Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/873209
42 | Overdrive | September 2017 L ights account for almost 30 percent of all Compliance, Safety, Accountability violations. Lighting violations carry six severity points each. Headlight and taillight vio- lations bring an automatic out-of-service violation, adding another two points. To make matters worse, poorly main- tained lights invite inspectors to give the truck a thorough lookover that could lead to more violations. "Identifying a cracked or missing lens by a walkaround inspection is a pretty simple way to reduce the chances of being spotted for a violation," says Megan Vincent, Phillips Industries' mar- keting manager. "Why risk it?" That's why there is no more import- ant step in lighting safety than a proper pre-trip inspection, says Brett Johnson, Optronics International's president and chief executive officer. Root causes of failure Flickering or dim lights are usually pre-failure symptoms that can be caused by improper bulbs, damaged wiring or corroded sockets. "Beyond just visually inspecting whether a light is lit, a driver or techni- cian should always inspect connections and harnesses," says Andrew Liuzzo, Truck-Lite's marketing communications specialist. "A multimeter can aid great- ly in ensuring that a lamp is receiving proper voltage." Because LED lighting is more resil- ient than incandescent lighting, a dim or flickering LED is even more likely to indicate a problem beyond the light itself, says Johnson. That's often corro- sion, which can be avoided by sealing out foreign substances. "The main ingredients for corrosion are water, de-icing chemicals, salts and road debris," Vincent says. "Combine that with electrical current, which accel- erates the development of corrosion even further." Also look for signs of field repair in a malfunctioning lighting system, says Brad Van Riper, Truck-Lite's senior vice president and chief technology officer. "Fix any field repairs with proper procedures like removing any corrosion, removing wiring that exhibits green corrosion and using heat-shrinkable covering over splices and repairs," Van Riper says. In modular systems, connectors have reservoirs to hold dielectric grease for the electrical system. Connectors should be inspected regularly during planned maintenance and the grease replenished as needed, Johnson says. "Moisture and corrosion are con- stantly assaulting a system at its weak- est points, and that is any connection point," he says. Some owner-operators apply adhesive-lined heat-shrink tubing to all electrical connectors. Corrosion prevention starts by proper- ly sealing connections when the light is installed, Vincent says. "We also encour- age the use of grease to further prevent the damage of corrosion," she says. A walkaround inspection can reveal obvious problems with lights, reflectors and conspicuity tape. Light maintenance Frequent inspections help in keeping lights in top condition and avoiding violations BY JASON CANNON Goodyear