Static problems - Fix for some big trucks!

[mopar2ya]

Here is an article I wrote that I have posted from time to time on various forums. I have made some minor changes to the original post to reflect some findings as time went on. Hopefully they will make a sticky out of it.

The article addresses a static problem that comes and goes with precipitation, different road and bridge surfaces, tar strips, and to some extent, swerving with the truck. It is a problem as road speed climbs above 30 mph. The problem is most commonly noticed in Freightliner trucks, but is definitely found in other brands as well.

I originally wrote the instructions in 2001 after I was issued the Freightliner Colombia.


===================================================

I had this EXACT same problem and I solved it... For the most part. Keep in mind that these are my theories and others may disagree, but I have tested my ideas on my truck (also a Columbia) and have had good results. Here is what I noticed.

Static changes when pavement changes. Examples are bridges, wet pavement (this eliminates problem completely), stripes on road, tar strips, etc.

Static changes when you apply brakes. But only when they are applied heavily. (Update: I have found that some trucks don't require quite as much brake pressure to eliminate the static as the original one did.)

Static doesn't change when you apply trailer brakes only.

The last two puzzled me. Why only heavy braking, and why only the tractor brakes. Here is my conclusion. It is the steer tires causing the problem (it is also the trailer, but you will only notice that problem once you fix the truck because the truck is closer to the antenna and drowns out the trailer noise).

Why? I believe it is because the only thing connecting the steers to the truck are the bearings which are now suspended in synthetic lube which does not dissipate static. When you apply the brakes, it only works under heavy braking because the steers are proportioned to have less braking than the drives. The drives don't have the problem because they are bolted to the axle shafts and gears which seem to dissipate the static much better.

Once you fix the steers, not only will you notice that your CB works better, but also your AM radio. And you will also notice that certain trailers have the problem also. But, this is not as much of a problem because the trailer tires are so far from the antenna. If you haul the same trailer, you could apply the fix to the trailer as well.

The fix? Powdered graphite added to the front hubs. I added it and problem solved. I used approximately 8 ml of powdered graphite per hub.

My powdered graphite came from Panef Corp. in Milwaukee, WI. It is Powdered Graphite Lubricant L-600. I purchased a 1 lb. lifetime supply for $13.00 from True Value Hardware.

Now, not only will you hear 10X better, but you will also be amazed at how many trucks you pass that you will “hear” through your radio, that have the same problem. I pass dozens every night.

If you are worried about adding a foreign substance to your hubs, I was too. I didn’t want to add anything with a liquid in it that might have a bad reaction with the existing lube. That is why I went with completely dry graphite. I have approximately 60,000 miles so far without any relapse of the problem, or wheel bearing failure.

If you are wondering why this works, it is because Graphite is electrically conductive, and will dissipate the static through the wheel bearings.

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As a current update, that 2001 Columbia is still in our fleet with over 650,000 miles on it and my newer 2005 Columbia has the same fix with 330,000 miles on it and no sign of bearing failure as a result of the added graphite. I have since applied the fix to many trucks with fantastic success, and not all of them were Freightliners. But, I will say this. Eventually the graphite seems to lose its ability to dissipate the static and the problem eventually starts to return. It never reaches the magnitude that it was originally, but it comes back nonetheless. This seems to happen sometime after approximately 200,000 miles. When this happens you will have to clean the old lube out and put new lube in and new graphite as the old mixture will be too thick to add more graphite safely.

Something else worthy of mention. I now only use -way less- than 1 ml of graphite rather than 8 ml. 1 ml is every bit as effective as 8 ml but doesn't thicken up the lube as much, and will allow you to add more later without siphoning out the lube.

I would like to give credit to my best friend AD7DK for helping me with this discovery. His opinions and knowledge have always been invaluable and the fix would have not been discovered without him.

Take care,

Mopar

wan•na•boo (wah-nah-boo) Informal n. Derived of wan-na-bee 1. One who aspires to be a Peakaboo. 2. One who imitates the behavior, customs, or dress of a Peakaboo. 3. A product designed to imitate the qualities or characteristics of something built by a Peakaboo.

[Worster]

Very good info, I operate a Sterling which is associated with Freightliner, and i have to run the squelch up over half way at all times and i tried grounding the antennas and everything i could think of and nothing worked, i had good SWR's but a ton of static, i'll have to try that and see if that helps

[vrich]

I get a "pulse" sound in my am radio when by brakes are applied. (Not in the CB) I all ways thought it was all the new ABS stuff on the new trucks. It does not happen all the time.
Mine is in a 2007 KW W900.

