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Shh! Please don't tell the Optima in my Jeep that it's past its Best By date. It's about 22 years old.
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FLU419 SEE HMMH HME Owners group
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Yeah, and I just sent a 40yo wet-cell off to the recyclers, one winter in the CO Rockies was all it had left! Newer chemistries, done right, make that the rule instead of the exception. In a creek, your chassis becomes "earth grounded" but once you're back on land, it's back to "floating ground." A plastic tub of water sitting on a wood deck, would be a better destructive-battery-test rig than an earth-grounded bathtub, come to think of it. Wouldn't want to start gassing off hydrogen inside the house, now, would we? 
I was considering a positive-ground solar system on the GMC, but decided against it for not being "failsafe" i.e. if anything goes wrong, the chassis would be "hot" with enough current to knock out any grizzly bear touches it, although the occupants would be safely isolated by the rubber tires. This sort of arrangement isn't without its uses, but it's more EM-50 UAV than civvy motorhome. But, "positive ground" is a misnomer on a floating-ground vehicle, the more-precise term is "reverse polarity."
The GMC has the added virtue of being a rolling Faraday Cage (many vehicles are, to one extent or another, but there's a reason that one trailer in several old X-Files episodes is an Airstream). Yeah, I'd love to avoid all the microprocessors in that Quattro inverter/charger, let alone the software that needs a PC to run, but I'll make an exception to my general rule, for the GMC and the FLU battery boxes... All external power connections will pass through isolation transformers, even if they aren't called that. In the event of a large solar flare or nearby lightning strike, I ought to be safe from Electro Magnetic Pulse (EMP) damage inside a hollow, ribbed-cage aluminum tube with some fine aluminum mesh embedded in the insulation we'll be spray-foaming in there. As long as I'm "floating ground" and not stuck in a creek or something, at the time.
The FLUs aren't much susceptible to EMP, unless you install batteries with integrated circuits on board. In which case, line the battery box with some Al or copper mesh, heck even galvanized-steel chicken wire will do, for making the box a more effective Faraday Cage. I'm more worried about lightning than solar flares, either way I'd hate to see my infrastructure investment get zorched, so I'll be doing a little work to the battery boxes on my FLUs to prep them for the LFP batteries. Note that my SEE parked outside is earth grounded atm, because I'm using the bucket as a parking brake, so the chassis is directly connected to wet earth despite the rubber tires.
Positive-grounding a solar PV array ensures that all accumulated charge drains to the batteries. Otherwise, once the light level drops, those ions radiate back into the atmosphere as heat. It takes time for this to occur, so the more sophisticated systems are capable of temporarily reversing polarity when these conditions occur, as it takes 1/10th the time to drain that charge to the battery bank, as it did for that charge to build up. Or you can just go reverse-polarity solar full-time, with the caveat that any short-circuit makes the chassis "hot" to anyone outside the floating-ground RV. Otherwise, all the lights, fans and such running DC can just be hooked up "backwards" no problem, but any step-down converters to 12V need to be the isolating type to deal with the polarity inversion. Higher-end inverters don't care about DC polarity, and are inherently "isolation transformers" to AC power, in such a setup.
It's a routine 20 below out, right now, I had to set my faucets to dripping to keep the pipes from freezing up. I just got back inside from lugging in firewood, and plugging in the block heater on the Dodge. What's left of the pickup-truck batteries I put in the SEE, won't start it tomorrow (not that I was planning to, lots of snow flurries not amounting to anything, here) until it warms up in the afternoon, it woulda needed a jump-start until late this afternoon as it never got above 10*F. Cold-starting the SEE without pre-heat made quick work out of a pair of batteries I bought 3 1/2 years ago, whole lotta deep cycling since I rotated 'em into the dead dually then the SEE, they're about done. They're Interstates so I'll just swap 'em out on warranty, and put batteries back in the dead Dodge so I can tow-strap it down the road with working brake lights, and start the 12V (as in Valve) crate motor I'll be putting in it at some point.
Temporary battery swap amounted to 10 weeks, unless it warms up again in which case they'd prolly start the SEE just fine until next winter, but yeah I abused those Interstates the past few months, so no surprise they're off to an early grave. I'll also be insulating the FLU battery boxes, for the sake of those integrated heaters in the new batteries. I went three weeks in February on the propane furnace, as it was too warm to light the woodstove, now I'm just shoveling the logs in it again!
