thook

Buggers.....

pete f

DEATH TO THE ELECTRICAL GREMLINS....GOT IT STARTED... TIMED AND EVEN WENT ON A TEST DRIVE.
Well to make a long story short.I worked for boat Captain. He would say to me "Pete... You can't get no dumber ....You can only get smarter" Well That's so true. When I was working early on I pulled out an after-market fuse tap that pulled out the upper pin of the 7.5 fuse( ignition fuse) Driver side kick plate. This was the source of all my problems. Power was going nowhere because upper contact wasn't there. The power goes in at the bottom of the fuse and exits the top of the fuse to where ever it is supposed to go.
Thanks Gary for helping me yesterday when I last spoke to you I was tearing apart my harness looking for a broken wire. When you told me to search where you didn't have power. You were right. So I stoped tearing apart and I re-taped and put chaff gear on the harness. I put it all back together. I got my test light out and had no power on the top pin of the ignition fuse but power on the bottom pin and when I quit last night I was ripping out the fuse box to repair the broken connection and couldn't. Thank god my wife told me dinner was ready. I stopped tearing apart and gave up for the night. Well I had an add-a- fuse connection in my collection .It was made so you could add another line in your fuse box. Well last night at about 10 o'clock I realized how the electric goes into the fuse and if I could make contact with the upper connection I would fix it. So I cut up the connector so I could use the contact probes to make a fuse extender. I put the 7.5 with my fuse extender and I got my CEL back without jumping any thing. Well the fun wasn't over yet I lost 4 hours to putting in the starter relay in wrong. But this time I used the tap light and tester to start testing and looking where The power wasn't and saw it was the starter relay. LOL Pushed it in and it started. Warmed it up. Timed it, Jump in and it died. The fuse extender was loose but it started right up so I went on a test drive and It died about a mile from the house, That's when I found the fuse and got it seated good. It started right up and I finished the test drive. When I got home I changed the oil and bolted on the 'Rock Guard'.
Thanks again

TNRabbit

Good job, Pete! I knew you'd find it. I understand exactly how you felt/feel, though. It's a royal PITA to try to find something when you don't know exactly what you're looking for but it gives you a real sense of accomplishment when you get it fixed. WOO HOO!!

pete f

WOO HOO IS RIGHT. All I can say is the next time I going to write down things that question me. When I looked at that wire and saw the connection on it. I thought what was that for.It gave me great insight into my truck and a whole lot of confidence. A great education!!!!!!!!

pete f

Well I got a great night sleep. I went right back to work on the truck. I fixed my fuse up with shrink tube and tape on the exposed connectors I had added to the ignition fuse. Then I put a chalk mark on the timing mark and timed it to 10*BTDC. I took it for another test drive. It ran a little hot. So I opened the cap and got it to burp.Then I test drove it another time tonight. I ran a little cooler But I think I'm going to put a new thermostat in it this weekend. I pulled the codes and I keep getting a code 51. When I drive it the check engine light goes out and the truck is running good. I tried clearing the code but no luck yet.

pete f

Well yesterday I took a 40 mile trip in the truck. It ran very well Temp's were the same as they were prior to the break down. The hesitation I experienced prior the breakdown was gone.I do get spikes in temp's but it never reaches half way on the gauge so I'll wait on the t-stat.
Today I have to address my broken flange on my cat. I might just fix it right if I can find a flange with a female side to go over broken header pipe but I will buy furnace cement to finish the job.Then I will address the code 51 I'm getting. I can not seem to clear it. So that the next project.

pete f

Today I fixed the cat flange. The truck is hospital quiet. I'm going to put a new one in next summer but for now it is good enough. I took my grinder and cut the bolt heads to get the broken flange off. Then I got a 2 1/4 x 1 7/8 adapter and put the female end on the header pipe . I cut about an inch off the length of the male end so I could squeeze it in. I clamped the female side . I started the truck to get it nice and toasty. Then I covered the patch with Furnace Cement. You can buy a quart for $8.63. I used about a pint and the heat sets it in about a half hour.
Tomorrow I'll address the code 51. But all in all the truck has never ran better. It is more responsive and has more power now.

