon Sun due to the angle. My brother has 2 dumpster trailers for his construction business. We’re in the process of installing a solar panel that’s attached to a trickle charger to keep the battery full charged. He might not get the battery completely charged everyday but over a period of a few days, the battery will be fully charged. Ray doesn’t use this trailer on a daily basis either
When you want to jump a dead battery, it can help to wait a few minutes for the good battery put some charge in the dead battery before trying the starter. That way the dead battery may get just enough juice to turn the engine. Being impatient just undoes the partial charging that was already achieved.
Had the same issue once in the morning heading to work. Dead truck battery, 4:30 in the morning no one around, so I MacGuivered it by using my Dewalt 18 volt battery. It worked, and the truck started right up.
Enjoy your videos mate, however there is an old saying " The mechanics car is generally the worst in the street"= ( as the mechanic spends most of his time repairing other peoples cars & tends to ignore his) Keep them videos coming , its good to see you also have the same everyday problems as everybody else. Cheers
I hate when sh*t happens like that -- especially when you're in a hurry and late for something. You did a great job of controlling yourself and acting rationally. Hats off to you for having grace under pressure.
Take it for what it is. When starting with jumper cables. I was taught to wait 5 to 15 minutes before starting. During that time, the empty battery is brought to a better level. Good video, thank you.
This is the ultimate Rainman Ray Florida Man episode. Thumbs up for being human about this. Even the best of us have bad mornings. I needed to see this. My morning sucked too.
There must be a bad run on alternators lately. A friend of mine went to one of the big parts stores (shall remain nameless, but I can say, their name rhymes with calzone) and bought an alternator about a year or so ago. Alternator on a Ford Crown Victoria, takes no time to replace and super easy. Hooks up his new alternator, installs a new belt and battery, starts the car.... not charging. Spent the next few hours diagnosing EVERYTHING we could on the car... not charging. Take alternator back to store and have it tested....not charging. Pull the last alternator off the shelf locally, have it tested before leaving the store.... NOT CHARGING?! Next available in different brand? 2 weeks out. My friend got his money back, ordered an alternator online and had it the next day, and it worked right out of the box! Modern day "build quality"..... Those of us that love and maintain our older vehicles are so screwed.
This is why I built an alternator (Doesn't matter what it's from as long as it's 50+amps output your good) driven by a small engine as long as you have a few volts it will power the field to start charging the battery rather quickly
Got a text yesterday from my daughter in college a little over an hour away from us. Her car wouldn't start. This is the durable and ever-reliable '96 Saturn that has served through 3 of our 4 kids (so far) that we purchased about 10 years ago when the oldest turned 16. She said that she and one of her friends could probably figure out jump starting....and I'm sure they could, but having failed her by not teaching her directly and thereby having confidence that it would go well, I drover over there. I got her car started with a new NOCO jump starter and then left it with her after showing her how to use it. She simply doesn't drive enough. All of the places she goes are 3 or 4 miles away, so the battery never gets a full recharge. Then, she let it sit for a week with no use- this is what happened.
Check the vanity lights on the visors. They're almost impossible to detect they're on and they work with the key off. Over time, they kill your battery. The little plastic nub on the dust cover hinge is a single point failure point for 2 Chevy trucks I've owned. It always seems to happen on the passenger side too.
If Ray's is like mine (same year) it has an auto shut down feature that after a specified length of time, like if you leave your interior light or similar on, it shuts off the battery.
@@BigLisaFan On Dodges all the lights except one are connected through the body control module. That one light is the light in the cargo bed, a part of the 3rd brake light. It's only controlled by a switch. Seems that people were complaining that the cargo light would go off after 15 minutes when people were still getting unloaded/loaded. Switch is on the opposite end of rotation from the dome lights on the instrument light dimmer control.
Adapt and improvise! Well done Ray! I hope the rest of you day goes better. Have a great day, Sir! o7 Pro tip: Before entering a sea can, be sure to close the latches on the door first. That way you can't get accidentally trapped. It only takes a second, and it can save your life.
I have a friend who used to do janitorial work overnight at the courthouse. You can probably guess where this is going. Part of his work involved going into the jail cells. The doors would close by themselves but he could open them. One night, as the door closed behind him, he realized the sound it made was different. Sure enough, he was locked in the cell. As it happened he was working alone so there was no one to help him. So, make a call right? He pulled his cell phone from his pocket, but he could make no calls. Inside the jail there was no reception. The only option left was to wait for rescue. Unfortunately it was Friday night, *and* a long weekend as luck would have it. Imagine how that would feel, imprisoned by your own hand. Someone had made a mistake in locking the door, but personally I would have had some means to ensure the door couldn't close while inside. Luckily for him, he didn't have to spend the entire 3 days in jail. On Sunday someone-I don't remember who-came to the building and arranged to free him. That was a hard lesson.
It's all of the extra "essentials" you've got pulling juice from the alternator. Lights, extra fuel tank pump, trailer accessories, etc. Not to mention the Banks gages and cameras/gadgets inside the cab. You might need a beefier or even 2nd alt! Can't wait for THAT video! 👍
Most of those are low amperage, intermittent use, or both. They hunkered down for the hurricane instead of going elsewhere. There was a generator, but he didn't obtain a sufficient amount of fuel, beforehand; therefore, the generator ran out. He then decided to use the truck to supply electricity to the house for an extended period of time. I suspect that it was taxed to capacity at times - especially if they used a microwave oven, electric range, or other electric cooking appliance instead of a methane (aka natural gas) powered stove. I've no idea whether there's a municipal gas supply infrastructure in that part of the country. Seems like it would be a good idea, all things considered - but common sense is, alas, not all that common these days, especially in the USA. If gas is available, a permanently-installed generator might not be a bad idea. Or, alternatively... learning how to survive without "normal consumption" levels of electricity use for short periods of time.