I was considering a positive-ground solar system on the GMC, but decided against it for not being "failsafe" i.e. if anything goes wrong, the chassis would be "hot" with enough current to knock out any grizzly bear touches it, although the occupants would be safely isolated by the rubber tires. This sort of arrangement isn't without its uses, but it's more EM-50 UAV than civvy motorhome. But, "positive ground" is a misnomer on a floating-ground vehicle, the more-precise term is "reverse polarity."
The GMC has the added virtue of being a rolling Faraday Cage (many vehicles are, to one extent or another, but there's a reason that one trailer in several old X-Files episodes is an Airstream). Yeah, I'd love to avoid all the microprocessors in that Quattro inverter/charger, let alone the software that needs a PC to run, but I'll make an exception to my general rule, for the GMC and the FLU battery boxes... All external power connections will pass through isolation transformers, even if they aren't called that. In the event of a large solar flare or nearby lightning strike, I ought to be safe from Electro Magnetic Pulse (EMP) damage inside a hollow, ribbed-cage aluminum tube with some fine aluminum mesh embedded in the insulation we'll be spray-foaming in there. As long as I'm "floating ground" and not stuck in a creek or something, at the time.
The FLUs aren't much susceptible to EMP, unless you install batteries with integrated circuits on board. In which case, line the battery box with some Al or copper mesh, heck even galvanized-steel chicken wire will do, for making the box a more effective Faraday Cage. I'm more worried about lightning than solar flares, either way I'd hate to see my infrastructure investment get zorched, so I'll be doing a little work to the battery boxes on my FLUs to prep them for the LFP batteries. Note that my SEE parked outside is earth grounded atm, because I'm using the bucket as a parking brake, so the chassis is directly connected to wet earth despite the rubber tires.
Positive-grounding a solar PV array ensures that all accumulated charge drains to the batteries. Otherwise, once the light level drops, those ions radiate back into the atmosphere as heat. It takes time for this to occur, so the more sophisticated systems are capable of temporarily reversing polarity when these conditions occur, as it takes 1/10th the time to drain that charge to the battery bank, as it did for that charge to build up. Or you can just go reverse-polarity solar full-time, with the caveat that any short-circuit makes the chassis "hot" to anyone outside the floating-ground RV. Otherwise, all the lights, fans and such running DC can just be hooked up "backwards" no problem, but any step-down converters to 12V need to be the isolating type to deal with the polarity inversion. Higher-end inverters don't care about DC polarity, and are inherently "isolation transformers" to AC power, in such a setup.
It's a routine 20 below out, right now, I had to set my faucets to dripping to keep the pipes from freezing up. I just got back inside from lugging in firewood, and plugging in the block heater on the Dodge. What's left of the pickup-truck batteries I put in the SEE, won't start it tomorrow (not that I was planning to, lots of snow flurries not amounting to anything, here) until it warms up in the afternoon, it woulda needed a jump-start until late this afternoon as it never got above 10*F. Cold-starting the SEE without pre-heat made quick work out of a pair of batteries I bought 3 1/2 years ago, whole lotta deep cycling since I rotated 'em into the dead dually then the SEE, they're about done. They're Interstates so I'll just swap 'em out on warranty, and put batteries back in the dead Dodge so I can tow-strap it down the road with working brake lights, and start the 12V (as in Valve) crate motor I'll be putting in it at some point.
Temporary battery swap amounted to 10 weeks, unless it warms up again in which case they'd prolly start the SEE just fine until next winter, but yeah I abused those Interstates the past few months, so no surprise they're off to an early grave. I'll also be insulating the FLU battery boxes, for the sake of those integrated heaters in the new batteries. I went three weeks in February on the propane furnace, as it was too warm to light the woodstove, now I'm just shoveling the logs in it again!
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I did a fair amount of battery testing in the Nineties and came across interesting technologies as a result. Still, despite using desulphation and (mostly) the correct charging, I'm down to one surviving wet battery from that time. And it's no longer a fully functional battery.Yeah, and I just sent a 40yo wet-cell off to the recyclers, one winter in the CO Rockies was all it had left! A plastic tub of water sitting on a wood deck, would be a better destructive-battery-test rig than an earth-grounded bathtub, come to think of it. Wouldn't want to start gassing off hydrogen inside the house, now, would we?
