Bruce Amacker

I've got pictures of a truck dash opened up with DOZENS of Scotchlocks crimped into the wiring. Ugh!

Going through "the change"?

Years ago with Fords we had to do a "Hard Reset". This was when the PCM was making some bad decisions and needed a fresh start, similar to a Windows reboot. This was more than a reboot, though. It's when a KAM reset wasn't working and fuel trims were wacked out beyond belief. The short fix was pulling the battery cable and pushing on the brake pedal to drain the capacitors and prevent the PCM from remembering anything. (basically a KAM reset) But there were plenty of oddball vehicles that wouldn't respond to that and needed the battery cables disconnected and clamped together overnight to completely erase the PCM's memory. IIRC, this was more pre-OBD2 than later cars. I have no idea what was wrong with these trucks, but if I had to make a wild guess, I might say there was excess EMI/RFI/ACV or "chip" irregularities pissing off the PCM and it needed a fresh reboot. Even static electricity could have played a part in these trucks. Greg, If you are monitoring the EGRT_A PID while the engine is cold the value will read 140ºF until the EGR Temperature exceeds that reading. Don't let that fool you if you are diagnosing the EGR system. Your reading was normal.

There's so much bullshit in that ad I don't know where to start. First, the testimonial from "Jeff W." is comparing this "wonderful" 203* stat to a BROKEN 195* stat. Gee, I wonder why his heater works and the truck runs better now. It's because he has Shit for brains. Second, quote: Factory equipped 192F/195F thermostat will maintain an operating temperature at approximately 165F-170F. Bullshit. The downfall to this is that the engine -- when our trucks are not under load --never begins to reach its optimal operating temperature. Whaaaat? What have they been smoking? Have they been watching their temp gauges? IDS Datalogger shows them reaching temp idling in the bay. WTF is wrong with these people? The end result of installing the 203F thermostat should be slightly better fuel economy, less smoke, and maybe a few extra "ponies" to go along with it. OMG. If we tell them it will give more HP, they will be sure to buy it. "See this new car wax? It will make your car go FASTER!" Cylinders can seize, freeze plugs can fall out and other normal symptoms of an overheating engine may occur. Worst case is a blown motor and it won't be covered under warranty. Warranty? On a 7.3? When was this written? When did you ever see freeze plugs "fall out" from overheating? I've seen some fucking TOASTED engines, and never a freeze plug "fall out". WARRANTY INFORMATION: 90 days on manufacturing defects and workmanship only. There are no other warranties, written or implied. Yea, 90 days. This is a quality part, man. As with the OEM thermostat requirements, we recommend that you change your thermostat out once per year to insure proper functioning of the unit. I've never seen the OEM recommend changing a stat every year. And, at $36 each you'll keep the company in the black that way. I called IH and they show $26 for the older stat and $30 for the newer stat. This is pure bullshit and the reason I rarely visit those types of websites. Maybe Joe Dickhead sucks down that crap and believes it, but not me. It's scary what people will believe.

Did you happen to check the ICPV KOEO before hanging one? (Is should be .18-.24v) Seeing high ICPV/ICP KOEO in a no-start with no DTC's is not unusual. If you're screwing around, you could plug it back into the harness and check ICPV....

I doubt there is an operating difference in a 195/203° stat. My guess is the difference is driven by the marketing department. In the T444E section of ISIS, it states: Two different thermostats available for this engine model. One has a "START-TO-OPEN" temperature of 89°C (192°F) and a "FULL-OPEN" temperature of 104°C (219°F). The other has a "START-TO-OPEN" temperature of 82°C (179°F) and a "FULL-OPEN" temperature of 95°C (203°F). I doubt many of the hotter stats made it into production, as IH derates HP and fuel delivery starting at 214F: Coolant Temperature Compensation - At coolant temperatures greater than 214°F (101°C) full load fuel quantity is reduced by approximately 6% for each degree of temperature (°C), until engine temperature reaches 218° F (103°C) . Above 218° F (103°C) fuel is reduced by 3% for each °C increase in temperature. Maybe the hotter stat is for school bus use in cold climates? Buses have a shitload of acreage to warm up, with no insulation. They have huge BTU heaters in the back of the buses with 1" heater hoses feeding them. I'll ask the parts guy the next time I see him....

