Tucker starting problem

[Catless]

Phil705:

Thanks for posting the picture of your sedan. I couldn't help but notice that the tracks have been modified. Has this track system been reliable for you?

In an attempt to make you feel better about your non-running cat in what is shaping up to be an epic snow year in the Northwest, I have attached a few pictures of a few nasty things I "un-earthed" in my wiring harness during my re-wire project. Upon delivery to me, my cat made it no more than 40-ft from a trailer into a garage before I was forced to re-work the fuel system and the electrical.........

First pic shows a melted main #10 ga wire that goes from the battery isolator to the dash. Note the butt splice in the photo. This wire had no less than 6 nasty butt splices in it and changed colors at least once along it's length.

Second pic shows my volt. reg (with the cover on backwards) with a sea of nasty butt splices in the background............

3'rd photo shows the dash from the back with more melted wires. My starter button is buried under the wires and had melted wires to it as well. The starter button was hanging out from under the dash by it's wires when I purchased the cat. Someone prior to me had troubles with it..........

All wires have now been replaced. Several fuses were added. All terminations are now soldered and have been insolated with heat shrink. But the best part is I now have a reliable wiring diagram for my cat!

I attached a couple of photos of a pretty handy soldering device that just might work out pretty well for soldering when living off the grid. You can do suprisingly good soldering work with these. Would certainly come in handy for emergency repairs on the trail. Good fire starting abilities as well. Requires butane. I've found mine more reliable than regular butane-fired soldering irons. Works better in the cold. Not well in wind.

Good luck with your cat!

grd

 

[Phil705]

Thanks Catless, for the pics and advice. Your wiring looks a lot like mine, lots of splices and wear on the wires.

You are right that the track system is not stock. I bought it from a guy who bought it from some folks who were trying to put in an alpine ski hill here in the Methow Valley. I have tried pretty hard to find who modified the tracks without success. They are conveyor belts with grousers and tire guides bolted on. I'd say works quite well, but I don't know how the original pontoons worked. A couple of problems I've seen: grousers can break if you hit a big rock; the tires tend to go flat; the tire guides can break and tear up a tire; there is no known mold for the sprockets if you wanted to redo them; it can cost an arm and a leg to have the tire guides built from scratch by a welder. I did have a bogie wheel redone, but that didn't require a mold.

That said, the tracks have been pretty reliable and tough if you keep up with the maintenance and never run it with a broken tire guide. The conveyor belts are incredibly tough, and have not broken despite some minor tears and wear.

thanks,

Phil705

 

[Catless]

Phil705:

Thanks for sharing info about your tracks.

I think there is somebody on this forum that likely knows something about your track conversion. Maybe Bogie or SnowCat Pat? I thought the drive sprocket on these conversions was based on a Thiokol design but I could be very wrong..................

I know this is a non-issue at the moment.

grd