Love the fact he has series of dead/almost discharged batteries everywhere when you need to start the car to work. Just like many of my days, even i'm usually prepared with starter and everything, it goes flat until the day I need it. Still with struggle comes Rainman smartness:)
This was a great way of showing the proper order of escalation. Always start with the easiest thing first and progress as needed to get the job done. And great use of documenting to prove your excuse for being late to the boss.
I had this happen last winter so I bought a conditioner/charger and added safety quick connects to the battery. So when I have to leave my car in sub zero temps I just plug it in and turn on the conditioner and it works a treat. Didn’t drive for three week and when I went to start it the thing turned over right away. Plus my car has luxurious curls too. 😂
Thats the problem with long jumper leads, cant really jump start with them, you have to more or less trickle charge until you have enough power to start
@MrMustangMan yeah its a interesting process because the voltage will drop over the distance when you have more amps going through it, which will drop the current, which then reduces voltage drop. So you can still get full battery voltage across it, but it has to have very minimal load eg the flat battery becomes charged, and it just takes time. But trying to jump it too early draws heaps of amps through the jumper leads, which leads to voltage drop, also heats up the jumpers increasing resistance and increasing voltage drop. So youjust have to wait for it to trickle in for a few minutes
Your power to diagnose will always see you thru, and you just proved that what a lot of us might call 'junk' in the trailers is anything but. You're prepped already!
Had that happen two weeks before Christmas, dead battery on my wife’s Yukon plus jump box was dead. We just went to town in my Ram & bought a new battery. Then in January my Chevy pickup truck wouldn’t start, another new battery. Fortunately we’re retired. Ray glad that you had what you needed
I think we have all been there at some time, I now carry a small lithium jump pack, which does an excellent job, even on my diesel volvo, its small its light, yet it still does the job (its probably only good for 2 or 3 starts though)
It's not unheard of for even a new(ish) battery to have a bad cell, or develop one in short order. I know about 15 or 20 years ago, Optima let their quality control go to crap, and people were getting batteries with dead cells straight from the factory. My 2005 Jeep Liberty diesel, about 1 1/2 years after I bought it new, the alternator started squalling upon startup after letting it sit for a day or two. Common wisdom on the forums was that the freewheeling clutch on the alternator was bad. But checking the battery with a voltmeter before startup, it turned out that the OEM battery (an Optima in an odd size that Chrysler has speced) had a shorted cell - the squalling from the alternator was due to the poor beast trying to jack system voltage back up from 10.5 volts to 14 - after I put in a good battery, the squalling went away. I'm wondering if some of the aftermarket electronic gear you've added recently, has created a parasitic draw that's constantly pulling down the batteries when it isn't running. One other thought - might want to see if you can decipher the date codes on those batteries, as to the actual date of manufacture, to see how long those "new" batteries were sitting on the shelf before your previous employer sold them to you.
Ray if you haven't already changed the Alt, wait a few hours after driving then check if the Alt is still warm might be a stuck on field coil (bad regulator usually) draining the batterys.
So days like this you have to decide is it fate to strive, fight and crawl your way through the obstacles placed in your path just to go to work or just say " Screw you fate! You know what, I am gonna order a pizza, open a beer and watch a movie."
I can't wait until the end. There are batteries in your dump trailer! I didn't have to wait long, just 1 minute after I made this comment there you went to the trailer. As for the alternator, during the hurricane you said you might put in a second one just to help power the house when the power goes out. Now might be a good time to replace the old one and put in a second one as well.
I installed 100s of diehard batteries in Phx, AZ at Sears during the 1970s. They died screaming during the 115 degree summer heat. Avg 14 months before death. Fast fwd. to Oklahoma now and my locally owned independent parts store, Marlow OK. They sell only Continental Batteries. Interstate batteries were all I used before but switched to Continental. I have them on 8 machines for past 3 years and no failures yet. We have larger temp. swings that PHX but great so far great results.
Ray, go back to your old shop and get a new battery under the manufacture's warranty. I buy all my batteries at Costco, can't beat their warranty, if it dyes under "4 years" you get a brand new one at no cost, there after is a prorated warranty.😃👍
Ray you should buy yourself one of those mini portable jumpers They work wonders! They arent too expensive either, They are so mini they could fit in your glove box.
I bought one when nobody would help. One lady told me her battery life would reduce by half if she helped. I didn't want to argue so I just walked 6 miles to an OReillys to get a portable jumper. It wad worth the walk as I lost faith in getting help.
HI Ray, I thought a man of you're experience and years of industry knowledge would have known NOT to try starting it straight away. If you leave the batteries connected for about 10 -15 minutes this will allow the transfer of current to flow from the higher voltage batt to the lower voltage batt... I on occasion have flattened the batt in my hyundi diesel and have used 2 12v 7ah SLA batts in parallel to start it with in this time frame.. P.S The jumper wires I use are only hookup leads 1mm & it works every time... Keep up the great work.
Hey Ray, I've been having issue with Diehard Gold batteries going bad on me way earlier then they should. I've had 2 replaced under warranty. So test those batteries before you go hunting down other issues.
