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#1 |
Registered User
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Tucson, AZ
Posts: 3,188
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Mystery Dump Failure Solved
So, I have a dump conversion on my C20 and I am helping a neighbor on his fixer upper second home here in Tucson. I have been disassembling and loading up old termite infested wood fencing in the back yard and taking it to the dump. I had a good sized load on the truck and thought I would check the dump function before I loaded it to the max - no juice to dump switch. So, I just went to the dump and hand unloaded the 1400 lbs. of fencing.
I stopped by the shop who installed my dump conversion (happened to be located right across from the dump - APC.) I told them the dump was working last week and I thought it must be something simple like a fuse. The manager told me he had only one worker on duty at the time, so he had that guy look at my truck. After a lot of looking and translating from Spanish to English he discovered that the main power cable to the dump motor/pump mechanism had been severed. It turns out that all of the electrical and hydraulic lines were secured with plastic tie wraps. After about 8 years of HotZona heat and exhaust heat the tie wraps failed on the main power cable and it dropped onto the driveshaft which quickly severed the cable. So, I set off to do the repair. I got a small metal buss bar type splice connector for the broken cable. This cable was 2 AWG (for some reason the cable sheathing was labeled 14/4 trailer cable, but it was just one stranded 2 AWG cable.) The electrical supply house sold me the set screw type connector and some special insulating tape which look liked very dense but thin weather stripping. I used the insulating tape and covered it with regular PVC electrical tape. I replaced all of the plastic tie wraps with small radiator clamps through the small frame holes and attached larger radiator clamps to the small clamps, then used the insulating tape and electrical tape over the whole clamp setup. So, I learned about insulating tape, heavy duty connectors, and why plastic tie wraps should not be used in hot environments. Plus, I got my dump hoist working again. ![]() Now I get to show off at the dump with my one step unloading dump conversion. Better than cruising the Inns in my Vette at a youngster. ![]() |
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