Hello gents! I have a question. Recently my Caterpillar D6K2 bulldozer and my Caterpillar 308 excavator was struck by lightning. The ECM’s and control sensors were all fried. It’s like $30k in damages. My question is does anyone know if the extent of that damage would have been prevented if the master key switches would have been turned off?
No, there was outside influence. The voltage spike would've been so high it would've smoked every diode in the machine seeking ground. I have customers who have successfully filed insurance claims against lightning strikes. You just have to tie it to the storm which caused it and lightning activity in your area at the time.
You can get 300 million volts and 30,000 amps out of a lightning strike, the power in a lightning strike would simply flash through any switches that were in the off position. Lightning strikes blow up massive trees with their electrical surge. When I was a child, lightning struck a huge tree not far from my house. That tree was probably 40 metres (131') tall, and about 1.8M (6') in diameter at the base. The strike blew the tree apart and produced about 10 truckloads of firewood, and left a stump only about 1.8M high. The tree sap turns into superheated steam in milliseconds and expands after a lightning strike, thus the explosive power. Imagine the energy input that's gone into that timber size reduction! Your insurance company should cover you for an event such as this, if they cover you for storm damage.
It is actually somewhat possible to prevent damage by having the thing powered down. When it is powered up, some transistors of anything that is operating will be in an operational, biased condition and more susceptible to damage from current spikes and such. How much difference this will ever make is completely variable and unknown.
I have no personal experience with this but remember hearing of a dozer being hit by lightening. It was well before electronics and computers in machinery. The strike ruined the batteries and alternator etc but also caused damage to the drives and gears by somehow welding them or similarly damaging them. I have seen tractors in powerlines with welded seized powertrains so assume lightening strikes would be worse? Would be interested to know how these turn out.
That’s what happened. The only thing it didn’t fry was the harness
So I’ll ask again, if lightening were to strike a dozer with the master key switch on, would that allow more damage or is it safer to have the master key switch off? I’m being told if the master switch would have been off, the lightning would have only fired the key switch , by not allowing electricity to go any further into the machine
i agree with the others, switches off and battery disconnected would have no effect in stoping a lightening strike. I would further predict that you will have lots of bearing issues in the near future. The current will arc through the balls of the bearings and pit them. The current passed through from the contact point to the ground. If the strike was just close to the machine, the closer side/end will see higher voltage than the other and the current will find a path or multiple paths to flow. Cam
Welcome to the Forums S80! Agree with the others that a master switch is not going to protect a machine from a lightening strike. Since it fried 2 machines it must've been a pretty big bolt. However we always turn the master switches off for various reasons, the biggest being some other trade on the job usually doesn't have a master key nor knows where the switch is located. Keeps the "borrowing" down. Should be a straight forward insurance claim.
IF you could organise a Faraday Cage around your tractor and excavator, then the current from the lightning bolt is distributed away from the machine circuits. But of course, trying to arrange this with a transportable item of equipment is nigh-on impossible. As it stands, your tractor and excavator carried the full power of the lightning bolt right through the machine, because they were earthed, and lightning takes the path of least resistance. Metal is a better conductor than even ionized air, so your machines wore the full brunt of the strike.
Seen lightening hit an 8r series deere there was not a harness in that tractor that was not replaced kicker was it had 200 hours on it at the time struck the gos globe every connector light and board and switches had to be replaced After the strike the lights and the horn stayed on for 3 or so minutes till I figure the battery gave up no idea why that didn't melt with everything else
I appreciate everyone’s input. I guess at the end of the day, this is just bad luck and out of my control. Ha!!
Have heard of them catching fire even with the master disconnect open after a lightning strike. Allegedly happened at a mine I used to go in and out of. Regardless there's potential for major carnage from a lightning strike.
This is one reason that equipment should have never had any thing electronic installed in them. There is no real reason for electronics in heavy equipment. Here it comes.