😂 first world problem for sure. Had to use the side x side to push the LBZ to hook to the dump trailer battery. Good thing u found a charger because you were about to have 2 lawnmowers running in parallel to jump the truck 😂
I love all the comments guessing and kibitzing what is very likely already in Ray's head, and we'll see the diagnostic/fix video shortly. That said, my take is to replace the batteries, cables, alternator, and all the connectors with fresh one, as well as just get all new wiring harnesses and chuck all aftermarket wiring because obviously it's the trailer hitch that's causing it. :D
I had my trailer plug, a flat plug, short out INSIDE the plug and melt a couple inches of it's wire before the fuse blew..... I was not hooked to a trailer at the time.
Ray's ingenuity and perseverance to solve problems are not only interesting, they are inspiring. I wonder though, where is wife unit? This would have been a great teaching lesson for Lauren ... how to jump start a GM truck from a Honda minivan.
I know that sucked for you but that was awesome to watch thank you! Realizing you had stuff to do and you were doing this with one hand while recording with the other,! And knowing that you thought of us knowing that your bed start of the day was going to be good content
Ray, do you remember during the hurricane when you used the truck to power your house for 2 days? At the time you expressed concern that you might wear the alternator out. This is Ian getting his revenge.
A few days ago when I mentioned site by side to push/pull dead vehicles in/out of shop I had envisioned an airplane dolly sorta. Clearly pushing can work. Now someone with fabrication skills needs to create the hookup part and sell them. 😊 You left us hangin’ with the “Why was battery dead?” Help… 🤠🇺🇸
Ray if you change the alternator do yourself a favor and put on a genuine GM ACDelco alternator on it they seem much less failure prone then reman aftermarket brands.
My son convinced me that I needed an emergency power supply/Jumper. Last week after sitting for 10 days in near zero weather my car would not quite reach the required voltage to start. Good to go! I immediately bought one for a friend.
As my wife is so fond of saying..."It just broke for no reason at all." Me under my breath "No, it broke for a reason. You just don't know what it was."
If you'd've allowed the donor battery to sit charging your truck battery a bit longer, you might have gotten it... glad you're rolling. As you say, it happens.👍
Typical mechanic - has many thousands of $$ in tools at the shop. At home, has a flat blade screwdriver and an adjustable wrench 😂 Glad you got it up and running!! Hopefully we get a "what's wrong" video at some point :)
I have a 2014 duramax and the alternator died Thursday night, GM stealership had nothing in stock but I found a 160 amp at Crappy Tire. The one that died was a 125 amp original to the truck. All is good now. I have top post batteries in mine.
Hey Ray, just thought I'd say that it sounds like the alternator has bad bearings already. Maybe time to think about getting a bit heavier-duty alternator, as well as wiring in a memory battery so the sensors and whatnot don't drain the main batteries? Edit: I'm talking about the aftermarket stuff you've got installed on the A-pillar.
It's not the aftermarket stuff that caused this. The alternator was showing signs of trouble a few weeks back I suspect this is a result of using the truck to power the house during the hurricane.
@@Starchface : Could be. It is just letting the truck idle as basically a generator. This is why tractors in the 1950s, like the 1951 International H that my grandpa used to own, had a belt drive pulley on the tractor, so it could drive a machine while the transmission was in neutral. Maybe Ray should actually get a diesel generator so that it's properly built and tuned, in case his house needs power. My grandfather wired in a gas generator into his house wiring for that reason.
This is why I have a Hulkman battery jump starter that I take on trips. My car battery was bad one morning, put my cables on it from a V8 truck. After a few minutes, still couldn’t jump it. Stuck my Hulkman on it…instant start. Says it will start a 7.6 diesel. Good investment 👍
I made a pair of jumper cables in shop class once. Had 40ft cables off a 400amp stick welder, lopped the ends off and put the new ones on. They started tractors and a few dirt bikes on up to an old Ford dump truck with a 534ci beast in it. I think they even towed a dodge stratus once but that's still being denied lol
I had a similar problem just 2 days ago. Been down with a sickness like a month. Didn't start my 2017 grand caravan in that time. Went to use it to go to doctor and wouldn't start. This a secondary vehicle. I got home from doc and couldn't sit in my chair without knowing the problem. My caravan runs great. The scan tool said low system voltage. I'm like , what? Investigated code and how to resolve. First choice I took is clean battery terminals. Boom there it is. Engine light went out and engine could now go over 3000 rpm. Clean your battery connections.
I have an odd ball theory for a dual battery pickup that i think would save you from this happening again. My theory is get a relay activated battery disconnect so that when the key is off, one battery is separated from the system then if you do have a parasitic draw you still got one charged battery to crank from.
A friend of mine had a similar arrangement for his motor boat. Except that he did not use a relay for the second battery. He used a diode to keep the backup battery charged. The diode prevented any sneaky loads from discharging it. If a need arose, he had a simple way to temporarily jumpering over the diode. On the other hand, once his problem was not a sneaky load, he just tried too hard to start with the weak main battery. Before he hooked up the jumper, he used his boat radio (before the cell phones) using the good spare battery and called the coast guard. That turned out to be a good move, because the boat problem was elsewhere and would have needlessly emptied the backup battery as well.
Everyone should have a Jumper box in their car. Those Noco ones go on sale quite often. Saved a nice old church lady going to choir practice the last time I used mine. Unlike a lot of youtuber(*cough cough heavy machine operators) you need to keep them charged.
