Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/858523
90 commercial carrier journal | august 2017 EQUIPMENT: LIGHTING VIOLATIONS "There are several systems currently on the market that can monitor the state of your lights, making it easier to know if you are experienc- ing a lighting failure. But identify- ing a cracked or missing lens by a walkaround inspection is a pretty simple way to reduce the chances of being spotted for a violation." Symptoms of a failure Flickering or dim lights are usually pre-failure symptoms that can be caused by issues such as improper bulbs, damaged wiring and corroded sockets. "While these could be signs of a light failure itself, it tends to be an underly- ing problem within the electrical har- ness or wiring," Vincent says. If you're experiencing dim or flickering lighting with LEDs, there is almost certainly a deeper electrical issue, Johnson says. "Beyond just visually inspecting whether a light is lit, a driver or techni- cian should always inspect connections and harnesses," Liuzzo says. "A multi- meter can aid greatly in ensuring that a lamp is receiving proper voltage." LED lighting is more resilient than incandescent lighting, so an LED lighting failure may be a sign of a bigger problem, Johnson says. "A failed lamp may mean corrosion is already present within the system," he says. Corrosion is one of the most com- mon causes of a lighting fault, and it can be avoided by sealing out the intrusions of foreign substances. "The main ingredients for corro- sion are water, de-icing chemicals, salts and road debris," Vincent says. "Combine that with electrical cur- rent, which accelerates the develop- ment of corrosion even further." Brad Van Riper, Truck-Lite's senior vice president and chief technology officer, recommends that technicians look for signs of field repair in the lighting electrical system, because the longer you can maintain the integrity of the wiring harness, the better the performance. "Fix any field repairs with proper procedures like removing any corro- sion, removing wiring that exhibits green corrosion and using heat-shrinkable covering over splices and repairs," Van Riper says. A vehicle's electrical system is designed to use dielectric grease, and in modular sys- tems, connectors have reservoirs to hold the grease. Connectors should be inspected regularly during planned maintenance and the grease re- plenished as needed, Johnson says. "Moisture and corro- sion are constantly as- saulting a system at its weakest points, and that is any con- nection point," he says. "Some fleets apply adhesive-lined heat-shrink tubing to all electrical connectors on the first day they take possession of a vehicle, and if a driver sees this, they know that their maintenance depart- ment probably has their back." Corrosion prevention starts when the light is installed, Vincent says. "Mechanics can extend the life of their electrical wires and lights by properly sealing the connections," she says. "We also encourage the use of grease to further prevent the dam- age of corrosion." The first step in preventing electri- cal system corrosion is to remove any wire probes or picks used by technicians to penetrate the wire to measure voltage or continuity, Van Riper says. "e use of these wire probes causes permanent damage to the stranded wire, and the corrosion will wick up through the harness, causing the movement of corrosion through the electrical system," he says. "e use of dielectric grease with a corrosion In recent years, tractors have started using the same taillight as the trailers, 4-inch round, which makes it more universal.