New Ways To Keep Batteries And Cables Healthy

It should almost go without saying that keeping batteries charged improves a truck's chances of starting every time and putting in a productive day's work. But too often, saying it proves easier than accomplishing it. Now there are new ways to keep batteries healthy and the charging and starting system functioning.

Tom Berg
Equipment Editor

      One is Smart Sense, a sensing device that determines the temperature of batteries and tells the alternator how much voltage to send to them. This is important because warm and cold batteries require slightly different levels of charge: 14 to 14.4 volts in summer's warmth and 14.8 volts in winter's cold. This is an issue in medium and heavy duty trucks where the batteries are outside the engine compartment where the alternator is located, and are therefore at different temperatures.
      The usual alternator's output climbs with turning speed, but its rate of charge is otherwise constant. It doesn't know the batteries' condition so it doesn't vary its output, explain Al Lesesky and Bruce Purkey, prominent supplier members of the Technology & Maintenance Council of the American Trucking Assns. and the inventors of Smart Sense. Moreover, a long cable linking the two components introduces resistance to current flow and can drop voltage at the batteries by 0.5 volt. Obviously, that too interferes with charging.
      Also, batteries that are fully discharged - which is where batteries are when they need a jump start - do not readily accept a full charge. At 0 degrees Fahrenheit, a Group 31 battery may only accept a charge at the rate of 2 amperes per hour. At that rate, a fully discharged battery pack - three or four batteries in a heavy truck - can take 140 hours of constant operation to be recharged. The bottom line, say Lesesky and Purkey, is that higher alternator output voltages are needed as ambient temperatures drop.
      Their answer is Smart Sense, a patented device that controls the alternator's regulator setting. It continually senses what charging voltage is needed and signals the alternator to deliver it, they say. Smart Sense, a tubular device, is installed on the battery pack and wired to the alternator's "remote sense" circuit. A sense-type alternator is a common option on new trucks, and those without it can usually be modified in the truck or when they are rebuilt or replaced.
      Smart Sense promises longer battery life and more reliable starts in cold weather with fewer non-starts. A jump start costs $25 in labor time if the truck's in its home yard, and as much as $500 for a service call, says Purkey, who as Purkey Fleet Electric, consults with fleet managers on such problems. Fully charged batteries will also power "hotel" accessories in the sleeper longer before low-voltage shutdown. This can also reduce idling of the tractor's engine.
      In hot temperatures, the device tells the alternator to produce voltage at its normal output. It can also be set to lower output in extreme heat to prevent battery gassing, say Purkey and Lesesky. Slightly higher voltage in cold temps shouldn't harm headlights because resistance in wires usually prevents full voltage from reaching the bulbs. But even slightly lower bulb life will be more than offset by savings from reliability and longer battery life.
      Tests with C.R. England show that the product cuts no-start events by 30%, while J.B. Hunt reports "considerably" fewer battery replacements, according to Purkey. Other fleets are now evaluating the product.
      Smart Sense is warranted for three years or 350,000 miles. It retails for $40 to $45 and is sold through Delco Remy distributors and other parts distributors.

Clear Cable Insulation
      Corrosion on cables increases resistance and reduces the flow of current between batteries and the starter. It also interferes with a good ground. Usually corrosion begins at one end of the cable and migrates inward, under black plastic insulation. Thus hidden, corrosion goes undetected and causes puzzling problems. So why not use clear insulation?
      Phillips Industries is preparing to do just that. At TMC's recent annual meeting and truck show in Florida, Phillips had a prototype battery cable using clear, two-wall insulation that will let operators see any corrosion. John Jacobs, a Phillips vice president, explains that the insulation's inner wall, which surrounds the copper, is a chloride-free polypropylene while the outer wall is abrasion-resistant vinyl that's treated to also withstand ozone and ultraviolet rays.
      Vinyl chloride is usually used on battery cables because it is a good, cheap insulator, Jacobs says. But the chloride can react with copper, especially when combined with moisture, to form corrosion. Because the insulation is opaque red or black, any corrosion inside is invisible. With no chloride, the polypropylene won't do that. But if corrosion migrates inward, it will be visible as a green substance. Red or black felt stripes will spiral around the copper to indicate positive or negative cables.
      Phillips is readying its new Clear-Vu product for production in 2/0 or 4/0 sizes as it works with customers and their truck builder to set up orders and assembly into new vehicles. Schneider National and J.B. Hunt want to begin using the new cable on new Freightliners, Jacobs says. Freightliner will probably offer it as an option. Its price has not been set, but it'll cost about 20% more than standard cables.

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