Do Floridians buy the lowest capacity batteries due to the warmer weather? Up here in the New England area a decent name brand battery with a reasonable cold cranking amps rating can survive several winters with temperatures sometimes getting down to the -30's, 60 degrees colder than Ray would consider bitter. I don't track it, but I'd say I get about 5 years out of one before it fails a check test and gets replaced. Might be worth spending a bit more for higher end batteries even though you're living down South.
"Over and out" was an expression made popular by the TV series "Whirlybirds" and "Car 54, where are you?" (Ask your grandparents.) It is never used by radio professionals.
Reminds me of the time I jump started a friend's car with some Romex. One strand wouldn't quite do it so we doubled it up, got them on their way. Next day I found an old Craftsman charger in the shed (sigh).
of cours you could have jumped of the buggy as a service truck its good to have Anderson outlets front and back and set of dedicated leads in the truck then you can jump either way but the small lithium battery booster's are really good
Belt Sander Brake Job. 2015 VW Jetta
ruclips.net/video/VUt_ZbJS1EA/видео.html
Ray, go back to your old shop and get a new battery under the manufacture's warranty.
I buy all my batteries at Costco, can't beat their warranty, if it dyes under "4 years" you get a brand new one at no cost, there after is a prorated warranty.😃👍
Why did you hook the charger to the trailer then to the truck??
This is the very literal definition of irony!
@@Shad0wBoxxer just easier to connect. Plus using the trailer battery too couldn’t hurt
@@RainmanRaysRepairs ok I litterally thought that there was some special super secret thing going on lolol
Perfect application for a solar battery tender on that utility trailer. Just my $.02, thanks for the content.
Excellent suggestion and those chargers are less than $100.00.
Rather wired to too charger the trailer with the towing vehicle.
With the size of solarpanel you can fit and given that the angle to the sun is always bad, you be lucky getting 0,5A on a sunny day, obvious nothing in bad weather or shade.
@@jonasstahl9826 he lives in sunny Florida ☀️
@@jamram9924 I know, but just do the math, he probably can only fit a 20watt panel that would be about 1,2 Amps.
Mounted flat probably only 0,8 Amps, because it is dirty since it is flat and the rain cant wash it of down to 0,5 Amps.
He would probably mount in on the ontop of the battery box, he had to worry about the shade of the dumper body, he needs to watch out in which direction he parks the trailer and if there is debrie on the solarpanel.
Wiring it to charge with the tow vehicle is probably cheaper than a solarpanel and provites relaible 10-20 Amps as soon the plug is connected.
The solar panel only provites enough power for a single dump a day, wiring it to the tow vehicle enough for a dump every 20 minutes.
@@jonasstahl9826 he would need to put that panel on a swivel type frame to angle it towards the Sun. Obviously, it wouldn’t get the afternoon Sun due to the angle. My brother has 2 dumpster trailers for his construction business. We’re in the process of installing a solar panel that’s attached to a trickle charger to keep the battery full charged.
He might not get the battery completely charged everyday but over a period of a few days, the battery will be fully charged. Ray doesn’t use this trailer on a daily basis either
When you want to jump a dead battery, it can help to wait a few minutes for the good battery put some charge in the dead battery before trying the starter. That way the dead battery may get just enough juice to turn the engine. Being impatient just undoes the partial charging that was already achieved.
Had the same issue once in the morning heading to work. Dead truck battery, 4:30 in the morning no one around, so I MacGuivered it by using my Dewalt 18 volt battery. It worked, and the truck started right up.
did the same with my Milwaukee batteries i really didnt feel like pushing the truck and popping the clutch
Enjoy your videos mate, however there is an old saying " The mechanics car is generally the worst in the street"= ( as the mechanic spends most of his time repairing other peoples cars & tends to ignore his) Keep them videos coming , its good to see you also have the same everyday problems as everybody else. Cheers
I hate when sh*t happens like that -- especially when you're in a hurry and late for something. You did a great job of controlling yourself and acting rationally. Hats off to you for having grace under pressure.
Take it for what it is. When starting with jumper cables. I was taught to wait 5 to 15 minutes before starting. During that time, the empty battery is brought to a better level. Good video, thank you.
Let's hope your boss is ok with you being late for work 😉
I’m sure she will be😂
LOL - Wife Unit has shown a tendency towards understanding these situations.
I'm glad I was early
If not, he knows where she lives, and it is Valentines dayish.
Wife unit is shaking her head. LOL
This is the ultimate Rainman Ray Florida Man episode. Thumbs up for being human about this. Even the best of us have bad mornings. I needed to see this. My morning sucked too.
Most entertaining video yet. Because this can happen in everyday life to anybody. Good Job, Ray.
I used to roll my truck down the hill case it jump in drop it in the second gear and pop the clutch I was a lot younger then have a great night
Did you just say unbelizeable? That's my home country 🇧🇿 that just made you 10x cooler to me.
Ray dragging out the extension cords for the battery charger "OFF TO DO SOME SKETCHY SHIT, DO DAH, DO DAH, HOPE I GET AWAY WITH IT, OH DO DAR DAY"
Lol
You win. You got an actual LOL outta me.
ingenuity is the mother of invention
When you started pushing the truck, I was thinking we’re watching the beginnings of a Florida Man story…
🤣
There must be a bad run on alternators lately. A friend of mine went to one of the big parts stores (shall remain nameless, but I can say, their name rhymes with calzone) and bought an alternator about a year or so ago. Alternator on a Ford Crown Victoria, takes no time to replace and super easy. Hooks up his new alternator, installs a new belt and battery, starts the car.... not charging. Spent the next few hours diagnosing EVERYTHING we could on the car... not charging. Take alternator back to store and have it tested....not charging. Pull the last alternator off the shelf locally, have it tested before leaving the store.... NOT CHARGING?! Next available in different brand? 2 weeks out. My friend got his money back, ordered an alternator online and had it the next day, and it worked right out of the box! Modern day "build quality"..... Those of us that love and maintain our older vehicles are so screwed.
