Smoke coming from solenoid on dumper pump?

[mklawnman]

My recently purchased dump truck has alittle problem. I have a 99 GMC 3500 HD with a flatbed dumper, the dumper part is made by OMAHA, dont know if its a common name in dumpers but whenever i push the button to dump the bed, it raises like usual but looking back by the pump area and motor i notice that the wire connections to i think either the motor or solenoid is smoking everytime i push the up button. Now the connections are abit dirty, covered in black dirt, problaby all the oil and dirt from driving around the past few years, but also the corrosion. Me and my dad took one of the cables off and cleaned the copper end thread, (battery was disconnected before we worked on the wire), the other wire we couldnt get off, it was soo tight on the thread but also as we tried to take the nut off the whole bolt was moving as well, so could this mean that the thing is corroding?? And that is whats causing it to smoke, buring the dirt as it heats up when lifting?? I need to know soon on what to do, if i should get a new solenoid or what? Im not familiar with dumper pumps and motors yet, this is my first dumper.
Anyhelp or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Matt

[hosejockey2002]

My guess is that it is the dirty connections that are smoking. You want to keep them clean and maintained similarly to battery connections under the hood. The dumper has an amp draw close to your rig's starter motor. I would get the connections loose, clean them like you did, and use some dieletric grease for battery connections on them.

[mklawnman]

Well we got one connection clean but the other connection won't come lose, and if I did try to get it lose I'm afraid that the whole bolt will break off cause its corroded, though its hard to tell cause it's so dirty and full of oil and black dirt. Ill see what I can do cause it works fine, but everytime I use the dumper it smokes.
Matt

[Hometown]

Stop fooling around here, smoke=heat=fire!!!! I have a dump on my 1 ton chevy and it does not smoke nor would I let it get that way. The corrosion on the wires is not letting the needed amperage get to the motor. It is like pouring water through a funnel the bad wire is slowing down the power causing the thing to heat up. Causing a fire hazard, spend the money to get someone to fix the wires if you can't.

[mklawnman]

Fix the wiring by getting a new end connector?? Cause if its that simple Ill get my dad to work on it, he's done alot of wire work and has worked on motors and such so he knows how to work that stuff. Ill look into it as well, just dont wanna spend a bundle on this if its just some wire connection problems and not the solenoid going.
Matt

[blkberry]

We use shrink tubing on all of our electrical connections. It provides a nice barrier to the elements. The other guys are correct...DON'T fool around with this get it fixed the right way!!:eek:

[mklawnman]

The previous driver of the truck said its been doing this now for a few years and he thought that its just due to the dirt and oil on the connections and that when it heats up from lifting it burns off that oil and dirt and thats where the smoke comes from. :rolleyes: I'm still uncertain and when a nice day comes again I'm going to disconnect the battery and go back there and try to losen the connection and clean it. Though I dont understand how this connection is heating up?? Isn't the heat inside of the solenoid and not on the connections??
Matt

[TLS]

How about cleaning it? :rolleyes:

These motors do get rather warm. Just like a plow pump motor.

Get it cleaned up (degreased) and physically clean all electrical connections with contact cleaner and a scotchbrite pad.

Then let us know what happens.

[hosejockey2002]

mklawnman-

Any place in the dumpers wiring that has a poor or dirty connection will get hot because those poor connections have more resistance than the wires themselves. When a large amount of current flows through a wire or connection with high resistance, it will get hot. Since these wires and connections handle about as much current as your underhood battery cables, they should be maintained the same way. Keep the connections clean and if a bolt is so corroded that it might break, it needs to be replaced. Your dumper will probably run faster and the electric motor that drives the pump will probably last longer.

[mklawnman]

Well today was doing some cleanup work, got home and was going to dump the branches and stuff on the burn pile and the dumper wouldnt lift, the thing would just click. The connections must be that bad that the water from today's rain got into it and shorted out the circut or something? So tommorow Ill see if i can dump it when its dry out, going to try to losen the other nut, cause when we tried to move it the whole bolt moved so thers a good chance its coroded pretty good. Yeah I agree with the connections that they have to be as clean as possible to make the pump motor work properly. What type of cover or connection can i do to minimize dirt and water getting at the connections?? My thought is once i get the connections losen ill get some cleaner on it.
Matt

[LAWNGODFATHER]

Replace solenoid $10 I would say same on as on a ford.

Replace wire ends, and tape ove the new conectors so they are covered.

Use dielectric grease on conections.

This will sove most of it.

As also said above clean it. Degreser and clean it good.

[mklawnman]

Well as i was trying to losen one of the nuts off of the motor the whole bolt was twisting as well and i was being careful, well ended up twisting the top half off with the nut, then when I was trying to get the other nut off the rest of the bolt was twisting as well, so we took the motor part off of the pump and ended up getting the last nut off but with the copper bolt half gone. So I have to call the dealer up and talk with them and get a new copper bolt and sotter it back to the wire that connects to the motor. ITs all in a box right now, going to call tomorow sometime to get this straighten out. Was going to clean it, but trying to get the nut off the bolt was twisted off, so hopefully it wont cost too much, or I need a new solenoid or pump. It was just smoking by the nut bolt connection cause it was very dirty and the connection was lose.
Matt

[TLS]

Just get the motor rebuilt! It's not gonna cost you a million dollars or something!

Take it to a local generator/alternator/starter repair shop, let them do it! They do this every day!

It aint worth messing with it.

Sometimes you may be surprised at how cheap a NEW motor would be!

Often times the things you think would be cheap are rediculously expensive, and the things that you think are expensive as heck, are often times cheaper than you expect.

Just don't jury rig it! You don't want this thing breaking when you got a couple a ton of material in the dumper!


Sorry if I sound rude, but you really should have been able to diagnose this on your own. And spend money where you need it! Being in this business, you need to spot things that are going to be maintenance items, and almost predict thier lifespan.

Good Luck!

[mklawnman]

Your not being rude, its just I dont know what could be wrong, if its the connections that are bad or if its the motor itself. My dad is a mechanical engineer and he suspects its a motor going that its drawing more amps that it needs to and thats why the connection is heating up and smoking alittle.
Im only 20yrs old, give me some time here, this is the first time i bought a dumper that has a electric motor on it, I'm pretty good at looking at things and figuring out what could be wrong, but with this pump I dont wanna fool around with it. Just thought someone would be able to help on here.
Matt

[mklawnman]

Well today we put put a new bolt in, well put a nut on and welded another nut to the nut so we could screw another bolt so it would be long enough to connect the copper connection to the solenoid.
WEll after making a new copper connector, got it all back together, pushed the button and up it went and it even sounded more powerful than before, so the connections were so corroded and the copper connector had a big hole in it so not much connection for the electricity to get through, thats why it smoked.
Problem solved :D
Matt