The FLUs aren't much susceptible to EMP...
On the other hand, I have about 10 AGM batteries that are 18 years or older that are still performing well.
Your 40 year old battery that still worked must be one for the record books. Are you sure it wasn't a newer battery in a 40 year old vehicle?
I'm not concerned with the FLUs getting harmed by EMP (except, possibly, the diagnostic system), and I think that as long as I keep wearing my tinfoil hat, I'll be fine.
Right, the diagnostic system would be vulnerable to lightning. I spent a few winters running chairlifts, a dirty little secret of the ski industry is how many upper-mountain lifts have had their brains scrambled by lightning. Not a danger to anyone really, it's just sometimes why you get stuck on a chairlift for a while -- rebooting the computer. Old, old chairlifts don't have this problem. The lift that malfunctioned and killed that lady from Texas and injured her children, seems to have had improper electric-repair work; the CO Tramway Safety Board's really cracking down right now, but high-altitude, thin-air lightning wreaks havoc on electrical systems.
Yes, it was the original battery, the date-stamp on it was 1977, I have 40 years of meticulously-kept maintenance records for my rig showing no house-battery swap despite going through several start batteries. I doubt it had ever been exposed to subzero temps before this winter, the sort of cold that ruins batteries.
Yes, it was the original battery, the date-stamp on it was 1977, I have 40 years of meticulously-kept maintenance records for my rig showing no house-battery swap despite going through several start batteries. I doubt it had ever been exposed to subzero temps before this winter, the sort of cold that ruins batteries.
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Hmm, got the altitude and corresponding thin air, plus relatively frequent lightning. Sounds like the easy way to get rid of the diagnostic system would be to park the SEE on a hill, with the backhoe facing all the way up, and just wait.
Instead of taking that battery to recycling, you could probably have got a free battery or two from the manufacturer in exchange for the testimony. Optima has offered me a new replacement for my Jeep's battery for the past 10 years or so, but I want to find out how long I can make it last. Once dead, that offer is probably null and void, though.
At starting vehicles, or have they been deep-cycled most days as part of a home wind/solar installation?
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Most of them are used as starting batteries, some are "floaters" and used as needed, and only four are in use in an application even close to "home wind/solar installation".
Pictured are the ones in the Peterbilt, right after installation some 17 years ago. The extensions at the ends of the cables are for a Canadus desulphation unit not yet installed when the photo was taken.
I have no good photo of the ones in the living quarters trailer, the closest to "home wind/solar", but it's a similar setup except with four regular size Optima blue tops. Initially it was a "total loss" system, before I put two 15W solar panels on the roof of the trailer. Anyway, they have never really been truly deep cycled as I know darn well that it's not good to draw batteries down any farther than necessary.
Also, when the trailer wasn't in use it was plugged in to a small maintenance charger (with the panels disconnected) to keep the Canadus going. These days it's on solar all the time.
By using LED lighting, and not wasting power in general while camping (which usually didn't exceed two weeks at a time), the batteries would generally be fully charged after 20 minutes of sunlight in the morning.
Obviously that's an easier life for a battery than drawing it down each night, but had I ended up in that situation I would've added more batteries, or got a generator.
Pictured are the ones in the Peterbilt, right after installation some 17 years ago. The extensions at the ends of the cables are for a Canadus desulphation unit not yet installed when the photo was taken.I have no good photo of the ones in the living quarters trailer, the closest to "home wind/solar", but it's a similar setup except with four regular size Optima blue tops. Initially it was a "total loss" system, before I put two 15W solar panels on the roof of the trailer. Anyway, they have never really been truly deep cycled as I know darn well that it's not good to draw batteries down any farther than necessary.
Also, when the trailer wasn't in use it was plugged in to a small maintenance charger (with the panels disconnected) to keep the Canadus going. These days it's on solar all the time.
By using LED lighting, and not wasting power in general while camping (which usually didn't exceed two weeks at a time), the batteries would generally be fully charged after 20 minutes of sunlight in the morning.
Obviously that's an easier life for a battery than drawing it down each night, but had I ended up in that situation I would've added more batteries, or got a generator.
