I was having issues with a slow crank, almost to the point of not being able to start my truck, so I suspected starter contacts were the issue and ordered some last Wednesday to be here on Friday so I could put them in. Friday morning it was cold and it just wasn't going to go, so I had to drive my wifes Jetta into work.

Well I get home and the UPS man pulls in with. . .the wrong parts. The vendor sent the wrong thing. So here I am needing to use my truck over the weekend and can't find starter contacts anywhere. So I did what any self-respecting redneck would do. I rigged one up.

I had an old battery cable with the crimp on cable ends so I cut one of those off and flattened it down then used my angle grinder to make a curve to it to fit. Bent it to shape and plugged it in. . .starts better now than it has in months. Still going to replace both the contacts with the oversized ones, but in a pinch it works.

 

Thats redneck ingenuity at its best, if you dont have one make one

 

Haven't done it to a Cummins but have made my own contacts several times by pounding a piece of copper plumbing pipe flat, drilling a hole and bending it.
One set was still going strong three years later when the fellow sold the car.

 

Thought about doing that, but I don't think I had any pipe around that would have been anywhere near as thick as the contacts are. Would have had to stick a couple of pennies inside . I'm sure this one would work and be fine for a long time, but I don't want to find out that it didn't dressed in my work clothes in the parking lot. Wife would be .

 

here ya go, these work great and are cheap.

http://www.fostertruck.com/dodge/default.htm

 

BTW,
Pennies arent copper anymore. The last copper pennies were in 1982.
If they were, a pound of pennies would be worth less than a pound of copper scrap, and the USA would have a penny shortage.

 

I saw on the news just last week that in costs the US mint 2¢ to make a penny and dime to make a nickle. There is talk about phasing both of them out.

 

That would be good, but how would you make change for a product that costs, oh say $1.97?

If they phased out the penny, the ENTIRE USA would have to make every products price even. Do you actually think they would round down? I doubt it.

 

There has been talk of ending the penny and just using the nickel as the smallest coin. Some stuff would round up and some stuff rounded down. you win some, you lose some.

 

I'll believe that when I see it.
I'll bet EVERYTHING gets rounded up.

 

Thanks, but as I said in the original post, I ordered some and was sent the wrong thing. Got the solenoid saver diode instead of the contacts.

 

Yup, well aware of that. Good thing I like every other person I know has a jar full of change and that there were several pennies of that vintage. Just glad I didn't have to resort to that. The way I did it was pretty easy and designed for battery voltage, so I figure that I'll be okay until the new contacts get here.

 

Another bit of $$$$$ (fill in your ethnic choice here) ingenuity is to reverse the solenoid contacts and flip the plunger disc over. I've done that many times over the years on other solenoid rebuilds.

 

Whys is it that all regular companies would go out of business, yet our tax dollars is just spent... at a loss?

 

[QUOTE=infidel;1965970]I saw on the news just last week that in costs the US mint 2¢ to make a penny and dime to make a nickle.

.....and I thought I was the only one that would spend a dime to save a nickel