Get you a solar maintainer for the dump trailer battery. I have them on my equipment that doesn't get used over the winter.
This is why I built an alternator (Doesn't matter what it's from as long as it's 50+amps output your good) driven by a small engine as long as you have a few volts it will power the field to start charging the battery rather quickly
Thank you for sharing Ray! Please do tell us when you figure out what killed your truck's batteries.
Got a text yesterday from my daughter in college a little over an hour away from us. Her car wouldn't start. This is the durable and ever-reliable '96 Saturn that has served through 3 of our 4 kids (so far) that we purchased about 10 years ago when the oldest turned 16. She said that she and one of her friends could probably figure out jump starting....and I'm sure they could, but having failed her by not teaching her directly and thereby having confidence that it would go well, I drover over there. I got her car started with a new NOCO jump starter and then left it with her after showing her how to use it. She simply doesn't drive enough. All of the places she goes are 3 or 4 miles away, so the battery never gets a full recharge. Then, she let it sit for a week with no use- this is what happened.
Check the vanity lights on the visors. They're almost impossible to detect they're on and they work with the key off. Over time, they kill your battery. The little plastic nub on the dust cover hinge is a single point failure point for 2 Chevy trucks I've owned. It always seems to happen on the passenger side too.
If Ray's is like mine (same year) it has an auto shut down feature that after a specified length of time, like if you leave your interior light or similar on, it shuts off the battery.
@@BigLisaFan On Dodges all the lights except one are connected through the body control module. That one light is the light in the cargo bed, a part of the 3rd brake light. It's only controlled by a switch. Seems that people were complaining that the cargo light would go off after 15 minutes when people were still getting unloaded/loaded. Switch is on the opposite end of rotation from the dome lights on the instrument light dimmer control.
@@ajwilson605 Maybe so, I'm not familiar with recent Dodges, but Ray's truck is a Chevy Silverado.
I put post extensions on my Mule. Handy as a pocket on a shirt. Works for jumping and also for powering a sprayer.
One of them days that all of us have experienced and we never see them coming. As the song says " that's life ".
This is what makes you such a good mechanic, you are able to think outside the box to solve your problems.
Adapt and improvise! Well done Ray! I hope the rest of you day goes better.
Have a great day, Sir! o7
Pro tip: Before entering a sea can, be sure to close the latches on the door first. That way you can't get accidentally trapped. It only takes a second, and it can save your life.
I was thinking "how can his day get worse?", the same as you. 😅👍
First time I've seen them called "sea can", appropriate!
my son did that stuck in his shed latch fell down
but had his cell phone so called his wife unit to save him
How many ways can you jumpstart a truck? Ray showed us today have a great day
I have a friend who used to do janitorial work overnight at the courthouse. You can probably guess where this is going. Part of his work involved going into the jail cells. The doors would close by themselves but he could open them.
One night, as the door closed behind him, he realized the sound it made was different. Sure enough, he was locked in the cell. As it happened he was working alone so there was no one to help him.
So, make a call right? He pulled his cell phone from his pocket, but he could make no calls. Inside the jail there was no reception. The only option left was to wait for rescue.
Unfortunately it was Friday night, *and* a long weekend as luck would have it. Imagine how that would feel, imprisoned by your own hand. Someone had made a mistake in locking the door, but personally I would have had some means to ensure the door couldn't close while inside.
Luckily for him, he didn't have to spend the entire 3 days in jail. On Sunday someone-I don't remember who-came to the building and arranged to free him. That was a hard lesson.
"when you gotta run power across a corn field..." LOL! Good work getting out of sucky situation.
That was 1 step away from a Red Green show. "If they don't find you handsome they should at least find you handy"
It's all of the extra "essentials" you've got pulling juice from the alternator. Lights, extra fuel tank pump, trailer accessories, etc. Not to mention the Banks gages and cameras/gadgets inside the cab. You might need a beefier or even 2nd alt!
Can't wait for THAT video! 👍
Most of those are low amperage, intermittent use, or both. They hunkered down for the hurricane instead of going elsewhere. There was a generator, but he didn't obtain a sufficient amount of fuel, beforehand; therefore, the generator ran out. He then decided to use the truck to supply electricity to the house for an extended period of time. I suspect that it was taxed to capacity at times - especially if they used a microwave oven, electric range, or other electric cooking appliance instead of a methane (aka natural gas) powered stove. I've no idea whether there's a municipal gas supply infrastructure in that part of the country. Seems like it would be a good idea, all things considered - but common sense is, alas, not all that common these days, especially in the USA. If gas is available, a permanently-installed generator might not be a bad idea. Or, alternatively... learning how to survive without "normal consumption" levels of electricity use for short periods of time.
Love the fact he has series of dead/almost discharged batteries everywhere when you need to start the car to work. Just like many of my days, even i'm usually prepared with starter and everything, it goes flat until the day I need it. Still with struggle comes Rainman smartness:)
Why I keep one those mini power banks with the jumper leads in my glove box. That woulda helped Ray here
This was a great way of showing the proper order of escalation. Always start with the easiest thing first and progress as needed to get the job done. And great use of documenting to prove your excuse for being late to the boss.