Nice wiring job. I also use tin-plated copper heavy-duty lugs with the pre-sized solder slugs, and heavy-duty adhesive-lined shrink tubing. I just finished another cable for the service body, I'm headed outside to install it now before it's too dark, and cut my next length of wire. I'm using marine-grade wire with the tinned strands. I hit the connections with acetone and give 'em a thin coat of silicone dielectric grease before I tighten things down, it's a tradeoff between dirt & corrosion. I figure dirt can be cleaned, and they will salt the roads around here in winter.
Boats are required to have crimped connections, so I'm glad I'm not working on a boat, I prefer to solder although sometimes I'll crimp, depends. I also used red & black wiring on the service body. On the GMC, following the latest boat practice, black wire will always be AC hot, while DC grounds will all be yellow wire. Or, if I'm using duplex cable with red & black wire inside, I'll use yellow heat-shrink on the black-wire terminals.
Boats are required to have crimped connections, so I'm glad I'm not working on a boat, I prefer to solder although sometimes I'll crimp, depends. I also used red & black wiring on the service body. On the GMC, following the latest boat practice, black wire will always be AC hot, while DC grounds will all be yellow wire. Or, if I'm using duplex cable with red & black wire inside, I'll use yellow heat-shrink on the black-wire terminals.
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That battery connector's a nice touch, what all do you plug into it?
Also, speaking of tires... ranchers around here swear by putting a little Calcium Chloride (road salt) in their tractor tires. Filling tires from an air compressor results in a little bit of water getting inside, which builds up over time. The salt (which liquefies after a bit) keeps it from freezing up, unbalancing the wheel, and shredding the rubber when it breaks up -- not a concern for smaller vehicles. Thoughts?
Also, speaking of tires... ranchers around here swear by putting a little Calcium Chloride (road salt) in their tractor tires. Filling tires from an air compressor results in a little bit of water getting inside, which builds up over time. The salt (which liquefies after a bit) keeps it from freezing up, unbalancing the wheel, and shredding the rubber when it breaks up -- not a concern for smaller vehicles. Thoughts?
My series/parallel switch arrived this afternoon, it's warm enough outside I'm pulling an allnighter making cables and wiring it up to the service body by lamplight. Unfortunately, it's the sort of major design change that shouldn't be left for halfway through an installation! I mocked things up on plywood first, but now that's all wrong and things needed to be moved, and I wanted to re-use as many cables as I could. While electrically & mechanically sound, I'm afraid my service-body wiring install's gonna wind up a bit on the fugly side as a result.
I'm still pretty excited about it. I pulled the batteries out of the SEE to do a series/parallel wiring mockup on the workbench (living-room coffee table atm), with my starter/charger dolly (well, 12V starter, only 35A @24V) simulating the inverter/charger. For $1,100 extra, my service body will have 65A charging current through the 24V NATO receptacle, plugged into AC with the motor off, and 700CCA @24V motor running -- without that extra relay & wire for the "motor run" signal, thanks to the battery integrator. If the series/parallel relay is switched off, it's a 12V truck and the NATO receptacle does nothing. The gist of it is, the service-body battery can't be grounded to the chassis as planned, glad I didn't cut the hole for it yet! Grounding's all gotta be changed.
http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200674212_200674212
So, $800 more for a comparable 24V jump-starter unless you find one cheaper, range-limited by its AC power cord + extensions, vs. truck-mounted. Fuses will start to blow on the Dodge after about 5 minutes of continuous FLU cranking. I hate mucking up a beautiful wiring layout, especially my own, but well worth it here IMO. I'm also mounting a 12V fuel-transfer pump under the crane pedestal, drawing from the stock fuel tank. I've found a free-for-the-taking standalone ag-diesel tank I'll need to use the HMMH crane to load on & off a truck, then I'll be set up on ag diesel up at my place, and get a red-diesel tank for the bed of the service body, so the Dodge will also be a nice fuel tender for the FLUs and the dually.
