My first post, CUCV owner

[raf32]

ive owned over 100 of these trucks, ive sold over 50 on ebay alone. ive never had one with over 50k. the 4.56 gears, the rough ride, and no music makes people want to stay out of them. ive had an 86 m1009 with 3600 miles. it was new!! i have right now an m1010 ambulance with 7800 miles. i have pictures posted of it in another thread. look for yourself. thanks, merry christmas
my trusty 1028 you see to the left has 34k. ive had it for almost 8yrs and can trace its history back to ft hood, tx.

Markg,
I sent you a message, I can be reached at russfriesz@gmail.com
Thanks for any help!

 

[raf32]

OK, it finally started!!

After charging the batteries I removed the charger and began cranking it over.
It turned over slow even with the full charge, batteries are 2 years old.

On the 3rd try it turned over very fast and cranked right up!

Any idea what could be going on here?

Thanks for the help!

 

[Warthog]

With a fresh charge on the batteries, also have them load tested.Just because they are only 2yo doesnt'tmean anything. They could be bad or sulfated.

Disconnect the batteries and clean all the battery cable connections. Also clean the ground cables.

 

[mr.travo]

I am in Elgin, TX visiting family. I will be around all next week. Give me a PM. I don't have my CUCV here with me, but I think I can help.

 

[Barrman]

Elgin? Just 30 miles away from me.

If you batteries load test out ok, start thinking starter replacement. These engines have to turn over fast to start as you found out. A sometime working, sometimes not spinning fast enough starter is just giving you fair warning that you are about to get stuck somewhere like the fast food drive through lane if you don't fix it soon.

 

[markg]

raf32

elgin? just 30 minutes away from me also. i sent you an email and maybe ill catch up with you sometime after the 1st of the year. thanks. mark

 

[raf32]

The ground cable was replaced and it turned over great for a while. Now it won't hold a charge and just clicks when I try and start it, argh!

 

[raf32]

I'm going to replace the front battery tomorrow, this just stinks of bad battery.

 

[thedeliverator]

The first piece of advice I got is still the best; "If it's rubber replace it, if it's electrical clean it!"

Sounds like a battery issue, but it could be in the starter solenoid or the relay. Note that it is _possible_ to get replacement 24volt parts at the regular shops, but not easy. I had to find the one guy at the parts store that actually knew how to use the old parts books, since it wasn't in the computer.

 

[Cucvnut]

my truck had like 87 k on it its close to 95k on it now

 

[K9Vic]

You need to replace both batteries at the same time, if one is bad the other is not far behind. You can get series 31 batteries from you local Interstate dealer used for about $45-$55 each. If you do not have an Interstate near you, try an alternator shop. See these post below about these batteries.

http://www.steelsoldiers.com/cucv/51351-replacement-battery-2.html
http://www.steelsoldiers.com/cucv/55303-m1009-battery-size-make-model.html

 

[SGT Estum]

I'm going to replace the front battery tomorrow, this just stinks of bad battery.

I would recommend either investing in a battery load tester or taking them to the local auto parts store to get them tested.

It's always nice to have new batteries. But, you can blow through a lot of cash pretty fast if you start replacing things that are still good.

You may just need some new cables (or terminal ends on the cables).

Either way, you'll want to check out the troubleshooting section of the -20 TM.