Several things come to mind- Is the PCM getting good power and ground? Does RPM show in datalogger while cranking? Does it run the KOEO test successfully, and are things clicking during the test? What DTC's show up? If there are no codes, can you force a code? What's your cranking RPM- it should be 215 warm, 175 minimum. Weak batteries will cause all kinds of freaky problems. FICM Sync usually comes before Sync, for some reason. No SYNC and no RPM signal is usually a CKP problem. No SYNC with an RPM signal may be the CMP. Rust under the CMP could cause your problem. Change SYNC and FICM sync into a bar graph and check it for being erratic. Good Luck!

Little boys worldwide will be safe now. I still remember Farrah's poster from the '70's.

Wow, that's really something. I'll check it out at WallyLand next time I'm there....

I've got one of those mini laptops (Asus EE PC), but it has just one function- GPS. I keep it in the car with MS Streets and Trips loaded on it, which is my savior when traveling. The screen is bigger than my portable GPS and has way more functionality. If you're young and your eyes are good, it might work for IDS. As you get older, you'll appreciate a larger screen. If you do get a mini laptop (without a hard drive) for IDS, watch the size of the flash drive. Mine is only 4gb or so on the main drive plus the 4gb card I put in. I saw a mini advertised with 16gb flash the other day. My IDS folder is over 3gb because of all of the calibrations in it.

Jim: Good story, much more than I could pull from the top of my head. Brad: I did a class in rural NC and could not understand a word the techs were saying between themselves. It was funny to see how they treated a Yankee- when they spoke to me, they turned their heads to me as if I were deaf and spoooookkkke veeeerrrrryyyyy slllloooooowwwwwlllllyyyyy. There were a few times when I still could not understand the speaker and another tech would "chime in" as an interpreter. I know a trainer from Tennessee that bought a voice recognition program for automatically typing as he spoke. What a disaster that was!

Hey Jim! How was your trip?

You won't be able to buy a PC with XP from a major retailer unless they unload Vista and reload XP (which has been an option in the past). Like I said, XP is on the tail end of its availability so getting it could be a problem. I only did the unload/reload thing once, and it did not turn out well. Many of the (automatically installed) drivers in XP were not there, requiring much grief for basic shit like a MS mouse, internet, GPS driver, etc. Full blown XP takes up something like 15 gig of space, which is mostly drivers for every widget on the face of the earth. (this is a good thing) Ask some people about a referral on local PC builders. There's usually one in every suburb around here.... Good Luck!

I've seen as low as 7mph and 9mph average, one in an ambulance and the other a P&D truck.....

Yep, a whopping blowout that I won't forget soon. Vista should be fine with IDS, I think it's in the Tech Notes, but I'd suggest that you have a laptop built for you with XP Pro or Home. Find a local PC shop with some good geeks and it will actually be better and cheaper than the big box stores, with better tech support. Believe me. I have bought several dozen new PCs in the last decade, and have about 10 working laptops bought since 2003 with XPP. XPP is going away sometime soon and I bought a couple of sealed copies for my next endeavor. MS finally got the bugs worked out of it and it's a really good OS. Why screw with success? Our automotive industry runs several years behind the rest of the world when it comes to PC compatibility. There are many auto programs that struggle with Vista, IE7, and the latest version of anything. Scan tool programs, ISIS, etc. have given me real fucking grief. Even IDS gave me a giant assache when it was released. I'm a glutton and gotta be the first schmuck to have everything, so I end up being the guinea pig that burns the tech support line up trying to get my shit working correctly. I'm partial to HP/Compaq laptops and had a really bad experience with Dell. I have gone to "custom" towers built by the local PC store. My latest towers have a terabyte, 4 gig, dual burners, 2.3g processors, and cost $1200 with a 3 year P&L warranty. That's several hundred less than Best Buy without the warranty. All XPP, of course. Just for the record I still really hate Vista........

Brit English: I was riding down the M25 on the way to my barrister's when my lorrie broke down and my mobile was dead. I was having a fa g when a fitter happened by in an artic and said that my gudgeon pin had failed and it was recovery time. Translation: I was riding down I-75 on the way to my attorney's when my truck broke down and my cell phone was dead. I was having a cigarette when a mechanic happened by in a semi and said that my wrist pin had failed and it was tow truck time. In the US we have attorneys, in the UK they have barristers and solicitors. One is above the other, like a lower end attorney and a higher end attorney, but I can't remember which. Now you know why I have to ask my Brit buddy to slow down.... In Australia, it's amusing to see body shop signs. Instead of "Joe's Body and Paint", they read, "Joe's Panel Beating and Spraying". That was fucking funny, and all of them were like that. Hey Keith- what's the deal? The electronic forum Nazi will let me say fuck but not fa g without the space? The forum Nazi must be gay.....

Because there's just enough difference between the French spoken in France and French spoken in Canada to cause confusion. The same goes for Spanish in Mexico vs. Spain, vs. Cuba vs. the Caribbean, etc. I have a friend who works in the Texas court system and she has translators for every Spanish dialect so there is no confusion in court. Have you been to England, Australia, New Zealand, or Belize? English is the national language in all of them, but believe me, there will be some comprehension problems on occasion if you go there. In a technical sense it could be VERY confusing. I have a truck tech buddy in Britain who I speak with regularly and I still have to stop him on occasion and ask for an explanation of a term or word he has used. When I'm in the deep south in the US I can't understand what the hell they're saying, like in Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, etc.....

You're right on the edge. If you look at the chart, it OK's 10W30 up to 90 degrees, but not pulling a trailer. Where is the truck parked at night- inside (heated), unheated, outside, and how many miles do you drive per year? Is it a daily driver, or just for hauling stuff? Is it really that much of an inconvenience to dump the oil twice a year? Nothing like being grilled over a simple question, eh?

'69.

Building a 2180 for the Ghia.....

Silly question: This: Has been replaced by this: Right? Thanks!

Mail, fax, hand deliver, whatever you want. Turbo Training PO Box 361584 Strongsville, Ohio 44136 fax-330-220-7404 (but I won't get them for a while because the fax machine is at Secretary #1's house and she goes on vacation tomorrow morning for 2 weeks). Mail would probably be the quickest way to get them to me, or scan, PDF, and e-mail. Lunch is on me, however you choose. THANKS!

Because you want to include the complete circuit in your test. If you put your alligator clip on the cable eyelet (on the starter), you omit the connection between the cable eyelet and the starter stud itself. This is a very common source of problems- there may be several items stacked up on the starter stud, increasing the resistance even without corrosion, and giving corrosion many places to grow. I had a brand new F750/Cummins no-start in the driveway of my shop, blocking the doorway. This truck wasn't two months old! The truck happened to be the "ride back" for dropping off another truck for service. The shiny new starter stud had a shiny new cable and shiny new nut on it, but was not tightened properly at the factory (probably a union guy!). It arced between the cable, nut, and stud so badly the nut was welded in place on the stud and refused to budge. I had to whizzer wheel the nut in half and split it off the stud, run a die over the starter stud threads, and gasket whizzer the cable ends (there were several fusible link feeds present there, IIRC). A new nut and a blob of chassis grease to prevent corrosion, and he was on his way. One of the most important things to learn is to not trust your vision when testing connections- voltage drop is the only true test. Like I said, I've seen plenty of connections that looked spiffy with a wicked high voltage drop. You will, too, once you start doing VD's regularly. Good Luck!

Yes, correct. To VD the positive side, put one DVOM lead on the positive POST (not the cable clamp!) and the other end on the starter STUD (not the cable eyelet!), set the meter on DCV, and have your buddy run the starter for 5 seconds. A really good one will measure .2v or less, .5v is the Ford spec. If it's above .5, take all of the connections apart and whizzer wheel them, and retest. Polarity on the meter doesn't really matter (red lead or black lead) but if it's backwards it will measure -.5v instead of .5v. To do the negative side it's just about identical- one lead on the negative POST, one lead on the aluminum starter case, and crank it 5 seconds. Getting on the battery post is a bit of a challenge itself- I know an old codger that drills a small hole in the lead post itself, puts a small self tapping screw into the top of the post, and uses that for his ground source. I've seen really weird fucking stuff that would blow your mind- alternators bolted tight that weren't grounded, starters bolted tight that weren't grounded, cables that looked LIKE NEW that had 3v of drop, BRAND NEW batteries that were fucking junk. 3 or 4 starters in a row from the parts store that were NFG. I'm old, (but not as old as Grampa) and I've seen it all. Getting your ass kicked really hard teaches you to do the diagnostics CORRECTLY. Don't shortcut! It takes less time in the long run and gives you a warm fuzzy when you can look the parts guy in the face and say, "That NEW part you gave me is NO F'ING GOOD", and be willing to bet money on it when you say it. Be the best at electrical problems, and everyone in the shop will admire you....

Does anyone have the "5 page" set of instructions still laying around? I'm kind of pissed that I didn't get them. I gotta teach this stuff, and I gotta know what I'm doing. I spent $250ish on that oil cooler that will likely never even go into a truck.... Thanks!