m-1010 charging system

[BigBlackTurd]

Hey guys I just bought this m-1010 a couple weeks ago. And I'm having problems with the charging system. The front battery goes dead while driving. I have checked for stuck relays or anything that could be draining the battery, but can't find anything. Today I looked at the technical manuals. And using the troubleshooting chart for the charging system I found a diode that was burnt and in pieces that is inline between current/voltage regulator terminal "A" and the current/voltage relay terminal "IGN". It's a brown to yellow wire. The top alternator shows .5 volts across "-" and "+" terminals and 8 volts off the voltage regulator. The gauge in the truck stays in the green when the truck is running, and the 2nd battery checks 28 volt at idle. The 1st battery checks 12.7 after I charge it manually and will slowly drop.

Where can I get the Diode that is burnt up?

Need help please
Thanks Brad

 

[BigBlackTurd]

The hood has been up since I've had it.

 

[M1028A1ShelterCarrier]

This has been addressed several of times. You have the same problem most of us have had. DO a search for m1010 or leece. I use a modern 100 amp battery equalizer and every problem went away. It makes sure the batteries are balanced . The old DUVAC was not designed right and that is why most leece charging systems suck in the stock config.

 

[CUCVFAN]

The diode is keeping 24V from feeding back to the 12V fuse block, but having no diode will prevent feedback as well. I think that wire was supposed to give the DUVAC unit power, but they didn't work properly anyway, so I don't think you will have a problem without it.

If you don't care about having 200 amps of 24V power and provided the rest of your system is stock and has the "Orange Wire Kit" update installed, just switch the front (red) and rear (orange) wires on the DUVAC unit and the upper alternator will be forced to charge 14.4V most of the time. This will keep the front battery charged properly. You could also pull the regulator and set it to low (I think that's the 14V position) to keep it from being switched of and on quite so vigorously. If you hook it up this way, be sure you check all voltages (front, rear, both batteries) with the truck running to verify proper voltages. Also, check the field terminal of the top alternator with the truck off to make sure there is no voltage there. The DUVAC's internal diode should prevent it, but given you have a burnt diode already, you can never be too sure what else is not working.

Another thing to remember with this system is to always turn off the master light switch when you turn off the truck for any length of time (a few days). This is especially important if you used the headlights. I never quite figured it out before I sold my old truck, but it seemed as if a relay or something stayed on (after using the headlights) even the though the truck was turned off. Maybe someone else can troubleshoot it.

And, always connect the batteries in the proper order. Rear positive, front positive, rear negative, front negative. Disconnect in the opposite order.

 

[BigBlackTurd]

Thank you for your suggestions. The battery equalizer, after researching it, seems like a good idea. But the $800 price factor seems a little high to me. Does anyone know where you can get one more in a more reasonable price range?

From what I can tell, my truck does not have the Orange Wire Kit Update. I downloaded the manual to make sure and from what the truck looks like, it's still original.

I also have an M-1008 parts truck that has both alternators on it. Would it be possible to move the 14V alternator and wire it to charge my front battery? Keep in mind, I have the alternator and the brackets. I'm looking for a simple and reliable system and wouldn't mind spending some money for that but the battery equalizer seems a little overpriced. That is almost as much as I paid for the truck itself.

Thanks! Brad

 

[CUCVFAN]

Try switching the wires. The wiring update was a voltage sensing fix that didn't really fix the problem. Even without the wiring update, it might work. It has a been a while since I messed with this system, so I would have to research it again to make sure, but switching the wires on the DUVAC will make the external regulator keep the top alternator at 14.4V and it will always charge the 12V side of the system that way. The drawback is now you don't have 200 amps of 24V power. Now you have a 100amp 24V alternator and a 70amp (I think) 12V alternator.

 

[BigBlackTurd]

Hey guys, it's been a few weeks since my last post so I thought I would give an update on my project. As I mentioned I had an m-1008 parts truck so this weekend I removed the driver side alternator, wiring, and brakets. And installed them on my m-1010, I then removed the Duvac system, wiring and the upper alternator. So now I have a hybrid system using the lower 28 volt alternator to charge the 24 volt battery, and a 14 volt alternator to charge the 12 volt battery. And it's working great, I still have to put the wiring back in conduit. I'm thrilled because this mod cost me nothing and is very simple. Pictures below.

Thanks for your help, Brad

 

[decodeme2]

Hey Brad!
Do you want to sell the plastic cover off the DUVAC?..I need one....Also need a overflow bottle...
Thanks! Kevin..301.922.2009 cell anytime..

 

[cjm0316]

Brad: Brilliant Mod! I have an M1010 with the same problems. Fried the DUVAC doing the wire switch thing and still had constant problems. Did you connect the wire from the 14v alt to the bus or the battery? I am ready to start cutting! Nice pix!

charles

 

[cjm0316]

Brad: Brilliant Mod! I have an M1010 with the same problems. Fried the DUVAC doing the wire switch thing and still had constant problems. Did you connect the wire from the 14v alt to the bus or the battery? I am ready to start cutting! Nice pix!

charles

Can you get a couple of wider pix of the batteries and bus bars? Thanks...cjm

 

[CUCVFAN]

Brad: Brilliant Mod! I have an M1010 with the same problems. Fried the DUVAC doing the wire switch thing and still had constant problems. Did you connect the wire from the 14v alt to the bus or the battery? I am ready to start cutting! Nice pix!

charles

This mod is exactly what the wire switching does, except you use the Leece-Neville alternator as a dedicated 12V supply, instead of using a regular Delco alternator. Much less work.

How exactly did you "fry" the DUVAC doing the "wire switch thing"??? I assume you mean you switched the front and rear wires? How did it fry? All that mod does it reverse the behavior of the system. It makes the alternator default to charging the 12V side and occassionally switch to 24V side for 2 seconds per minute... Ive never seen it fry a DUVAC. Besides the DUVAC system didn't work properly as it was, so what fried?

 

[cjm0316]

The (diode) small box with 5 attachments that is forward of the DUVAC is the item that fried. I did the switch and then reapplied battery power. That delightful sizzle sound was followed by the slightly acrid smell of burnt electronics. I need to start a thread with pictures. Hopefully I can get a break this week and take pix.

The wiring in my 1010 is just loopy. It looks like several different Soldier 1's took a whack at it.

What I have planned is this: Pull the whole duvac wiring, both alts, and replace with a one wire alt (28v) and supply power to both batteries. An equalizer provides balanced 12/24 output. I have all the bits, just haven't had the time or physical status to do it.

charles

 

[CUCVFAN]

Hmmm. The DUVAC is the larger, front-most unit. The other part is the external regulator. Are we talking about the big or small box? Either way, you can probably still use the regulator to control the existing alternator. The regulator is designed to accept 2 different input voltages and not let either one exceed it's given voltage. So, the 12V part will keep the alternator from putting out more than that. If you follow the wiring diagram, you should be able to follow it. It has been a while since I looked at it. You might also want to adjust the alternator mounted regulator to the lowest output level, if you go this route, just for good measure.

 

[BigBlackTurd]

Hey cjmo316... sorry I haven't been on. The computer crashed and it took us over a week to get a new one, got it yesterday.

I was having the same problem you were I believe. I had a melting diode. The 14 volt alternator I installed I hooked to the terminal block on the firewall. I downloaded wiring diagrams for the charging system for both the m1010 and the m1008. This will make it much simpler to have both diagrams. You can get the diagrams in the manual section of this website. I tried swapping the outer wires on the DUVAC and still had no voltage coming from the alternator. It's possible that I had a bad alternator as well.