After 18 years of interesting CTD enthusiasts and transmission specialty outlets all contributing their method, or fix, to the well known TC lock unlock syndrome, I can no longer remain silent.

 

Extensive review of many posts regarding TC lock unlock, the rerouting methodes, the add on filters for APPS and last, but not least,...the "tin-foil hat" brigade. I do realize that each individual or company that contributed to the vast amount of information on the web had good intentions and I must acknowledge that some of the procedures caused me to closely examine what these people were trying to do. I believe it is well known that even a blind mouse occasionally finds a morsel of cheese.

 

Again, as it is well known @Mopar1973Man  was the only entity who positively identified the instigating source of this key issue. My entry today is not about alternators...it is about what Daimler/Chrysler did in regard to production of these Cummins powered platforms and the complete disregard of common sense Electronic Engineering.  Please note, this applies to automatic and manual transmissions as each platform is plagued in the same manor with different quirks. 

 

This Blk/Tan #8 gage wire is quite critical in the scheme of things. It is contained within a 1" plastic conduit passing along the front of the engine. It contains water temp sensor leads, air conditioning leads, alternator/PCM leads and the #6 gage alternator charge line to the PDC. This #8 gage Blk/Tan passes over the top/backend of the alternator and is "eventually" connected to the Auxiliary Battery (passenger side) negative terminal.

  

This snapshot of the Factory Service manual documents "four critical ground leads" that are "spliced" in an unconventional method.

 

This photo depicts the three #18 gage wires and the single #14 gage wire entering the shrink-tubing where the "crush-splice" occurs. This bundle exits the large plastic conduit below the VP44

 

This again is a most disturbing depiction of the Daimler/Chrysler method of splicing critical ground leads and then routing this across the top of the alternator and "eventually" bringing this to ground reference. 

 

This photo depicts where this #8 gage Blk/Tan first connects on the way to "eventual" ground...yes this is the Auxiliary Battery tray connector. Please note: it is spliced again and joins the PCM circuit board grounds...which are critical in their own nature...and "eventually" terminate at the negative post of the Auxiliary Battery's negative terminal.  

 

This photo is very interesting, it is the Factory Service manual and the assembly line documentation follows this as a road map in the matrix during production. Please NOTE the title "NAME" to each battery...I looked at this for a considerable amount of time before I realized the assembly line coordinators tried to work with the documentation from the Engineering Staff to "make it as it looks"...Could this single oversight be the reason of a four foot ten inch critical ground wire combination traveling the distance to "EVENTUALLY" terminate at ground? From a basic engineering standpoint regarding ground...you "NEVER CHOOSE THE PATH OF EVENTUAL GROUND" !!! 

 

It is to be the shortest and most concise connection in reference to ground...this is biblical in ALL ELECTRONICS...including pickup trucks.  !

 

Here is the Factory Service manual documenting the PCM circuit board reference ground starting as a pair of #14 gage wires being spliced into a #10 gage bundle and arriving at the Auxiliary Battery through another connector that joins a #8 gage wire that is "splice-joined" under plastic conduit in a Y configuration joining the rouge #8 gage "after passing over the alternator" traversing the entire engine compartment from the driver side of the vehicle. Seriously 

 

I have been drinking excessively, most recently, due to the nature of this blatant discovery.   

 

This is the hidden Y splice at the Auxiliary Battery where the "mess" EVENTUALLY terminates for ground reference.

 

This photo shows the correct "HOLE" of where to apply ground for the VP44, ECM and the PDC...note the logical location

 

It took a little research to find the size and proper thread-pitch.

 

Metric M5 with a 5/16" hex head is perfect

 

This is where you apply a fresh "quality" #6 gage ground and terminate this at the Main Battery negative post on the drivers side for absolute ground reference for the VP44 and ECM 

 

This is a very short and concise reference to ground.

 

This is the corrected procedure for a rather critical ground.

 

The two largest wires originally contained within the 1 inch conduit are no longer present and located well away from the alternator.

 

My alternator B+ "charge" line is now a #4 gage line directly connected to the Auxiliary Battery and when my new battery terminals arrive and they are secured, I'll provide photos of a completed Master Power Supply System within this engine bay. 

 

With these corrections, I would hypothesize that a poor ripple specification on a given alternator would be overcome by the immense capacitance of the parallel batteries and would become less prone to causing the dreaded TC lock/unlock for automatics and cruise-control abnormalities for the manual transmission platforms. 

 

The #8 gage Blk/Tan passing over the alternator as an "EVENTUAL" ground is gone...the PCM, ECM, VP44 and the PDC are now grounded in accordance of standard Electronic Engineering practices.

