Saturday was spent fiddling with the truck, trying to make it run. I failed, but I did manage to get all the dash gauges lit up a couple of times, and made the system ring some bells. I don’t know what they signified, but I made it happen. That little bit of success gave me something to think about because all that happened when I connected my fancy battery charger and put it in “Car Start” mode. All that means is the system is jolted with 50 amps that should work to start the engine, kinda like jumping the battery from another vehicle, like we used to do when we were kids. Everyone had a set of jumper cables. I still do, but I’ve also got AAA. They’ve got longer cables.

That old charger didn’t work, but I wasn’t surprised. It has resided in the battery compartment of the RV for a few years and has been subjected to all kinds of toxic chemicals during that time. I’m sure that wasn’t good for the little buttons that makes it tick. Sometimes they would work, sometimes they wouldn’t, so I figured it was beyond my ability to fathom any other reasons for its to malfunctioning nature.

With this knowledge I took a trip to O’Reilly Auto Parts and got a new battery charger. One that has a 250 Amp kick instead of the measly 50 Amp I had. It also has wheels so I can drag it around and keep it off the ground. Also, it’s too big to fit in the battery compartment so it won’t be breathing all that bad air. It’s staying in the garage.

To make a long story short, it worked. I was able to get enough juice in the battery to the point where the system determined that it was still alive and responded to the button that starts everything. It cranked up and purred like a kitten. I was so happy.

I believe the problem about the battery going dead was caused by the automatic levelling system that lives on the back axle of the truck. There are air bags back there connected to a small compressor that only knows two things; 1) The air bags are low on air, and 2) The air bags have too much air. Actually, the compressor doesn’t know anything. It simply responds to the external stimulus supplied by a magnet, a proximity switch, and gravity. It’s that simple.

The compressor is connected to a switch that is connected to the frame in such a manner that when the air bags deflate, a magnate moves up, or down, in relation to a stable sensor that triggers the electricity to the compressor. When weight is added to the truck bed, or a trailer is attached, the compressor pumps up the bags until the rig is level. When the weight is removed, air is released to make it level. Simple system. The problem is that there’s no way to turn it off. It’s on all the time. So, when it sits idle for 5 months that bag inflation/deflation status is controlled by the weather. In this case it was mainly cold so it was constantly pumping the bags up and did so until the battery was totally drained. That’s my theory.

If I’d had a brain before we left, I should have disconnected the battery, but I didn’t. I suspect I could have installed an on/off switch on the compressor, but that would have been too easy.

The good news is that I can still install the switch, and the truck is back in action. I’ll put that on my TODO list. All I have to do is find it. I think it’s in the garage somewhere..

Our children are happy about the resurrection because they have things they want to move, and the truck is what they need. I’m happy to oblige.

Here’s proof of life for the truck:

I’m happy to report that the snow we outran to get home, has come and gone. Max thought it was fun for a while, as did we, then it went away and we’re OK with that. Here’s the new look around the house.

The creek is a little higher right now because of the melting snow in yonder hills. You can see Max getting reacquainted with the boulders that protect the stream bank. He remembers them all.

Now I’m done.