Your poor old CARGO is suffering a lot of symptoms!
(1) Possibly something is draining your battery - a short circuit to earth somewhere. Especially if there is a history of gadgets and extra lights etc being fitted. These are often not wired properly or protected by fuses. Often these extras are removed later but the wiring is left behind. E.g could be wiring which is chafing on some metal part and the insulation has been cut through. No easy way to locate this but you could put an ammeter on the battery line when everything is off and see if there is a current. Could then start removing fuses one at a time to see which circuit is at fault.
(2) Alternator is probably in need of replacement. Has it ever been replaced? Take it off the lorry and bring it to an autoelectrical supplier - i.e. someone who specialises in alternators and starter motors - e.g.a Lucas agent. They will test it for you and either repair it or sell you a new one. Have you got a tachometer (rev counter ) in the cab? Is it working? If not it is an indication that the alternator is u/s as the alternator supplies pulses to operate the tachometer. If alternator is u/s then it won't be charging the battery and this would account for the starting problems.
(3) Re the brake pressure buzzer.
It is normal for this to come on if you are starting the lorry after leaving it idle for a long time. If there is less than a pre-set pressure in the system, the brakes will not operate. When the pressure builds up (say 100 psi), the buzzer stops and the brakes can be released. if you were using the truck every day, this probably would not happen.
JD
February 2009
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