TNRabbit

That's GREAT, Pete! Hope you can run down the code 51 now without too much hassle...

pete f

Yeah Gary I'm real happy with the way it worked out I will take some pictures tomorrow of the cemented cat. The furnace cement works really well.I'm going to paint it with black wood stove paint I have a little left over from when I swapped stoves in the cabin. I bought a new stove so I painted the one I took out with high temp stove paint . I think it will help the patch take the elements of weather.
The fsm says a code 51 is a switch code and it is one of the codes that is retained in the memory of the ECM. I also have to track another gremlin. The sound system was working fine then I lost the equalizer. So I pulled it out to check the power and all I found was a blown 3 amp fuse. I replaced it and got the equalizer back but now nothing shuts off with the key. So I was fiddling and looking and didn't see anything odd. I started pulling sound system fuses ( they are in-line fuses) and found the one to the equalizer. Pulled it and the equalizer now kills with the key but the disc player is on all the time .Only good thing is the memory works now where it never worked in the three years I have owned the truck. I hate Gremlins.

pete f

I'll get a better pic later

pete f

I could only post a fuzzy picture so I decided to give up on posting pictures of the cemented cat. I tried to clear the code 51 but I had no luck. The CEL doesn't come on when I am driving so I'll read some post and search code 51 and try again in the near future.

thook

What's the latest, Pete? Any luck so far?

pete f

Hey Matthew
The truck is running great. Just took a three day job in the city . It ran great. I just got to adjust the idle up a little and that's it. I even got the gremlin in the sound system and that is even back to the way it was before. I'll check the code 51 again after idle adjustment.

pete f

Well after I shoveled snow from the driveway . I decided to fix the idle but first thing I did was check the timing and it had moved from 10*BTDC to below 0*BTDC. So I loosen the hold down bolt and jumped the TE1 and E1. and got it back to 10*BTDC and the idle went back to 800 rpm@ normal operating temp.I did not touch the idle adjustment but I'm not sure why the timing mark moved.
Any input on the timing moving after distributor bolt was tight?

thook

That's great to hear, Pete. Should'a just gotten a new truck, though....lol.

That's a joke. My wife and I have been horsing around with this notion it seems alot of people have of just replacing the whole thing (whatever it is) if it needs more than a bit of work. It's loads of entertainment....

pete f

It almost a new truck LOL.. Any thoughts on my timing moving or does that happen some time?

thook

Not sure, but on my '86 I had that problem until I replaced my TPS. It wasn't as extreme as yours, though. 10* movement seems like a lot.

I'm glad you brought this up. You know I've told about the corrosion on the '92 ECM connector? Well, Don Clarke mentioned this stuff called "Stabilant 22". It's an electronic connection enhancer. Borg-Warner makes it also, although it's called CL-85. The draw back.....it goes for $53 for 10ml. My thinking.....you've had electrical issues...I've had electrical issues....and both have created running problems. What you're dealing with is probably related. What I'm getting at is if I can get the two, three, or even four people to go in a bottle of this stuff it will cut the cost and improve the vehicle electronics. Both would be nice.....considering I won't buy it unless I CAN cut the cost. 10ml would last one person eons, anyway, and I just don't need that much. Would you be interested by chance? DO NOT feel obligated to say yes. It's no major thing.

pete f

Sure any thing for my new truck.....lol I spoke with tnrabbit. He wasn't sure what would do it unless I was on the wrong plug wire ( I wasn't I'm sure of that) or I jumped the wrong pins in the diagnostic . I doubled checked that and I was using the wrong pins. So I jumped the right pins and timing mark was on 8* BTDC. So I re-timed back to 10* BTDC so I'll test drive it on my water haul today and then I'll recheck the timing. I'll pm you about the connector enhancer.
Hmmmmm.... Throttle position sensor mine tested okay but that is in the code 51 I'm getting . Did you test your's before you replaced it?

pete f

Well I took the truck for a ride and it ran great with a little more power . I rechecked the timing and it didn't move but the great news is after I checked my timing I checked the codes and got a steady blink(no malfunctions) woo the code 51 has been cleared . so now for the 1st time in a month and a half I can say it's fixed. That is a good feeling.

thook

Yep. Only it passed all but the throttle angle sweep test found on 4crawler's cheaptricks page......and not in the FSM.

Congratulations on clearing the problems. I know that feeling, too.