Glad to see I am not the only one who takes a vehicular failure like this as a personal affront. Glad you got a charger and rolling.
Love the improvisation. And its cool when even the ancient gear still proves it can get you out of a tight spot.
I don’t get to watch all your videos, but I enjoy your honesty and your efforts!!!! Keep on doing what your doing!!!!
I had this happen last winter so I bought a conditioner/charger and added safety quick connects to the battery. So when I have to leave my car in sub zero temps I just plug it in and turn on the conditioner and it works a treat. Didn’t drive for three week and when I went to start it the thing turned over right away. Plus my car has luxurious curls too. 😂
Thats the problem with long jumper leads, cant really jump start with them, you have to more or less trickle charge until you have enough power to start
voltage drop.???
@MrMustangMan yeah its a interesting process because the voltage will drop over the distance when you have more amps going through it, which will drop the current, which then reduces voltage drop. So you can still get full battery voltage across it, but it has to have very minimal load eg the flat battery becomes charged, and it just takes time. But trying to jump it too early draws heaps of amps through the jumper leads, which leads to voltage drop, also heats up the jumpers increasing resistance and increasing voltage drop. So youjust have to wait for it to trickle in for a few minutes
Your power to diagnose will always see you thru, and you just proved that what a lot of us might call 'junk' in the trailers is anything but. You're prepped already!
New battery is needed Ray good day to you Ray hope your good but the most important thing is to have your self a great day Ray
Just because it's new doesn't mean it's good?
@@kampar82 it's more likely the alternator. I'm sure we will find out in an upcoming video!
Amen! =D
@@adamnathanielbassett Critical thinking time.
Had that happen two weeks before Christmas, dead battery on my wife’s Yukon plus jump box was dead. We just went to town in my Ram & bought a new battery. Then in January my Chevy pickup truck wouldn’t start, another new battery. Fortunately we’re retired. Ray glad that you had what you needed
I think we have all been there at some time, I now carry a small lithium jump pack, which does an excellent job, even on my diesel volvo, its small its light, yet it still does the job (its probably only good for 2 or 3 starts though)
Yeah I keep a little NOCO jump starter under the passenger's seat for drama like this. It has saved me more than once.
It's not unheard of for even a new(ish) battery to have a bad cell, or develop one in short order. I know about 15 or 20 years ago, Optima let their quality control go to crap, and people were getting batteries with dead cells straight from the factory.
My 2005 Jeep Liberty diesel, about 1 1/2 years after I bought it new, the alternator started squalling upon startup after letting it sit for a day or two. Common wisdom on the forums was that the freewheeling clutch on the alternator was bad. But checking the battery with a voltmeter before startup, it turned out that the OEM battery (an Optima in an odd size that Chrysler has speced) had a shorted cell - the squalling from the alternator was due to the poor beast trying to jack system voltage back up from 10.5 volts to 14 - after I put in a good battery, the squalling went away.
I'm wondering if some of the aftermarket electronic gear you've added recently, has created a parasitic draw that's constantly pulling down the batteries when it isn't running.
One other thought - might want to see if you can decipher the date codes on those batteries, as to the actual date of manufacture, to see how long those "new" batteries were sitting on the shelf before your previous employer sold them to you.
Ray if you haven't already changed the Alt, wait a few hours after driving then check if the Alt is still warm might be a stuck on field coil (bad regulator usually) draining the batterys.
Batteries not batterys
thanks for the video man , this is a real life situation
So days like this you have to decide is it fate to strive, fight and crawl your way through the obstacles placed in your path just to go to work or just say " Screw you fate! You know what, I am gonna order a pizza, open a beer and watch a movie."
🤬
I can't wait until the end. There are batteries in your dump trailer! I didn't have to wait long, just 1 minute after I made this comment there you went to the trailer. As for the alternator, during the hurricane you said you might put in a second one just to help power the house when the power goes out. Now might be a good time to replace the old one and put in a second one as well.
It's either gonna work, or not. Words to live by.
As an electronics engineer I used to say "It's gonna go or blow" 😂
I installed 100s of diehard batteries in Phx, AZ at Sears during the 1970s. They died screaming during the 115 degree summer heat. Avg 14 months before death. Fast fwd. to Oklahoma now and my locally owned independent parts store, Marlow OK. They sell only Continental Batteries. Interstate batteries were all I used before but switched to Continental. I have them on 8 machines for past 3 years and no failures yet. We have larger temp. swings that PHX but great so far great results.
Ray, go back to your old shop and get a new battery under the manufacture's warranty.
I buy all my batteries at Costco, can't beat their warranty, if it dyes under "4 years" you get a brand new one at no cost, there after is a prorated warranty.😃👍
Phew!! Glad you saved that charger!! Allll riiiiiight
Ray you should buy yourself one of those mini portable jumpers They work wonders! They arent too expensive either, They are so mini they could fit in your glove box.
I have started numerous cars with one I keep in my car
Can confirm. The one I own when fully charged can provide me at least 3 attempts to jump start. Saved my ass many times.
Mine never fails to amaze me that something so small works so well.
I bought one when nobody would help. One lady told me her battery life would reduce by half if she helped. I didn't want to argue so I just walked 6 miles to an OReillys to get a portable jumper. It wad worth the walk as I lost faith in getting help.
