Slow starting ISL 400 Engine

[Bill2]

The last 5 or 6 times I have started my engine ISL 400 Cummins on a 06 HR Endeavor, the engine seems to turn over slowly at first then it starts. It almost seems like the chassis batters are not fully charged. So I put the charger on them and they say they are at full charge and then I took the cables off and cleaned them and made sure they were spotless and tight. The batteries are almost 5 yrs. old. It still does the same thing.
My question is could the cable be dirty at the point where they join the engine? Has anyone else experienced this happening to their starting procedure? Any suggestions on what could be the culpret?

[Ray,IN]

I would visit a battery store, like Interstate, and have the engine batteries tested. A battery charger will not perform a load test. You are right, a loose cable connection will also cause this problem.

[Mike Thomas]

You need to check and clean all connections to battery and starter. Have the battery checked with a load tester. I assume you have 2 chassis batteries, so check each one individually. Be sure to check the ground connection. If they all check out, have your starter checked for current draw.

[Bob (WA0MQE)]

Also double check the ground point on the frame or engine, whichever the main ground cable is connected. Saw this on a truck once, the ground cable was loose as a goose and would cause all kinds of weird problems.

[deandec]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bill2 My question is could the cable be dirty at the point where they join the engine? Has anyone else experienced this happening to their starting procedure? Any suggestions on what could be the culpret?

Yes the terminals at the starter could be loose or dirty and need to be freshened.

Otherwise, it is possible that your batteries need to be load tested to be sure they have enough cranking power. 5 years of use could indicate they are close to end of life.

[HeapBigEngin]

I 100% agree on correctly testing the batts and all connections, especially grounds. Could be the batteries are nearing the end. Had a similiar situation on our ISC Cummins. Sad to say, it was the starter ($300 reman). Probably from the coach sitting idle for a couple years. Starter problems are not common....but it happens. All is well with our system now.

PLEASE let us know what you find out....thanks!

[Perry White]

Crank the engine and when it starts,shut it off and go back and check if any part of the cables are hot. If they are it's bad connections.

[EngineerMike]

Another problem on older cables is corrosion up into the insulated part of the cable. You won't find this at the stage discussed above w/an ohm test as the wire is too large & you'll always get zero ohms w/no current. You will find it w/a volt drop test. Check difference between start battery hot terminal and starter hot terminal (lead on the battery & brass on the starter) while cranking using volt meter. If there is a large volt drop thru cables + ends then its either a bad connection, or corrosion in the ends of one or more battery/starter cables. If no volt difference on start then its the starter.

don't confuse the volt drop across cables w/the volt drop on the battery when starting; battery volts will draw down regardless when starter kicks on. you are measuring volt drop point to point on the feed side of the circuit, not + to - on the batteries.

[Bill2]

Thanks for all of the replys. I found that it was low acid levels in the starting batteries. The batteries looked like they were maintence free but the plastic tape had to be cut off and the wells were there. They were a little low on water. I filled them up and the next day, everything was good.