December 2021 - 32

ELECTRONICS
How to combat electrical issues on modern trucks
New technology on trucks is creating new challenges for proper electrical
system maintenance. Here's how to stay ahead of the curve.
By James Alfred
E
lectrical issues have been giving
truck technicians sleepless
nights ever since the first magnetos
and primitive wiring harnesses
were run through a chassis to provide
power for lights, instruments,
and other vehicle systems. Today,
with trucking in the midst of an accelerating
technological revolution centered
on ultra-fast, highly complex
electronics, they don't seem to be
getting any easier to troubleshoot
and repair.
GETTING PAST THE PAIN POINTS
" Although we've seen a lot of advances in
electronics troubleshooting over the past
several years, the reality is that these
systems will always be a time-consuming
problem for most fleets, " says Kristi
LaPage, business manager, commercial
vehicle group, Mitchell 1.
As vital as electrical systems are in
our society, the simple fact is they do
not do well in the harsh work conditions
commercial vehicles are forced to endure.
Electrical systems, wiring, conductors, and
connectors do not like excessively hot or
cold temperatures. They don't like the
elements. And they don't like vibrations.
Their necessarily delicate protective casings
often allow water, dirt, grease, soot,
and other contaminants in, which quickly
leads to failure. And despite countless
efforts to design and deploy wiring that
can withstand these harsh operational
realities, the fact remains that electronics
are a vital, yet unbelievably delicate
and temperamental operational system on
vehicles that work in some of the toughest,
and most unforgiving conditions
on earth.
To make things even more frustrating
for technicians, conditions that can cause
electrical systems failures are often highly
intermittent in nature, explains Jason
Hedman, product manager for Noregon.
For example, he notes, a wire that is wet
may carry a current just fine when it is
dry. Likewise, a failure caused by a wiring
harness vibrating rapidly at highway
speeds may be undetectable when the
truck is sitting still in the shop.
Additionally, corrosion has made testing
components difficult for two reasons,
explains Cory Adams, vice president of
engineering, Peterson Manufacturing.
First, he explains, separating corroded
components can be difficult and sometimes
impossible without breaking the
connectors and components. " And second, "
he says, " trying to find a damaged
wire across hundreds of feet of wire on
a trailer is tedious and time-consuming
which causes extended trailer downtime
and increased cost to repair. Checking
each and every wire in a system while
trying to track down electrical issues can
prove to be quite laborious. "
Another problem is that new technology
often means relearning maintenance
truisms and procedures that have been in
place for decades. A good case in point,
the introduction and fast adoption of new
LED lighting systems.
" The issue is that conventional, incandescent
light bulbs draw more power than
LED bulbs - which is one of the key benefits
to switching over to LED systems, "
says Kyle O'Dell, director of engineering
and new product development, Optronics
International/USA Harness International.
" However, some self-diagnosing vehicle
systems interpret that low power draw as
32 PTEN DECEMBER 2021 VehicleServicePros.com
a signal that a perfectly healthy bulb is out
all the time because the old power draw
simply isn't there. And you end up with
technicians chasing ghosts for hours over
a fundamental misunderstanding of the
differences between LED and incandescent
lighting systems. "
A BLEND OF OLD- AND NEWSCHOOL
PROCEDURES
Although lighting and electronics systems
will likely always be a bottleneck in fleet
maintenance operations, maintenance
system service providers and OEs alike
are working continuously to make troubleshooting
and repairs faster and easier
to complete.
Perhaps the greatest advancement in
recent years has been telematics systems
on trucks, which relay vital information
about component failures back to fleets,
service providers and OEMs in real time.
As a result, Peterson's Adams says, the
time to track down electrical issues on
trucks has been reduced. " Additionally,
smart trailer systems will also warn drivers
and fleets when there are problems,
and most problems are easier and less
expensive to fix if you find them early, "
he adds. " This goes for driver routine
maintenance as well as technician level
maintenance, such as the need [to add]
air to a tire before it overheats, lube hubs
before they cause a thermal incident, and
other issues. "
New remote diagnostics are now playing
a major role in improving vehicle safety
by catching electric or lighting issues
as they happen - or in some cases, before
they even malfunction.
As Hedman explains, because truck
lights are now attached to smart
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December 2021

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