It’s that time of the year again. And with colder temperatures come a number of cold weather problems: hard starts, no starts, battery replacements, jump starts and cranking issues. A truck that won’t start is one of the headaches of the winter months.
Oftentimes, these problems are just symptoms of issues related to the overall health of the starting and charging system. The best way to increase the odds of starting a truck on a cold morning is to have fully-charged batteries every time the driver turns the key. The charging system’s job is to ensure that the batteries are completely charged every time the vehicle is turned off, including at the end of the day’s work.
What you should do:
- Check the belts, pulleys and drive system.
- Check the tightness of the mounting bolts and re-torque to manufacturer’s specifications.
- Visually inspect the rectifier fins for dirt or clogging.
- Perform a voltage drop test on the cables. Stay at no more than .5v (half a volt) loss from the alternator’s terminals to the batteries’ terminals at full-rated alternator output.
If you’re experiencing cold weather issues, watch our Tech Tip videos:
