www.fueloilnews.com | FUEL OIL NEWS | JUNE 2016 29
looking for something that cleans up the
power and replaces the power draw from
the starter. We ended up talking with the
Kussmaul folks and we worked through
the settings for when the MDP would
take over versus when it wouldn't take
over, and programmed those settings to
fit our needs."
While aggravating, having these issues
can be hit or miss based upon the truck
and technology mix. "These issues are
really related more to the truck than the
onboard electronics specifically, though
the impact will vary among those sys-
tems," Chambless said. According to his
research, the problem is linked to some
engine designs where an intake heater
is used to warm the air coming into the
engine. "Everybody understands that
when you start an engine you're going to
get a voltage drop, but this happens to be
an excessive voltage drop," he said.
Jacobus Energy also found another,
unofficial capability that proved useful.
"We like our electronics to be on 24
hours. When you are parked for a long
period of time because your driver is sick
or it's the weekend, the MDP will take
over and prevent the truck battery from
being killed," Houston said. "The elec-
tronics will run off the
truck battery to a
certain point
t h a t i s p r o -
grammed into
the MDP, and
then the MDP
will take over
keeping the
electronics activated. We never have dead
truck batteries now, which was a major
selling point for us."
Chambless noted that the 24-hour
capability was not an original design
consideration, and it's not something
the company advertises, but so far that
feature seems to be working out well
for Jacobus.
According to Houston the equipment
installation has been a simple process.
Once the company's technicians com-
pleted a training seminar, they were able
to install the units at a rate of 25 to 30
minutes per truck. "It was a very quick
process for us," he said.
The ballpark cost is $639 per truck.
l F O N
Truck Electronics and Electricity
"When you are parked
for a long period of
time because your driver
is sick or it's the weekend,
the MDP will take over
and prevent the truck
battery from being killed."
—Ken Houston, national fleet
specialist for Jacobus Energy
truck battery to a