[Peanut]

Well thats good to know, thanks for the info. I will have to try that.

[Rex_foxhound]

I made it a sticky.

[mopar2ya]

Thank you Rex_foxhound. Hopefully it will help some folks track down one particular problem.

As far as your issue vrich, I don't think the static problem and the fix that I described addresses your issue. The static problem that the graphite takes care of goes away when the brakes are applied. It doesn't get louder. You may be on to something when you accuse the ABS in your particular case.

Good luck,

Mopar

wan•na•boo (wah-nah-boo) Informal n. Derived of wan-na-bee 1. One who aspires to be a Peakaboo. 2. One who imitates the behavior, customs, or dress of a Peakaboo. 3. A product designed to imitate the qualities or characteristics of something built by a Peakaboo.

[OVERDRIVE]

PUT SMALL TUBE OF GRAPHITE THAT I BOUGHT AT WALMART .023OZ IN FRONT HUBS ON MY CLASSIC FL.IT TOOK ALL THE STATIC OUT OF MY RADIO.THANKS

[mopar2ya]

I am really glad to hear it worked for you!

Mopar

wan•na•boo (wah-nah-boo) Informal n. Derived of wan-na-bee 1. One who aspires to be a
Peakaboo. 2. One who imitates the behavior, customs, or dress of a Peakaboo. 3. A product
designed to imitate the qualities or characteristics of something built by a Peakaboo.
-.. --- -. - / ..-. --- .-. --. . - / - --- / -.. .-. .. -. -.- / -.-- --- ..- .-. / --- ...- .- .-.. - .. -. . / .-.-.- / .-.-.

[oneperfectrun]

I have used the graphite myself in a few Volvo trucks with great success also. Just be careful no to put too much in. I added too much one night and had to have 2 new wheel seals installed the very next day. That particular night I added one tube in each wheel. It does work but just be careful with the amount.

[Steve]

I have used the graphite myself in a few Volvo trucks with great success also. Just be careful no to put too much in. I added too much one night and had to have 2 new wheel seals installed the very next day. That particular night I added one tube in each wheel. It does work but just be careful with the amount.

This is what makes me nervous about trying this.. Even in small amounts I've got to wonder about the health(not weather it works.. it appears to do so :D ) but the overall health of the hub/seals/bearings etc etc when adding this. I've seen some mileage reports.. can anyone add to those mileage reports with this fix???

[mopar2ya]

If you are worried about the lubrication properties of graphite; don't. It is used in assembly lube which is designed to reduce friction at the most critical time in an engines life, the first start. It wouldn't work as an additive in oil because it would be filtered out, and in quantity, possibly plug the filter.

I can't tell you why oneperfectrun had the problems he did. What I can tell you is that if graphite destroyed seals, it wouldn't be in assembly lube. Follow the instructions that were given as far as amount goes, and you will be happy with the result. Remember that what I am suggesting as an amount is eight times less than what I had used in a truck that was just turned in this month with somewhere way over 650,000 miles on it. The lube in that truck was disgusting! It probably didn't flow the way it is designed to. But, it still had no sign of bearing or seal failure. The other 5 trucks in our fleet that have had graphite added have had around 1 ml added with great results.

Keep in mind though that this fix is for a VERY specific problem. Don't bother applying graphite hoping to reduce injector noise, or any other noise other than the specific problem mentioned in the article.

Mopar

wan•na•boo (wah-nah-boo) Informal n. Derived of wan-na-bee 1. One who aspires to be a
Peakaboo. 2. One who imitates the behavior, customs, or dress of a Peakaboo. 3. A product
designed to imitate the qualities or characteristics of something built by a Peakaboo.
-.. --- -. - / ..-. --- .-. --. . - / - --- / -.. .-. .. -. -.- / -.-- --- ..- .-. / --- ...- .- .-.. - .. -. . / .-.-.- / .-.-.

[Ca Wildcat]

i did this with a tube i got from wall mart, yes it fixed it. i hear static from other trks as i pass them....also now i just installed a 400 watt amp galexy elite, turn on my preamp wow stattic is very very bad to the point it not usefull at all any ideas?

[frogman]

PUT SMALL TUBE OF GRAPHITE THAT I BOUGHT AT WALMART .023OZ IN FRONT HUBS ON MY CLASSIC FL.IT TOOK ALL THE STATIC OUT OF MY RADIO.THANKS

that is awesome to hear i have a whole box of the stuff on the way...gonna sell it to my trucker friends...