 

Respectfully

W-T  

Edited September 3, 20195 yr by IBMobile
spelling

 I just got thru doing @W-T ground mod. Not complete however, I lack the ground between the 2 batteries and did not remove all of the splices on the PCM ground. Those will have to wait, not long I hope. I did just as @W-T and @IBMobile describe. All went well and when I fired it up everything ran hot straight and normal. 

 Now the thing that surprised was the ac voltage reading on the alternator. Prior to this I had marginal reading of .035. After the mod I have a reading of .010. I was expecting a difference but not that much on the same alternator. It took me a lot longer than @IBMobiledid, but I expected that. Whenever I do something I am not used to doing I move pretty slow and deliberate.   

 I would be interested in knowing if anyone else that has done this is seeing that much improvement on the ac voltage.

Man I wish someone would do this on my truck for me!

3 hours ago, dripley said:

 I just got thru doing @W-T ground mod. Not complete however, I lack the ground between the 2 batteries and did not remove all of the splices on the PCM ground. Those will have to wait, not long I hope. I did just as @W-T and @IBMobile describe. All went well and when I fired it up everything ran hot straight and normal. 

 Now the thing that surprised was the ac voltage reading on the alternator. Prior to this I had marginal reading of .035. After the mod I have a reading of .010. I was expecting a difference but not that much on the same alternator. It took me a lot longer than @IBMobiledid, but I expected that. Whenever I do something I am not used to doing I move pretty slow and deliberate.   

 I would be interested in knowing if anyone else that has done this is seeing that much improvement on the ac voltage.

I will be doing mine in the next week or 2 i will take before and after reading at alternator and both batteries

8 hours ago, Marcus2000monster said:

Man I wish someone would do this on my truck for me!

If I can you can do it, and I despise wiring. But I do know that to see 500k out of her, I am going to have to get educated on this side of things.

15 minutes ago, dripley said:

If I can you can do it, and I despise wiring. But I do know that to see 500k out of her, I am going to have to get educated on this side of things.

I hope to get that or more! Currently at 129 got a ways to go! 

36 minutes ago, dripley said:

If I can you can do it, and I despise wiring. But I do know that to see 500k out of her, I am going to have to get educated on this side of things.

 

You'll make it. Even without the education on electrical. You are at what 4xxk miles? I'm chasing you down at 340k miles now and still rolling. 

26 minutes ago, Mopar1973Man said:

 

You'll make it. Even without the education on electrical. You are at what 4xxk miles? I'm chasing you down at 340k miles now and still rolling. 

439.5k. I will make it, but some electrical education cant hurt.

3 minutes ago, dripley said:

439.5k. I will make it, but some electrical education cant hurt.

I am right there with you Dripley. I am only 31, and some of the electrical knowledge on here blows me away, but  thanks to all of those who take the time to explain, and pictures help.

29 minutes ago, dripley said:

439.5k. I will make it, but some electrical education cant hurt.

 

As long as you don't let the magic smoke out of the wires your doing good...

 

Now we come around full circle again. Dodge managed to produce a charging system with loads in excess of what the alternator can handle and let "The Magic Smoke" out of the alternator diodes. 

 

 

My previous post was in jest but also holds some merit... 

14 hours ago, dripley said:

 I just got thru doing @W-T ground mod. Not complete however, I lack the ground between the 2 batteries and did not remove all of the splices on the PCM ground. Those will have to wait, not long I hope. I did just as @W-T and @IBMobile describe. All went well and when I fired it up everything ran hot straight and normal. 

 Now the thing that surprised was the ac voltage reading on the alternator. Prior to this I had marginal reading of .035. After the mod I have a reading of .010. I was expecting a difference but not that much on the same alternator. It took me a lot longer than @IBMobiledid, but I expected that. Whenever I do something I am not used to doing I move pretty slow and deliberate.   

 I would be interested in knowing if anyone else that has done this is seeing that much improvement on the ac voltage.

That is a cool result showing how important this mod really is. Thank you Dripley I hope others report their A/C noise before and after as well.

 

BTW, you did not seem too chicken to do it...lol. If nothin' fries then your good to go.

3 hours ago, Mopar1973Man said:

 

As long as you don't let the magic smoke out of the wires your doing good...

 

Now we come around full circle again. Dodge managed to produce a charging system with loads in excess of what the alternator can handle and let "The Magic Smoke" out of the alternator diodes. 

 

 

My previous post was in jest but also holds some merit... 

First thing i did was disconnect the batteries. Then checked and rechecked everything to be sure it wasmright and i had not picked up a not for ground somewhere or a ground for a hot. Trust (me), but verify(me the electrician). Burning wires and electronics would have been a major set back.

