[MV] M880/M887 Questions

Greetings subscribers! I have a couple of questions related to the above
trucks. I have the TM 9-2320-266-10 Operators manuals for the M880 series of
truck. I also have TM 9-4940-421-14 which is the Operator manual for the Contact
Maintenance Body. Oddly the truck itself, M887, is not really addressed in
either manual. Is there another manual for this cab/chassis that has the contact
maint body? Also, it appears that the blackout lighting system is an option.
Anybody ever installed one? Looks like it uses the 3 lever light switch with
it. Last question, does the M887 have just the 12 V electrical system or does
it use both?
Thanks Dodge Gurus,
Kenny

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At 02:40 PM 7/20/2004, [email]Recovry4x4@aol.com[/email] wrote:[color=blue]
>Greetings subscribers! I have a couple of questions related to the above
>trucks. I have the TM 9-2320-266-10 Operators manuals for the M880 series of
>truck. I also have TM 9-4940-421-14 which is the Operator manual for the
>Contact
>Maintenance Body. Oddly the truck itself, M887, is not really addressed in
>either manual. Is there another manual for this cab/chassis that has the
>contact
>maint body? Also, it appears that the blackout lighting system is an option.
>Anybody ever installed one? Looks like it uses the 3 lever light switch with
>it. Last question, does the M887 have just the 12 V electrical system or does
>it use both?[/color]

one on ebay had both
and the onwer added power steering
that taked up one of the 24 volt gen balles
ken m886[color=blue]
>Thanks Dodge Gurus,
>Kenny
>
>===Mil-Veh is a member-supported mailing list===
>To unsubscribe, send e-mail to: <mil-veh-off@mil-veh.org>
>To switch to the DIGEST mode, send e-mail to <mil-veh-digest@mil-veh.org>
>To reach a human, contact <ack@mil-veh.org>[/color]



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----- Original Message -----
From: "kuhrick" <kuhrick@comcast.net>
To: "Military Vehicles Mailing List" <mil-veh@mil-veh.org>
Sent: Tuesday, July 20, 2004 4:26 PM
Subject: Re: [MV] M880/M887 Questions

[color=blue]
> At 02:40 PM 7/20/2004, [email]Recovry4x4@aol.com[/email] wrote:[color=green]
> >Greetings subscribers! I have a couple of questions related to the above
> >trucks. I have the TM 9-2320-266-10 Operators manuals for the M880[/color][/color]
series of[color=blue][color=green]
> >truck. I also have TM 9-4940-421-14 which is the Operator manual for the
> >Contact
> >Maintenance Body. Oddly the truck itself, M887, is not really addressed[/color][/color]
in[color=blue][color=green]
> >either manual. Is there another manual for this cab/chassis that has the
> >contact
> >maint body? Also, it appears that the blackout lighting system is an[/color][/color]
option.[color=blue][color=green]
> >Anybody ever installed one? Looks like it uses the 3 lever light switch[/color][/color]
with[color=blue][color=green]
> >it. Last question, does the M887 have just the 12 V electrical system or[/color][/color]
does[color=blue][color=green]
> >it use both?[/color]
>
> one on ebay had both
> and the onwer added power steering
> that taked up one of the 24 volt gen balles
> ken m886[color=green]
> >Thanks Dodge Gurus,[/color][/color]
[color=blue]
>From the way the blackout lighting was installed in my old M886, it looked[/color]
very add-on/modification. In fact, to run the additional wires through the
firewall, whoever did the mod just made a jagged, clumsy hole instead of
drilling something halfway decent and putting in a grommet. My truck had
the standard Dodge i318 running gear, alternator and stuff, but had what
looked like a kit installed providing it also with a 24V alternator (100A
Leece-Neville, I think) and all the associated cabling and crap to run the
radio gear (the Army converted a number of the 886 ambs to Radio/Computer/CP
trucks using a couple of different layouts.)

They did use the 3-lever light switch when they added the blackout lighting
kit, and made a very crude hole in the plastic of the dash facing just below
the 24V voltmeter if memory serves, while the standard civvy lightswitch
still functioned as well. The plastic around mine was really cracked and
messed up because the hole initially wasn't big enough to accomodate the
bulk of the switch, so some mech obviously took the golden rule to heart
("If it doesn't fit, force it. If it breaks...it needed replacing anyway!")
and made it fit regardless of what gave way in the process (aluminum vs.
plastic - two out of three falls...)