I'm still pretty excited about it. I pulled the batteries out of the SEE to do a series/parallel wiring mockup on the workbench (living-room coffee table atm), with my starter/charger dolly (well, 12V starter, only 35A @24V) simulating the inverter/charger. For $1,100 extra, my service body will have 65A charging current through the 24V NATO receptacle, plugged into AC with the motor off, and 700CCA @24V motor running -- without that extra relay & wire for the "motor run" signal, thanks to the battery integrator. If the series/parallel relay is switched off, it's a 12V truck and the NATO receptacle does nothing. The gist of it is, the service-body battery can't be grounded to the chassis as planned, glad I didn't cut the hole for it yet! Grounding's all gotta be changed.
http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200674212_200674212
So, $800 more for a comparable 24V jump-starter unless you find one cheaper, range-limited by its AC power cord + extensions, vs. truck-mounted. Fuses will start to blow on the Dodge after about 5 minutes of continuous FLU cranking. I hate mucking up a beautiful wiring layout, especially my own, but well worth it here IMO. I'm also mounting a 12V fuel-transfer pump under the crane pedestal, drawing from the stock fuel tank. I've found a free-for-the-taking standalone ag-diesel tank I'll need to use the HMMH crane to load on & off a truck, then I'll be set up on ag diesel up at my place, and get a red-diesel tank for the bed of the service body, so the Dodge will also be a nice fuel tender for the FLUs and the dually.
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As you know, that battery connector is the (far) more affordable "civilian version" of the NATO plug. I've used them for winches, on tractors with hard to access batteries, and in many other applications. This one was installed primarily to enable jump starting the Pete with the trailer (which also has one of those connectors), should the need ever arise.
To bring this back to something Unimog related, I will likely put them on the FLUs, too. That way the other vehicle won't need to have a NATO plug, and it eliminates the need to open the battery box to access to the posts.
Around here, people use liquid filled tires on their tractors (and I have considered filling the SEE's tires, to lower the center of gravity) so a little more water in the tire isn't an issue.
Rather than adding salt, especially in a steel belted tire where the inner liner might have been compromised, I would find out what's wrong with the water separator on the compressor. If a tire has ended up with so much ice inside that it starts shredding the rubber, it's probably time to replace it anyway.
Could it be that your local farmers tried to save a few bucks and filled their tires with water, then had to add something to keep it from freezing? There really should be a society for cruelty against tires. Shiny goop on the sidewalls, salt inside...ouch!
Although, I'm supposedly guilty of running the wrong type of tire chains on the crappy radials on the SEE, which could result in their premature demise - any decade now, from the looks of it.
patrol578
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Well, our SEE arrived this morning. After hooking up a new set of batteries and giving her a shot of ether, simp5782 was able to start her up despite the single digits. Judging by the paperwork found behind the seat and a couple of markings, I think she came to her new home from the 642nd Engineer Company at Ft. Drum. It looks like they turned the truck over for remarketing in 2007.
First impressions: She seems to idle well/run well. The IP inspection sheet said "minor blowby" but I'll have to see about that. They also said that the instruments and lights don't work. Based on that bit of information, and rat droppings clearly visible in the pictures, I was worried about the wiring behind the instruments being completely chewed out. Well, after idling for a bit, she showed engine temperature, oil pressure, a full fuel tank, and charging at about 28v. No air pressure shown, and the big red air pressure warning light is on. Makes sense, since I can clearly hear an air leak on the left side near the tanks. She has a bit more rust than I expected, but none of it is deep, so hopefully I can get ahead of it. The front work lights function, as do the marker lights, and the tail/brake lights. I could not get the headlights to work, despite turning the switch under the hood. The front bucket works well, but could not raise the wheels up off the ground. Then again, I was playing around with the engine at idle, in single-digit temperatures with cold hydraulics, so I will revisit this in the future. I didn't touch any of the controls in the rear yet. Surprisingly, the infamous alcohol tank appears to be intact.
All-in-all I think it was a pretty good buy. We are breaking ground on a home this spring, and the SEE is meant to save us some cost on sitework. I went into this hoping for a "worker not a looker" and assuming everything in the back works, I think she will do the trick.
And for those who insist on photos, here's a tease. It looks like EI is doing some pretty smart marketing when they sell RRAD new Unimog keys:
First impressions: She seems to idle well/run well. The IP inspection sheet said "minor blowby" but I'll have to see about that. They also said that the instruments and lights don't work. Based on that bit of information, and rat droppings clearly visible in the pictures, I was worried about the wiring behind the instruments being completely chewed out. Well, after idling for a bit, she showed engine temperature, oil pressure, a full fuel tank, and charging at about 28v. No air pressure shown, and the big red air pressure warning light is on. Makes sense, since I can clearly hear an air leak on the left side near the tanks. She has a bit more rust than I expected, but none of it is deep, so hopefully I can get ahead of it. The front work lights function, as do the marker lights, and the tail/brake lights. I could not get the headlights to work, despite turning the switch under the hood. The front bucket works well, but could not raise the wheels up off the ground. Then again, I was playing around with the engine at idle, in single-digit temperatures with cold hydraulics, so I will revisit this in the future. I didn't touch any of the controls in the rear yet. Surprisingly, the infamous alcohol tank appears to be intact.