 

4 hours ago, Red Rambler said:

I am right there with you Dripley. I am only 31, and some of the electrical knowledge on here blows me away, but  thanks to all of those who take the time to explain, and pictures help.

This is why I hang around this place. Learned a lot from these folks here. Great bunch.

 

5 hours ago, Marcus2000monster said:

I hope to get that or more! Currently at 129 got a ways to go! 

Pretty easy for me to rack the miles up. I am back to near 1000 a week again getting back and forth to work.

 

3 hours ago, JAG1 said:

That is a cool result showing how important this mod really is. Thank you Dripley I hope others report their A/C noise before and after as well.

 

BTW, you did not seem too chicken to do it...lol. If nothin' fries then your good to go.

I just checked it again after arriving here in Maryland and it still sits at .010v ac. Another thing i noticed was the charge in the batteries seems a bit higher. I usually see 12.45v at best. I checked today and see 12.65v. I will try to remember to check it in the morning after it sits all night.

 

BTW I chickened out on it last weekend and just bit the bullet and did it this week end. So far nothing has fried, not even the chicken.

15 minutes ago, dripley said:

First thing i did was disconnect the batteries. Then checked and rechecked everything to be sure it wasmright and i had not picked up a not for ground somewhere or a ground for a hot. Trust (me), but verify(me the electrician). Burning wires and electronics would have been a major set back.

 

This is why I hang around this place. Learned a lot from these folks here. Great bunch.

 

Pretty easy for me to rack the miles up. I am back to near 1000 a week again getting back and forth to work.

 

I just checked it again after arriving here in Maryland and it still sits at .010v ac. Another thing i noticed was the charge in the batteries seems a bit higher. I usually see 12.45v at best. I checked today and see 12.65v. I will try to remember to check it in the morning after it sits all night.

 

BTW I chickened out on it last weekend and just bit the bullet and did it this week end. So far nothing has fried, not even the chicken.

So when this truck dies are you gonna get another 24 valve or a newer truck?

30 minutes ago, Marcus2000monster said:

So when this truck dies are you gonna get another 24 valve or a newer truck?

My youngest son is driving to the grave yard in this one. But, as he put it, it better be running right or he is calling ahead and telling them to "dig a bigger hole". Feel the love!!!

On 4/22/2018 at 9:26 AM, Marcus2000monster said:

@W-T Please tell us how you keep your engine bay so clean! It’s amazing! And good work my friend! 

 

Simple, he cleaned it and then never drove it. Ask him he doesn't really use his truck much. 

Edited April 23, 20186 yr by Mopar1973Man

32 minutes ago, dripley said:

My youngest son is driving to the grave yard in this one. But, as he put it, it better be running right or he is calling ahead and telling them to "dig a bigger hole". Feel the love!!!

Haha must be a well loved truck.

1 hour ago, Mopar1973Man said:

 

Simple, he cleaned it and then never drove it. Ask him he doesn't really use his truck much. 

Your almost right. You left out the part where he backed into a giant zip lock bag. 

 

Dripley you must get to camp sometime and teach me how to do 'beer can chicken'. All I know is its not the one where your apprehension to do wiring causes you to drink more beer. lol

8 minutes ago, JAG1 said:

Dripley you must get to camp sometime and teach me how to do 'beer can chicken'. All I know is its not the one where your apprehension to do wiring causes you to drink more beer. lol

Never done beer can chicken. Usually when I cook chicken you have make chicken salad out of it. You need plenty of mayo to help you swallow it. Tastes good just a little on the dry side.

 

 As far as the wiring once I knew I had a grip on it I allowed myself pre victory beers.

And on the beer can chicken I do know it is most important to be sure you don't use a full, unopened can of beer. That is unless you like space chicken.

Has anyone made a complete parts list to modify and install this awesome upgrade to the charging system?

 

I'd like to only make one trip to the parts house since it's 40 miles round trip away from my town.

 

Thanks,

Doug

Edited May 20, 20186 yr by 99_Cummins_4x4

From seeing @IBMobile truck most of it is small hardware like ring terminals and a bolt. Now IBMobile did buy fresh cable for the alternator and the ground strap. You can recycle the old ground cable and the old charge lead just as well. So basically the section of cable you chop off at the splice you can reuse for the ground strap from the bolt under the VP44 to the Driver side battery. The old charge lead can be shortened up and reused from the alternator to the passenger side battery to the positive terminal. Again this comes down to the bolt for the ground terminal under the VP44, ring terminals, at the most if you opt for larger cable then length of cable.