Been awhile since I retired my own truck, but I think the blackout lights
themselves were the same type installed on the CUCV, and all the wiring run
from them and to the 3-lever switch was the mil-std black rubber variety.

(I had the 1976 Amb-CP conversion without the diesel tank for the genny, or
the genny box installed on the pass. side. It sucked gas like it had shares
in OPEC, and had the wind coefficient of a Backhoe with that CP
headache-rack installed above the cab. You know you're in trouble when
Hondas suck in behind to catch a ride in your slipstream!)



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My 1977 M886 was from a NG unit. It was missing the 3 lever light switch,
and my dash insert was also broken.

As far as the military wiring harness goes though, it was very
professionally done. It was a well designed add-on, that simply plugged in
between the factory connections and the military added devices. It was
quite simple to remove and double check the factory connections with a
wiring diagram from a Haynes Dodge pickup service manual.

When I originally purchased my M886, I was needing a service truck, and the
gutted out ambulance body worked great. It took one saturday to correct the
wiring back to stock condition for less headaches.

BTW, the Dodges are notorious for the ammeter gauge going bad and killing
ALL the power at any given moment. That was the reason the former owner got
frustrated with this unit and I got it. I simply bypassed the gauge to
eliminate the problem alltogether.

I don't believe my unit was ever set up for 24V of any type though. It only
had the one alternator and just one battery tray, and no plugs for a radio
setup.

John




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FYI M880 series blackout lights have rubber mil connectors and M1008
series have a GM connector. Otherwise they are the same LED.

Mike
Tishoming, MS

[color=blue]
>
>[/color]



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----- Original Message -----
From: "John Doherty" <mofta@hiwaay.net>
To: "Military Vehicles Mailing List" <mil-veh@mil-veh.org>
Sent: Tuesday, July 20, 2004 7:21 PM
Subject: Re: [MV] M880/M887 Questions

[color=blue]
> My 1977 M886 was from a NG unit. It was missing the 3 lever light switch,
> and my dash insert was also broken.[/color]

Mine was ex-9th Infantry Brigade (then stationed at Ft. Lewis, WA) "HQ33",
and I got a laugh when I saw that the dash insert had been screwed back on
with three nice, new, bright, shiny Robertson wood screws. Heh. The
Robertson (square head) is a Canadian thing!
[color=blue]
> As far as the military wiring harness goes though, it was very
> professionally done. It was a well designed add-on, that simply plugged[/color]
in[color=blue]
> between the factory connections and the military added devices. It was
> quite simple to remove and double check the factory connections with a
> wiring diagram from a Haynes Dodge pickup service manual.[/color]

I found the actual plug-ins and stuff seemed well thought out. It was just
the nasty torpedo hole in my firewall that seemed really unnecessary. I've
seen other 880/886 vehicles where the wiring was strung through decently
though, so maybe mine was an anomaly.
[color=blue]
> BTW, the Dodges are notorious for the ammeter gauge going bad and killing
> ALL the power at any given moment. That was the reason the former owner[/color]
got[color=blue]
> frustrated with this unit and I got it. I simply bypassed the gauge to
> eliminate the problem alltogether.[/color]

Yup. I did the same. The contacts at the back of the ammeter basically
melted themselves out of the ammeter casing. There was also some
high-resistance in the ignition circuit causing low voltage at the ballast
resistor which I never did quite figure out, though I strongly suspect it
was the ignition switch itself. Started well enough if you had a decent
battery though, so I never bothered tracking it down.

Just off the electrical topic for a moment, but if anyone's driving his (or
her) Dodge M880-series truck and feels the accelerator pedal moving around
all by itself beneath your feet - you'll find the two front clip bolts
holding the front of the cab on (bumper area) will be missing entirely.
I've now seen three vehicles like that exhibiting exactly this system,
and/or creaking and flexing and moaning through fairly basic cornering and
what-not. Sure is a weird sensation you get from the gas pedal when you
have this problem. Very hard to describe.