[JAGER 139]

Another way to help reduce static is run a grounding strap off your frame long enough to touch the ground helping dissipate static buildup. I've found that if you take an old radial tire and cut it lenghtwise down the tread drill a couple of holes for mounting and let it hang about 3 in. on the ground works pretty good. the rubber on the tire strap will also help the steel braids from wearing to rapidly and helps keep it to the pavement. also like the other posts add graphite you can never do too much when it comes to grounding.

JAGER 139 Back on the side

[cowboyfan]

great info there, I really notice a huge drop off in static when I apply my brakes, hopefully I can find some lube in the next couple of days and see if it helps. Thanks.

[Bartender]

Great info, I'll be trying this on my 2007 379 Pete soon.

[elmer fudd]

Great info I have never been able to get the same answer from anyone on this subject . I'll be trying it myself, hope it does work.

[Foxhunter]

I've seen the graphite fix listed in an old 1950's book on mobile CB radio. There were also little devices that connected the hubs to the wheels electrically while in motion.

Here is one other suggestion in regards to trailers.

Often the ground can be poor from the trucks 5th wheel to the truck's frame. Add a thick ground cable from the 5th wheel to the frame. Clean first (tons of grease) the points to bare metal where the ends will connect. It will now be properly grounded/bonded. As a result of doing this not only did noise levels become reduced, but the trailer lights also became brighter.

After we did this to my rig, my Father went and grounded the rest of our company's rigs this way. A simple and worthwhile improvement.

[BallWrecker]

I was just getting ready to make a post about this problem. I have an international at highway speeds the static level comes up, but when you apply the brakes the level will drop from like 5db to 1db. Then I can actually hear people more then a mile away. Unless they are on a 5,8 or 12 pill.. lol..
So, u say just open up the little cap where you add gear/hub oil and add the graphite.. Ill do that first thing tomorrow morning in the pre trip
I hope it works because im at the point im ready to rip this stuff all out.. Works great in the 4-wheeler, but not so hot in the big truck.. Thanks for the info !!!

[Foxhunter]

On that subject....

Graphite is an electrically conductive mineral, related to carbon. Although for many years it was used as an aid to suppress noise in tires, I went back and checked and never actually read anywhere where it was used in hubs. Still may be a worthwhile experiment and that's how things are discovered.

Here are/were the two basic methods for dealing with noise from wheels & tires....


Wheels and static collector springs
A less common noise source in radios is the front wheel axle. As the wheels rotate, a static charge is built up between the axle and the wheel bearing, since they are insulated from each other by a thin film of grease.

The bouncing of the wheel causes contact between the two surfaces, and the static charge is intermittently dissipated. This might produce noise when the vehicle is driven over 20MPH. "Static Collector Springs" positioned under the axle dust cap counter this action by establishing a constant electrical path between the axle and the bearing.


Tires and anti-static powder
A static charge, similar to axle noise, once was generated by the friction generated between the inner tube and the tire. The cure was the injection of a special anti-static powder (often a compound containing Graphite) into each of the tube valves.

Maybe someone would find this helpful or interesting.

[[byuslim09]]

Good job mopar2ya on the research and post,I pilot a 07 international and I stoppped in wal,art tonight and got 2 3gram tubes of of the powdered graphite.I was scared that I would put too much so I took 1 tube and put half in one hub and the remainder of the tube in the other hub......it seems to have done the trick because my radio is wuieter and. I am hearing people farther away without increasing rf gain knob,btw, how many ml does 3grams amount to?just wanna make sure I put enough in the hubs.thx once again for the helpful post......mr.bayou slim just got down!!

[909 wis]

simple fix for trucks and wipers, if you get any sort of noise or static when your blades are running, you can get noise cancelling blankers, or they make a cover that insulates the motor for the wipers.

[outlaw0814]

Fox hunter you are absolutely correct about 5th wheels and grounds--- weve been doing that for years up here , especially with trailers with a dim light problem--- and as far as the strap hanging down -- this has been done for years with tankers-- only most of those have chains to disate the static

[murdoc]

What a great idea, just ran out to ACE hardware and scored the powdered graphite, got home and raided the measuring spoons and found that 1/4 teaspoon is equal to 1.25ml... So here goes nothin'!!! I'll post my results asap... Thanks again for the great idea Mopar....

[murdoc]

well, simply put, IT WORKED... This graphite fix is working great for me so far. Added 1.25 Ml (1/4 teaspoon) to each front hub and presto, goodbye static at highway speed.

Thanks for the great fix Mopar!!!!

Adam