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What have you done to your 5 ton this week?

gottaluvit

Well-known member
Tested my ether start system today. Had wondered if it was gonna work ever since I got the truck in April. 15 deg f here this morning. I apparently had two very good batteries out of the four, as I am only using them two and the starter zipped. I tried it first with no ether and it definitely wasn't gonna start. First try holding the ether button for three seconds and it fired upon release of the button. I stalled it not realizing I had to up the idle rpms but the second attempt she fired right up and then I pulled the idle up a couple hundred rps and it purred.
 

Another Ahab

Well-known member
17,997
4,551
113
Location
Alexandria, VA
Tested my ether start system today. Had wondered if it was gonna work ever since I got the truck in April. 15 deg f here this morning. I apparently had two very good batteries out of the four, as I am only using them two and the starter zipped. I tried it first with no ether and it definitely wasn't gonna start. First try holding the ether button for three seconds and it fired upon release of the button. I stalled it not realizing I had to up the idle rpms but the second attempt she fired right up and then I pulled the idle up a couple hundred rps and it purred.
There's nothing nicer than having something work like it's supposed to (ask me about the afternoon I spent today with tech support trying to get a newly purchased printer/ scanner to operate).
 

gottaluvit

Well-known member
Finally installed my rear center three-light cluster (whatever it's proper name is). Picked it up at the GA rally. It was green, but now it matches my truck. It also has 12v lights that were wired in parallel, keeping it at 12v. I rewired it in series so now the combo can handle 36v but I will be running 28v into it with engine running. They are not noticably dimmer in daylight but after dark I will see. Even if so, they'll still look nice. Bulbs should last forever too20151125_135444.jpg.
 
37
2
8
Location
TROY, MO
I replaced all of my gauges today since I was off, awaiting the drive to see family 4 hrs away for Thanksgiving. Previous gauges worked fine but lenses were clouded up too bad.
But now my fuel gauge stays on Empty. I replaced my fuel sending unit 2 weeks ago so I knew that isn't the culprit.
Thoughts?
 

mdemars03

Member
254
0
16
Location
El Paso, Texas
I replaced all of my gauges today since I was off, awaiting the drive to see family 4 hrs away for Thanksgiving. Previous gauges worked fine but lenses were clouded up too bad.
But now my fuel gauge stays on Empty. I replaced my fuel sending unit 2 weeks ago so I knew that isn't the culprit.
Thoughts?
Possibly the connector on the back of the gauge isn't seated correctly. I had that happen to me before. Not the same gauge but on a headlight on my old truck. Fixed the connector so it.seated correctly and everything worked the way it was supposed to. If the male pin doesn't go in straight and you don't get contact and things won't work. Another possibility which has also happened to me, a bad part. Even though it is a new gauge sometimes they can be bad from the shelf. I would check the connection first and if that is good try the old gauge again to see if the problem goes away.
 

74M35A2

Well-known member
4,145
330
83
Location
Livonia, MI
My fuel gauge drove me nuts. Ended up being both the gauge and float were both bad. I replaced one, and it did not work. Replaced the other, and did not work. Had good power and grounds. I couldn't understand it. The float on my tank sending unit had a hole and was full of fuel, so it always read empty. Check resistance of the tank sending unit compared to ground. Also check the ground wire going to the sending unit, they are also suspect where it connects on both ends.

Poster above: You need to prove it is you to pay a bill because they discuss account info with you. You can pay another persons bill. But, the establishment that is handling the transaction is not allowed to disclose any information to you of the owners account, such as balance due, monthly payment amount, etc...., out of respect of privacy issue.
 
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JohnnyBM931A2

Member
877
2
18
Location
Crystal Lake, Illinois
Earlier today I reinstalled the heat shield for my muffler, which was sitting inside my house since I repainted it a while back. I was too lazy to go out and install is previously, plus we had snow, etc. Also installed my NOS 3 lever switch. Fairly easy to do. However, it did not solve my ongoing issue with the rear running lights not working :(

So.. In order to come up with a temporary solution, I decided to add on some new lights. I picked up a set of the magnetic trailer/towing lights from Harbor Freight yesterday for 20 bucks. I modified the wiring coming off of them so that I am just using 1 wire as the ground (white,) and one wire for power (brown.) Then today I went to Walmart and bought a small 12v battery, a toggle switch, and one of those weather resistant battery boxes that people usually use on boats. I mounted the battery in the box, wired the lights up to the battery and switch, then strapped it in place with bungie cords behind the upper toolbox on my tractor. Then I zip tied all of the wiring in place along the frame of the truck using the "grab handles" along the side as mounting points. Doesn't look the greatest, but it will work. Now if I drive the truck at night, or in low light conditions, all I have to do to have working running lights is go out and flip the toggle switch. I also bought a small battery tester that shows battery percentage remaining. I will use that to check the battery and find out when I need to put the charger on it. I won't be using the setup that much, as I typically prefer to drive during the day. But at least now I have functional lights.
 

Amer-team

Well-known member
1,707
32
48
Location
Centralia/WA
When you say rear running, do you mean your constant tailight? No turn signals, no flashers? I played with that issue a couple of weeks back and it ended up being the turn signal switch. Grounds on taillight cans were cleaned, all wires were pulled, polished, and greased. Bulbs were swapped to check and even pulled the signal switch apart and polished contacts. Still no go. Put in new switch and took off like a shot.
 

JohnnyBM931A2

Member
877
2
18
Location
Crystal Lake, Illinois
Yup. Every single light on this truck works except for the 2 rear running lights. Taillights are as new, still grease on the bulb sockets. Was seeing no voltage at the connectors for the wires that control the running lights. Figured I would throw in the NOS switch that I had laying around. Connector for the 3 lever switch looked great. Put some electric grease in there as well. It must be corrosion in one of the connectors somewhere, or maybe a wire is cut. People had mentioned that possibility before, but I was hoping it was something simpler :(
 

Amer-team

Well-known member
1,707
32
48
Location
Centralia/WA
Put another document box behind the passenger seat on the 923. It was a bugger getting hole alignment scribed out for drilling. The added weight really wasn't that much. And it will be nice to have one more small storage space in the rig. Watch your hole spacing so you don't come in on the cross member that is inside the battery box.
 

JohnnyBM931A2

Member
877
2
18
Location
Crystal Lake, Illinois
Ha.. Boss works in a different building, so he never saw it. But my co-workers loved it :cool: And yeah, it will eventually be my daily driver.

After driving at night twice in a row (drove it to work again today) I am in love with the Truck Lite LED headlights... Man are they awesome! Absolute perfect clarity, wide range of vision, and hella bright :) Expensive, but worth it.

However, I did notice a little issue this morning (besides the terrible heater.) My turn signal switch is apparently going out :( I went to the road that leads out of the subdivision, and sat there letting the truck heat up a little more. I tried to turn the hazards on, but nothing happened. After that, I tried doing the regular turn signals, and they were a little twitchy. They stayed that way for the rest of the drive, and also for the drive back home at the end of the day. Guess I need to find a NOS turn signal switch to install...
 

71DeuceAK

Well-known member
1,513
416
83
Location
Fairbanks, Alaska
Sweet! One of my many bizarre (I thought I was weird until recently LOL) ideas was driving a M923/M925/etc as a commuter car LOL. Or maybe a M35A2 multifuel if I get good access to alternative fuel sources. But I'm told the 939 series 5 ton is way better for a daily driver.
 
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