420 solid state ignition?

[JD440ICD2006]

I hope there is more money in it than some of the "things" that I have invented over the years. My inventions sometimes create that magic stuff known as "SMOKE."

[Stan Disbrow]

Hi,

Sure! Lots of money!

But, *out* of your pocket, not *into* it!

You know, when the hydraulic resistor gets overheated, catches fire, splits open, and sprays burning hydraulic fluid all over the machine, setting other stuff on fire.

Not to mention the operator sitting in the seat right next to all that.....

On the bright side, you know that the steel reinforcing wires inside the hydraulic lines are still good and connected to the hose ends.

Or, at least they were until you burned them out running starting current thru them!

Maybe we ought to change the title of the thread to 'Liquid State Non-Ignition' since you managed to catch it before the 'Scenario Of Doom' occurred!

later!

stan

[Eric.MacLeod]

wow preheated hydralics for the winter, you may be on to something!

[Lavoy]

Given my mood just before I figured out the problem, I would not have cared about the fire situation, would have saved some trouble. Of course, then would have had to clean up the burned out shop, and replace a few customer crawlers, but no big deal.
Lavoy

[Tigerhaze]

Hi Lavoy-did the guy with Oliver help you any on the Heller trencher? Just curious.

[Lavoy]

Yes, he sent me pics of his, and a copy of the factory sales literature for an OC3 crawler. The trencher itself is the same for the most part. The mounting system is obviously different for an OC than a 40, and the blade lift is different. It at least gives me some ideas on things. There is a chain guard missing on this one, looks like we can reproduce something close to it from the pics.
Thanks,
Lavoy

[Cardinal]

Grounds on any DC system are your friend and your enemy. Good, pleniful, clean, secure grounds (as you found) are your friend. Missing, dirty, not enough grounds will have you cussing like a sailor!

I had a '68 Camaro that wouldn't start SOMETIMES! I eventually found that the ground strap between the firewall and the engine (valve cover bolt) was loose. It would randomly make and break contact. Made, the engine started. Broken, it wouldn't fire. You would think that the engine would "naturally" be grounded to the frame. Think about it: rubber motor mounts, rubber transmission mounts, exhaust on rubber hangers, rear suspension on rubber bushings! NONE of those componits conduct electricity!

[Willyr]

Converting my 420 from 12 volt back to 6. Should I double up the wire size on the ground? The old braded ground is long gone, are these available anymore? Or should I even bother?

[JD440ICD2006]

Yes you should and yes those braided straps are still available.

[Cardinal]

THEE most important things about ANY electrical connections are 1) clean surfaces so the electrons can flow freely without ANY resistance 2) tight connections 3) proper sized conductors .

I started using dielectric grease on ALL of my connections. It sheds water and prevents corrosion (or should I say "slows it down"). You can find it in any good automotive parts store in containers from little rip packages to tubes of it.

I use it religiouly on my utiltiy and car hauler lights and power plugs. For some reason I don't change as many light bulbs since I started using it. It might be that it cuts down on corrosion and/or vibration.

[H-D]

"Motor" magazine (from the folks that produce the manuals) ran a test of the benefit of the dielectric grease by using it on a pair of GM ignition modules & connectors mounted on a shaker. The non-greased connection broke down (don't recall the time/cycles), the greased connection was still making great connection at 10 times the cycles when the test was concluded due to boredom.

[digitup2]

Lavoy.What about a low voltage hydraulic heater?.Now this is a stupid question but has any one tried a 8 volt battery ? I have one in my old WD 45 Allis I went to the battery specialist and he sold me one when I said I needed cranking amps for this old girl . The 6 volt generator puts out 8.4 volts so he hands me a battery that is the same size as the 6 volt in the 40C crawler but has 4 caps on top it fits right in the same battery box with a greater kick come cranking time .I have tried it in the 40C and it works great but I didn't find an other 8 volt yet so the 40C as well as the Fergie and Oliver are stuck with 6 volt I take it 8 volt battery's are rare but battery guy told me there are all kinds of them down State side .Doesn't sound like you guy's are hoarding the 8 volt battery's anyway .have you seen anything like that Lavoy?.Digitup.

[Willyr]

"Motor" magazine (from the folks that produce the manuals) ran a test of the benefit of the dielectric grease by using it on a pair of GM ignition modules & connectors mounted on a shaker. The non-greased connection broke down (don't recall the time/cycles), the greased connection was still making great connection at 10 times the cycles when the test was concluded due to boredom.

Yup I too am a firm believer of dielectric grease. I am also running a direct ground from the regulator to the battery.

Hey Lavoy? Do you sell the braided cables? If so what prices do you have? Or anyone else have good recomendations of where to get?

Thanx

[Lavoy]

They are not nearly as available as they used to be, but yes, I can have you several of them in an hour.
There are two catches to the 8 volt battery. Number one is most of them have half to two thirds the CCA of a 6 volt. If you do the wattage calculation (amps X volts = watts), they acutally give you less total wattage than the 6 volt.
The second is the generator. A 6 volt regulator should not put out enough volts if it is set correctly. Therefore, if you put in a 8 volt battery, it will only be charged to the 6 volt battery level or so. If you reset the regulator to a higher voltage, that will eliminate that problem.
One other thing I should mention as far as voltage. Batteries put out 2.2 volts per cell. Therefore a 6 volt battery is 6.6 volts, and an 8 volt battery is 8.8 volts. I don't know the figures, but I will use a 12 volt battery for example. A 12 volt battery is 13.2 volts, but most alternators will charge at 14.6 volts give or take. SOOO, that would mean that you would probably need 9.5 volts give or take to chare an 8 volt battery. Some of the electrical gurus on here might know the figures better.
My overall opinion of higher voltage batteries is that it is masking an existing problem, which will eventually appear again anyhow. Fix the problem, use a good battery and cables, and rebuild gen or starter as needed, and they just don't really bother.
As far as battery cables, I normally stock #1 or 1/0 battery cables, and #2 braided braided ground straps for the two cylinder crawlers.
Lavoy

[Cardinal]

Lavoy has hit the nail on the head (again).

6 VDC batteries work well IF 1) they have enough CCA (cold cranking amps) to start with 2) the battery charge is maintained, 3) the battery conditon is maintained (keep the cells filled with distilled water), 4) all connections are kept clean and secure/tight, 5) good quality properly sized cables are used, and 6) good clean grounds are maintained.

Actually, all of that holds true for ANY DC system be it 6, 12, 24, or 28 VDC.