It seems that Foretravel used different battery racks for the start batteries. My batteries are regular car batteries and I will not be able to use the Freightliner truck batteries. I will need to modify my rack. Do all Foreteavels use car batteries?
John M.
Mine uses group 24 start batteries, looks same as your batteries. What freightliner batteries did you get?
Use this chart to determine what size battery will fit into your rack without modification: BCI Battery Group Size Chart (http://www.evdl.org/pages/bcigroup.html)
Note that the size of 31 series is almost at the bottom of the chart.
Pierce
RVTvlr I was not able to get any batteries from Freightliner. I think I am going to modify my battery rack so I can install the Group 31 batteries. From looking at the table Pierce put up it looks like I have a Group 63 battery.
John M
John_ I have 2 Group 34 batteries for my starting- Duralast Platinum AGM.s Works well for my ISC350 engine, your bigger engine would probably benefit from the group 31's. My only concern about switching to the 31's is that they are taller and would it still be easy to get to the primary fuel/water separator ? Check it out and see if it works for you.
Cya down the road. ^.^d
I took out the batteries because of start problems and I was always relying on the boost switch to start. I was ready to purchase new truck batteries from Freightliner when I discovered I had regular batteries.
On a earlier post I remembered Pierce saying, "You should never, never, never have to use the boost switch/solenoid. If you do, you are masking a problem. Failing to address the fault will shorten the life of starting system components from the batteries to the starter motor." Thanks Pierce!
With that in mind I cleaned off the batteries and I looked at the dates on my batteries and they were 4 years old. I load tested the batteries and they were still good. I decided to clean up the battery post, all the connections and cables. I replaced all of the clamp square head bolts and tightened everything down. Without recharging the batteries the engine started on the first crank without the boost. Amazing what a good cleaning can do. Thank you to everyone on this forum and your valuable input!
John M
Many RVs sit during the off season and don't get the proper attention before the travel season begins. Cold weather starts really use the juice and show up all the faults. On an earlier post, I showed what the posts and cables looked like before and after I cleaned all the possible connections and flattened the ends of the cables so they were spotless. Using military battery terminals really helps too. I think Ken H installed them on his. Here is a link to the type Ken installed: Amazon.com: Pico 0810PT Military Style Top Post Battery Terminal 1 Set... (https://www.amazon.com/Pico-0810PT-Military-Terminal-Positive/dp/B001QRTZR0)
I also installed an extra ground cable to the closest ground point I could find close to the engine batteries. I replaced all the nuts, bolts and washers with stainless also.
John's excellent post touches on the problem.
While checking your battery connectors, take a look at your alternator belts. A good rule of thumb is that you should be able to take a belt midway between pulleys and just be able to rotate it ninety degrees with your fingers. Too tight ruins alternator bearings, too loose glazes the belt and it destroys itself. A good flashlight will detect cracks at the bottom of the belt cogs. FYI: Cog belts go around pulley easier and dissipate heat better. Engines with spring loaded tensioners only require checking the belt for cracks.
Pierce
I had a series of posts a while ago in hard start issues. If you have not had your EcM updated yet, you might do that. It covered hard start issues as well. Also check your ground connection. FT see a star washer and I put on a flat in after scraping the paint away. Finally consider running a direct wire to the starter. I got a set of batteries with one of them having a side as well as top terminals. I ran the wire and attached it directly behind the original one. The difference was incredible.