Just gained 8mpg with a little work and responsibility!

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01-10-2014, 04:51 AM

#121

Warlockk

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Quote:

Originally Posted by unit505

I don't know what the harness cost, but it could be assembled for the cost of a relay and 10ft of wire and connectors. I just won't pay for a part that takes 10 minutes to assemble. Just me.

Let me clarify, the headlight harness can be done in a matter of minutes. The wiring upgrade I did for the alternator was a 4g battery cable from the alt hot to the battery hot. I added a 4g battery cable from the negative battery terminal to the chassis and my voltage went from 13.4 to 14.2 and the few times I've left a light on and drained the battery used to take forever to charge after jump starting. Now, once it's been jump started, I can run the truck for just a minute and I'm back fully charged. Leave it overnight and the next morning, it fires right up. 2 battery cables were $6.

I learned something new and fascinating and entirely unrelated to our trucks the other day. I thought you guys might find it interesting anyway. On newer vehicles the alternator doesn't start charging until you rescue a certain rpm ( usually around 3k ) or up to 30 min. So if you jump the battery and leave it idling it may not charge up. It will just run at low output to keep the engine alive. Sounds like a kooky thing to do.

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01-10-2014, 10:37 AM

#122

unit505

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I heard that about our new Mercedes ambulances. I don't understand it at all. Especially on a vehicle that pulls high amp draw even at idle. Not as bad as older ambulances with all halogen lighting, but they don't take into account the headlights, heater fans, electric radiator and rear condenser fans and in our case, inverter systems for life support equipment. Mercedes did add a high idle switch which allows us to keep equipment powered up, but it's still crazy. Basically, in order to maintain the service contract, anything that goes wrong with the vehicle results in a 40 mile tow to the closest authorized.dealer service center for them to diagnose.and repair. We can't just replace the battery or it will void the contract. I think it's another money making scam. The big sell was 14-17mpg on a diesel. Add in all of the service related costs and these things cost more to operate than the ford 6.0 and 7.3 getting only 8-10mpg.