Please Talk Me Off The Ledge

[ThePimentals]

Originally Posted by ComfortEagle

I hear that in Southie loyalty is more important than a gun?

I can tell you better have one or the other

[Elliot Naess]

If you wind up needing a glow plug controller, part number DRX01004, I have a brand new one here that you can have for the cost of shipping it.

[mikeypj]

Sometimes just stepping back and getting a different perspective helps immensely. Im glad things are lookking up for you.

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by mikeypj

Sometimes just stepping back and getting a different perspective helps immensely. Im glad things are lookking up for you.

Heck yeah.

[Triskite]

Originally Posted by firebuild

The problem is, it needed to be cranked for longer than the batteries could handle. I cranked until it got that slow, "I'm going to die soon" sound, then put the charger on the battery. Then I cranked until it died again (using all kinds of different techniques of course), then put the charger on again. But I made a mistake in that both times I attached the charger to the same battery. I put the charger on the other battery for half and hour, and I finally had enough power to crank it enough to start. I had been working under the assumption that because the batteries are working together I only needed to charge one. My lesson for today is that this is not true.

1999 t444e currently in cold weather Duluth/Montana/Idaho here. this is our 3rd winter spending lots of time in subzero places. as jazty and a couple others mentioned, the glow plugs heating up properly is #1 thing to make sure is happening. but a close second is having good batteries.
my tips:
1. hook up a 12V led to the glow plug solenoid relay such that it comes on when the glow plug side is getting power - sometimes the relay can stick to on or off and either 1. kill the battery or 2. not give power to the glow plugs long (or continuously) enough for them to get properly hot.
2. hook up a voltmeter led display ($3, amazon) to the other terminal on the glow plug solenoid so you can keep an eye on voltage as the glow plugs warm and as you crank. you shouldn't really see below 11V with good/charged batteries, maybe 10.5 while cranking
3. get a battery tester (~$50, amazon) to determine the CCA of the new batteries you bought. 4/5 I test at the dealer + at stores are well below their advertised CCA, even though the voltage tests fine
4. replace your fuel bowl // fuel filter heater (or install one if you don't have one) - $20, amazon, or at least ensure it is working (frankly this is still on my to-do list).

If we sit for more than a few days (in these cold temps up here) it always takes quite the ECM cranking acrobatics before it goes to smooth idle, presumably from gelled up diesel in the lines...

From what I've read it sounds like the batteries are your problem. Make sure you have them charged up and get a good CCA read on them and have the terminals well brushed/cleaned + dielectric greased

[Mrmikeemmo]

New or old things just happen that goes for machines and people alike. I've always had old vehicles I'm used to them, they make sense. I've been a wrench basically my whole life, since I was 8 and I'm 55 now. I know where your at as far as how much more do I put into it but here's a view for you. If you're having repeated problems then it's either not been properly fixed, or operator error. Sometimes it's just what we expect is beyond the realistic ability. Cold is cold and since engines operate on heat there's your battle. All it has to do is spin and make heat. It'll start. I'm muleheaded by nature and financially challenged which has made be not give up on projects. If the problems are continual new problems then eventually they'll all be fixed. I went through similar with my mom, it was a challenge but she was still my mom whether she knew it or not. Same thing, fix why can be fixed, learn to enjoy what you have and keep the perspective and expectations realistic. Nothing old works like it used to but it still has a value that's irreplaceable. Enjoy what's left.

[firebuild]

Hello friends,

I just came across this post of mine from the beginning of December, and saw how much care and attention so many people gave me when I spoke up about my state of mind at the time. I figured I owe you an update on where I am now, 5 months later.

I'm in a pretty different place, though physically I'm still in MA. Yup, my rust free Cali bus is no longer rust free since it's officially the wettest year in recorded history. But I'm feeling very different about things. A lot of that has to do with my Mom.

After a very rough settling in period, I think we appreciate each other in all kinds of new ways. Though her ability to communicate is decreasing, I feel like I understand her better, if that makes any sense. And the same seems to be true for her. Now that she's seen me step up and take the lead as her advocate I think she grasps that me being kind of a weirdo doesn't really stand in the way of me being a capable and caring person. She seems to trust me in the role of translator, getting her point across to others as she loses her verbal faculties, and interpreting the medical swirl that surrounds her in ways she understands. There's a lot to interpret, as her cancer (skin cancer she hid that grew into her head and resulted in a 9 hour brain surgery 10 years ago) seems to have returned, and we're figuring out how to treat it. Regardless of all that, we laugh more often than we fight now. It's required each of us to drop our picture of who we thought the other one was. It's given me an amazing sense of purpose to be entrusted with her care.

Now, Buster the Bus.... First of all, he has a new name, Max. This is because I've started a YouTube channel that revolves around him, and the channel is called Maximalist Minibus, and it was getting confusing to the people watching. People either called me or the bus Max anyway, so I rechristened him, because I really prefer Mary for myself.

And Max starts on the first try every time! Now it's warm out, but boy, did installing a block heater make a difference. I had no idea how solvable that problem was until you guys told me! The battery saver has worked wonders as well. Thanks for that!

All in all, I'm feeling very optimistic about life. I love making these silly YouTube videos; they're scratching an itch I didn't even know I had, I guess, because I never thought I wanted to be on camera, though I've worked on the other side of the lens on and off for years. I am definitely restless, and really want to be on the road, or at the very least doing a little more local traveling, but Mom is pretty anxious when I'm not there, which tends to make me worry about her. That kinda kills the buzz a bit. But my time to be a nomad will come; right now it's my time to get to know this old lady I live with.

So thank you all again for being there, as corny as that sounds. It's great that a group of people who are essentially strangers could hear what I was saying and rise to it: it shows we have more in common than our shared bus obsession.

Now if someone could just fix this f**king weather...

[peteg59]

Sorry to hear of your mom's health issues, Mary.
I lost my mom to Alzheimer's in 11. What a nasty F*****G disease on the human race.
Good on you for mending fences w/her in her twilight years, after all we only have one mother!
Good luck maintaining your positive attitude toward her and to her health, going forward...