Also, one other M886 thing I found out the hard way is to keep your battery
connections nice and clean. I had a bad one I didn't know about which went
open while the engine was running and blew the "computer" (electronic spark
control) directly after. Swell. I invented several new words that day -
none of which are repeatable in polite company.



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Howdy List,

I love my M884 and M886 vehicles because they are a blend of military
toughness and civilian parts availability. I have run into many of there
idiosyncrasies which have been mentioned here plus a few not mentioned.
Here are a few of the things I have encountered and learned from. I hope
this helps someone in the future.

1. Ammeter failure will kill ALL power in vehicle. The schematic in the
DS TM shows that power should still flow, but it DOESN'T (trust me).
Quick fix: If no ammeter is available, unscrew dash; reach behind
ammeter and jump the connections with a piece of wire and two alligator
clips or unscrew one nut from one post, place that wire on the other
ammeter post and use the nut to tighten it down and effectively
eliminate the ammeter from the system.

2. One or more wiper arms will not move but motor runs and is
accompanied by loud metallic thrashing from the cowl area.
Fix: Unscrew cowl screws and replace worn out, broken tough plastic
pivot sockets. Press wiper arm linkage(s) back into place lubed with a
little white lithium grease. A couple of sellers on Ebay are selling the
plastic sockets in three packs every now and then.

Interesting Factoids

Saturn Surplus sells the blackout light kits brand new with instructions
for about $100. I think most of the BO sets were Unit installed, with
the exception of the Ambulance.

All M880 series keys fit all the vehicles when they left the factory. If
you want to secure yours, buy a replacement ignition lock, not the whole
switch, just the lock, and have your door locks re keyed to the ignition
switch. (Hint: Take the door cylinders to the locksmith with the new
ignition lock to a locksmith BEFORE you install the new lock.)

The trucks are 12V throughout and uses one 12V battery mounted on the
drivers side under the hood in the normal manner. In trucks with the
auxiliary 24V system, a hulking 100Amp, 24V two belt alternator and two
batteries in a separate tray with wiring to the rear for radios or the
Comms shelters is installed completely separate (electrically) from the
12V system. This setup will power the 1,000,000,000 candlepower
White/Infrared searchlight usually found mounted on M60 Tanks and M151
series "Searchlight Jeeps". Mount that on the roof and give a Martian a
sunburn! Think of it as a Military Fog Lamp. Saturn Surplus also has a
lot of these units brand new.

Power steering from any W200 4X4 truck will bolt right in with no
modifications. I know a mechanic who specializes in Dodge cars who found
the unit in a junk yard, pulled it off, cleaned it up and installed it
on my M884 for $350, YMMV. The trucks with the 24V system come with
three belt pullies - one for 12V and two for the 24V alternators. Four
belt pullies can be purchased or you can run the 24V alternator on one
belt while running the power steering on the other. Best addition you
can make to the vehicle, IMHO.

In conclusion,the reasons I love the M880 series are as follows. I find
the cabs larger and easier to enter and exit than the CUCV's Course, I
am pushing 350 lbs. They are as simple as a box of rocks and parts are
cheap. They make an inexpensive entry into the MV collecting game and
can haul a ton (and 1/4) of stuff. It is hard to over load them unless
you are hauling granite blocks.

Regards,
Mel Miller
Corpus Christi, TX
361-937-3317
M725
M884
M886
86 VW Doppelkabin Drop Side Diesel PU (OD)


On Wednesday, July 21, 2004, at 07:00 AM, chance wolf wrote:
[color=blue]
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "John Doherty" <mofta@hiwaay.net>
> To: "Military Vehicles Mailing List" <mil-veh@mil-veh.org>
> Sent: Tuesday, July 20, 2004 7:21 PM
> Subject: Re: [MV] M880/M887 Questions
>
>[color=green]
>> My 1977 M886 was from a NG unit. It was missing the 3 lever light
>> switch,
>> and my dash insert was also broken.[/color]
>[color=green]
>> As far as the military wiring harness goes though, it was very
>> professionally done. It was a well designed add-on, that simply
>> plugged[/color]
> in[/color]


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