@@JohnS-il1dr people freak out when they ask if you have jumper cables and you pull one of those out
HI Ray, I thought a man of you're experience and years of industry knowledge would have known NOT to try starting it straight away.
If you leave the batteries connected for about 10 -15 minutes this will allow the transfer of current to flow from the higher voltage batt to the lower voltage batt... I on occasion have flattened the batt in my hyundi diesel and have used 2 12v 7ah SLA batts in parallel to start it with in this time frame.. P.S The jumper wires I use are only hookup leads 1mm & it works every time... Keep up the great work.
Hey Ray, I've been having issue with Diehard Gold batteries going bad on me way earlier then they should. I've had 2 replaced under warranty. So test those batteries before you go hunting down other issues.
buy the platinum not the gold
😂 first world problem for sure. Had to use the side x side to push the LBZ to hook to the dump trailer battery. Good thing u found a charger because you were about to have 2 lawnmowers running in parallel to jump the truck 😂
Amazing how you can keep your cool through all this, very commendable!
He likely kept it by videoing the adventure; grace under fire!
@@nissanranger5866 Always thought frustration, anger and cursing was part of the auto repair experience😅
A charger on wheels that makes noises - I'm kind of impressed. That thing alone deserves to be in the shop.
Ray, as soon as you say, "Is this gonna work?" I immediately say "Sketchy" and laugh. Love your videos, bud.
I think we have all been there and did the same scramble dance to get it going to get to work. Thanks for sharing.
I love all the comments guessing and kibitzing what is very likely already in Ray's head, and we'll see the diagnostic/fix video shortly.
That said, my take is to replace the batteries, cables, alternator, and all the connectors with fresh one, as well as just get all new wiring harnesses and chuck all aftermarket wiring because obviously it's the trailer hitch that's causing it.
:D
My uncle would have called that cause for a new truck.
But then, he was literally always looking for any reason to buy a new truck.
Impossible
This gave me a good chuckle haha
Change the computer too. PARTS CANNON! FFFFIIIIIRRRREEEE!!!
I had my trailer plug, a flat plug, short out INSIDE the plug and melt a couple inches of it's wire before the fuse blew..... I was not hooked to a trailer at the time.
Ray's ingenuity and perseverance to solve problems are not only interesting, they are inspiring. I wonder though, where is wife unit? This would have been a great teaching lesson for Lauren ... how to jump start a GM truck from a Honda minivan.
I know that sucked for you but that was awesome to watch thank you! Realizing you had stuff to do and you were doing this with one hand while recording with the other,! And knowing that you thought of us knowing that your bed start of the day was going to be good content
Ray, do you remember during the hurricane when you used the truck to power your house for 2 days? At the time you expressed concern that you might wear the alternator out. This is Ian getting his revenge.
good point....
That was my exact thought too... I made that comment at the time.
You do with us regular non mechanic people do across the country you called AAA!! LOL. Good video as usual. Mile marker Mikey Trenton Michigan.
Maybe some of those new electronics are draining it?
It's hooked to the ignition.
Key off = no drain.
He's had those for weeks now. If they were leeching power that bad he'd found out sooner. 🤔
@@TheHolyGhost777 parasitic draw could be
I love that trained mechanics have the same reaction as the rest of us when their car/truck won't start...
Pushing the truck around made me think of when they move the jets around at the airport.
A few days ago when I mentioned site by side to push/pull dead vehicles in/out of shop I had envisioned an airplane dolly sorta. Clearly pushing can work. Now someone with fabrication skills needs to create the hookup part and sell them. 😊
You left us hangin’ with the “Why was battery dead?” Help… 🤠🇺🇸
Ive jumped my 03 gmc with dewalt 20v pack :) .. wonder if running the mower batteries in series for 24v would be to much for the system..
Ray if you change the alternator do yourself a favor and put on a genuine GM ACDelco alternator on it they seem much less failure prone then reman aftermarket brands.
I hope the boss doesn't write you up for being late . Lol
My son convinced me that I needed an emergency power supply/Jumper. Last week after sitting for 10 days in near zero weather my car would not quite reach the required voltage to start. Good to go!
I immediately bought one for a friend.
It is sorta nice that even mechanics can have vehicle problems too.
Envy is great, right?
I thought that was why they became mechanics.
Amazing how resourceful we can be when necessary. It happens to the best of us and always when we don't have time for it.
As my wife is so fond of saying..."It just broke for no reason at all." Me under my breath "No, it broke for a reason. You just don't know what it was."
Put Anderson connectors on all your devices! So you can do connect car batteries,solar,generators etc to all your devices 👍
If you'd've allowed the donor battery to sit charging your truck battery a bit longer, you might have gotten it... glad you're rolling. As you say, it happens.👍
Do to internal battery resistance a battery will not charge another battery
@@ricgunn1439 The voltage isn't high enough, charge voltage needs to be 14v, not 12v
I have one of those battery start units. It's a Weego 44.1 for $100.. 2 years ago. Works like a charm :)
Typical mechanic - has many thousands of $$ in tools at the shop. At home, has a flat blade screwdriver and an adjustable wrench 😂 Glad you got it up and running!! Hopefully we get a "what's wrong" video at some point :)
More like a butter knife and a pipe wrench.....
a pocket knife and rounded off pliars....
Gotta love when things happen catastrophically and You got things to do @Rainman Ray's Repairs
Maybe there is a draw on the battery that you are unaware of?
all the add on gauges.
