Chased a no-start for 3 hours yesterday, turned out to be a bad ground on the frame rail

Got a call about a 2015 Freightliner that wouldn't crank. Pulled the batteries, checked the starter, even swapped the ECM relay. After 3 hours of pulling my hair out, I noticed the main ground cable was corroded where it bolts to the frame near the front axle. Cleaned the contact spot with a wire brush and it fired right up. Anyone else waste a whole afternoon on a simple ground issue that looked fine from a glance?

2 comments

2 Comments

gavin_kim312d ago

Had the EXACT same thing happen on a Pete 389 last year. Looked at the ground cable and thought it was fine until I actually unbolted it and saw the green crust hiding under the washer. Made me wonder how many hours I've burned through my whole career on grounds that looked clean on top but were nasty underneath. Quick question though, did you check the voltage drop between the battery negative and the frame bolt before you cleaned it?

lisat6012d ago

Got burned by the same thing on a Rat Rod I was helping a buddy with last summer. The ground bolt looked perfect from the top, no rust or anything, but when I pulled it off the frame there was a thick layer of crust under the washer that had almost completely separated the cable lug from the metal. We chased a no-start for three hours before I finally thought to check that. It's crazy how a little bit of invisible corrosion can kill all your power flow and make you think you've got a dead alternator or something.