All-in-all I think it was a pretty good buy. We are breaking ground on a home this spring, and the SEE is meant to save us some cost on sitework. I went into this hoping for a "worker not a looker" and assuming everything in the back works, I think she will do the trick.
And for those who insist on photos, here's a tease. It looks like EI is doing some pretty smart marketing when they sell RRAD new Unimog keys:
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Congratulations! It's great when things that weren't supposed to work, according to GP, do in real life.
I'd do some cleaning around the seals on the backhoe cylinders, clean off the rods, and put a bit of oil at the seals before trying to use the backhoe. Had I done that, it may have prevented having to replace a seal on the very exposed cylinder for the dipper.
I'd do some cleaning around the seals on the backhoe cylinders, clean off the rods, and put a bit of oil at the seals before trying to use the backhoe. Had I done that, it may have prevented having to replace a seal on the very exposed cylinder for the dipper.
patrol578
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All good ideas, thanks. It looks like the dipper cylinder has already been replaced, since it's a different color. What would you recommend cleaning the rods with? Something like WD-40? I've used hydraulics before, but never had to maintain them.
EDIT: That's the bucket cylinder that's been replaced, not the dipper.
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patrol578
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And here's another one for Ahab and the General:
Another Ahab
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Yeah, it's a light yellow, right? A few on my Formerly (well, since it refuses to keep running, it's back to "parts SEE", formerly known as Formerly) are that color.
Can't remember what I used, but WD-40 should work. After all, it has to be good for something, other than bug splatter removal.
If you're still under snow and ice conditions, consider putting some sort of oil or light grease (I've even used Vaseline) on the exposed parts of the rods. It seems to help when de-icing the rods before using the backhoe.
The same applies to the loader's cylinders, of course.
When you get bored, or have insomnia, read through this entire thread. There's lots of good info to be had from peakbagger and others who have resurrected, properly maintained, and improved their SEEs. I'm about due for reading it for the third time.
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No air pressure shown, and the big red air pressure warning light is on. Makes sense, since I can clearly hear an air leak on the left side near the tanks
If I had to guess, the cross body air line from the back of the air pressure regulator running to the air tanks is rotted out. It has low spot in it immediately downstream of the air pressure regulator and contrary to some one else's post there is no oil and water separator on the air compressor that I have found. If you follow that line to the air tank there is Tee fitting that is very weak and could be cracked. Therefore any blow by and water has to carried all the way to the air tank drains where it condenses out. If you notice, the drains are not on the bottom of the air tanks so crud can build up in the bottom of the tanks especially if you don't blow the tanks frequently everytime you shut down. The cross body air line appears to rot from the inside out and as it does it carries rust flakes all the way to the air tanks and beyond. Be very careful pulling the air line fittings apart, they aren't very beefy and the paint tended to get in the threads making them a bear to break lose without snapping them. Don't even try it unless you have jumbo wrenches that fit the nuts as a crescent wrench has too much slop. Nevertheless its a high priority that you work you way through the air system cleaning out all the check valves and regulators as well as dumping the crap out of the tanks. There may or may not be screen on the inlet of the air pressure regulator. Its inside the regulator, best idea is look at the parts breakdown in the manuals and that will show you where the screen might be. Mine didn't have one or anywhere for there to be one.
By the way the high speed throttle switch on the backhoe controls will not work unless the air system is at full pressure. Another tidbit to check is the wiring to the two fans on the rear hydraulic cooler, the grommet is on top of the fan on many and the sunlight damaged the grommets letting water into the motors shorting out the motor. The official military fix is gob it them up with RTV silicon. If the fans are shorted they don't blow the fuse until the hydraulics' are up to temp which means you are running the backhoe for awhile as that's when the fans turn on. If the fans are shorted they don't look rebuild able (mine were rusted to bits inside)
Mine came with 1/4" copper tube for the cross body air line botched up to replace the metric tubing. I bought some copper nickel tubing of the right size and replaced it for good. The fittings are mix of straight british metric pipe thread and tapered thread metric compression fittings. Some folks have recommended this company for fittings https://www.belmetric.com/
With respect to the head lights the actually high ones also have crappy sealing and they could be shorted out. There is switch under the hood on the right side wheel well that switches between these auxiliary lights and the original headlights. You can try flipping the switch to see if the circuit is good (that is assuming who have figured out the black out switch operation).
By the way I am nowhere near an expert yet on my SEE, I just had it longer then many so I have run into more surprises. Mine resides under a tarp in the winter so other hardcores are going to catch up with my level of incompetence soon.
If I had to guess, the cross body air line from the back of the air pressure regulator running to the air tanks is rotted out. It has low spot in it immediately downstream of the air pressure regulator and contrary to some one else's post there is no oil and water separator on the air compressor that I have found. If you follow that line to the air tank there is Tee fitting that is very weak and could be cracked. Therefore any blow by and water has to carried all the way to the air tank drains where it condenses out. If you notice, the drains are not on the bottom of the air tanks so crud can build up in the bottom of the tanks especially if you don't blow the tanks frequently everytime you shut down. The cross body air line appears to rot from the inside out and as it does it carries rust flakes all the way to the air tanks and beyond. Be very careful pulling the air line fittings apart, they aren't very beefy and the paint tended to get in the threads making them a bear to break lose without snapping them. Don't even try it unless you have jumbo wrenches that fit the nuts as a crescent wrench has too much slop. Nevertheless its a high priority that you work you way through the air system cleaning out all the check valves and regulators as well as dumping the crap out of the tanks. There may or may not be screen on the inlet of the air pressure regulator. Its inside the regulator, best idea is look at the parts breakdown in the manuals and that will show you where the screen might be. Mine didn't have one or anywhere for there to be one.
By the way the high speed throttle switch on the backhoe controls will not work unless the air system is at full pressure. Another tidbit to check is the wiring to the two fans on the rear hydraulic cooler, the grommet is on top of the fan on many and the sunlight damaged the grommets letting water into the motors shorting out the motor. The official military fix is gob it them up with RTV silicon. If the fans are shorted they don't blow the fuse until the hydraulics' are up to temp which means you are running the backhoe for awhile as that's when the fans turn on. If the fans are shorted they don't look rebuild able (mine were rusted to bits inside)
Mine came with 1/4" copper tube for the cross body air line botched up to replace the metric tubing. I bought some copper nickel tubing of the right size and replaced it for good. The fittings are mix of straight british metric pipe thread and tapered thread metric compression fittings. Some folks have recommended this company for fittings https://www.belmetric.com/
With respect to the head lights the actually high ones also have crappy sealing and they could be shorted out. There is switch under the hood on the right side wheel well that switches between these auxiliary lights and the original headlights. You can try flipping the switch to see if the circuit is good (that is assuming who have figured out the black out switch operation).
By the way I am nowhere near an expert yet on my SEE, I just had it longer then many so I have run into more surprises
. Mine resides under a tarp in the winter so other hardcores are going to catch up with my level of incompetence soon.We may be giving the rats a bad rap in this thread because their droppings are so visible -- possibly just nesting in our FLUs, while the real wiring damage was done by:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rasberry_crazy_ant
Look at the map... where's Red River Depot? These little guys just love DC current for some reason! I'm glad it gets too cold here for all the pests whose nests I've found in my FLUs to survive, every nook and cranny reveals yet another wasp or rat nest, huge dead spiders I've never seen, or a clutch of what may very well be "raspberry crazy ant" eggs.
No, I hadn't heard of these before, either. But I try to learn something new every day!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rasberry_crazy_ant
Look at the map... where's Red River Depot?
These little guys just love DC current for some reason! I'm glad it gets too cold here for all the pests whose nests I've found in my FLUs to survive, every nook and cranny reveals yet another wasp or rat nest, huge dead spiders I've never seen, or a clutch of what may very well be "raspberry crazy ant" eggs.No, I hadn't heard of these before, either. But I try to learn something new every day!
peakbagger
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Mine sat out in a stretch of 25 below the first winter. I figure it pretty well killed all the critters. Looking at my wiring its was definitely gnawed.