I have a 2014 duramax and the alternator died Thursday night, GM stealership had nothing in stock but I found a 160 amp at Crappy Tire. The one that died was a 125 amp original to the truck. All is good now. I have top post batteries in mine.
Hey Ray, just thought I'd say that it sounds like the alternator has bad bearings already.
Maybe time to think about getting a bit heavier-duty alternator, as well as wiring in a memory battery so the sensors and whatnot don't drain the main batteries?
Edit: I'm talking about the aftermarket stuff you've got installed on the A-pillar.
Yeah, I was thinking it's time for him to look into a Mechman 370amp alternator.
It's not the aftermarket stuff that caused this. The alternator was showing signs of trouble a few weeks back I suspect this is a result of using the truck to power the house during the hurricane.
@@Starchface : Could be. It is just letting the truck idle as basically a generator.
This is why tractors in the 1950s, like the 1951 International H that my grandpa used to own, had a belt drive pulley on the tractor, so it could drive a machine while the transmission was in neutral.
Maybe Ray should actually get a diesel generator so that it's properly built and tuned, in case his house needs power. My grandfather wired in a gas generator into his house wiring for that reason.
Wore it out powering the house during those storms
Maybe he can get a replacement alternator from the same store under warranty? It didn't look that old.
I would check the body/frame ground. That can for sure cause that. Easy to forget it also.
It appears using the vehicle as a generator during the hurricane outage has taken its toll
This is why I have a Hulkman battery jump starter that I take on trips. My car battery was bad one morning, put my cables on it from a V8 truck. After a few minutes, still couldn’t jump it. Stuck my Hulkman on it…instant start. Says it will start a 7.6 diesel. Good investment 👍
There’s a first for everything…
We’re shooting UFO’s out of the sky…
😂 right
We’re so desensitized to these historical events… it like “Aliens, OK…. And?”
@@RainmanRaysRepairs I'm not saying it was aliens... but it was aliens! - Giorgio Tsoukalos
I made a pair of jumper cables in shop class once. Had 40ft cables off a 400amp stick welder, lopped the ends off and put the new ones on. They started tractors and a few dirt bikes on up to an old Ford dump truck with a 534ci beast in it. I think they even towed a dodge stratus once but that's still being denied lol
I had a similar problem just 2 days ago. Been down with a sickness like a month. Didn't start my 2017 grand caravan in that time. Went to use it to go to doctor and wouldn't start. This a secondary vehicle. I got home from doc and couldn't sit in my chair without knowing the problem. My caravan runs great. The scan tool said low system voltage. I'm like , what? Investigated code and how to resolve. First choice I took is clean battery terminals. Boom there it is. Engine light went out and engine could now go over 3000 rpm. Clean your battery connections.
I have an odd ball theory for a dual battery pickup that i think would save you from this happening again. My theory is get a relay activated battery disconnect so that when the key is off, one battery is separated from the system then if you do have a parasitic draw you still got one charged battery to crank from.
A friend of mine had a similar arrangement for his motor boat. Except that he did not use a relay for the second battery. He used a diode to keep the backup battery charged. The diode prevented any sneaky loads from discharging it. If a need arose, he had a simple way to temporarily jumpering over the diode. On the other hand, once his problem was not a sneaky load, he just tried too hard to start with the weak main battery. Before he hooked up the jumper, he used his boat radio (before the cell phones) using the good spare battery and called the coast guard. That turned out to be a good move, because the boat problem was elsewhere and would have needlessly emptied the backup battery as well.
Dude... I've boosted a couple vehicles and my motorcycle with one of my Dewalt 20 volt batteries and a couple pieces of Romex. Works great!
I've been running a mechman alternator on my 2001 dodge so far so good 👍 plus a 20 watt solar panel with charge controller on my 2 batteries
Everyone should have a Jumper box in their car. Those Noco ones go on sale quite often. Saved a nice old church lady going to choir practice the last time I used mine. Unlike a lot of youtuber(*cough cough heavy machine operators) you need to keep them charged.
No such animal as late to work @ own business. You're Always Working !
Do Floridians buy the lowest capacity batteries due to the warmer weather? Up here in the New England area a decent name brand battery with a reasonable cold cranking amps rating can survive several winters with temperatures sometimes getting down to the -30's, 60 degrees colder than Ray would consider bitter. I don't track it, but I'd say I get about 5 years out of one before it fails a check test and gets replaced. Might be worth spending a bit more for higher end batteries even though you're living down South.
Ray you should consider getting a capacitor jumper. No battery to go deadand it charges off your almost dead battery in one go
"Over and out" was an expression made popular by the TV series "Whirlybirds" and "Car 54, where are you?" (Ask your grandparents.) It is never used by radio professionals.
I get that with my trans am sometimes. I dont really want to chase down a draw issue, but i will have to
Reminds me of the time I jump started a friend's car with some Romex. One strand wouldn't quite do it so we doubled it up, got them on their way. Next day I found an old Craftsman charger in the shed (sigh).
Hey Ray, great work around. Cheers!
My 2004 gmc yukon xl Denali drops dead randomly as well. I carry a spare battery and cables to get me going.
Can we expect to see a video of you troubleshooting and repairing this problem?
of cours you could have jumped of the buggy as a service truck its good to have Anderson outlets front and back and set of dedicated leads in the truck then you can jump either way but the small lithium battery booster's are really good
Ray get the largest battery possible that fits! Also get a Evermax from Walmart! Best battery ever!!!