After much back and forth arguing i decided to do a full build, my new job assignment more or less requires a truck that is 4wd capable, reliable and gets great MPG.and as such my 99 is well suited minus the missing trans.The problem is the job is in Philly, which is nothing but traffic, mostly going home that is, i'll sit in traffic for the first hour of my drive, once i get out of the construction zone im all good and its highway speeds from there.After a failed attempt at a shift kit install, i sent the kit back to DTt with my VB, where they have been sitting for a few months.I decided to just get a built transmission, i decided on DTT since they already have the shift kit, and Stephan is a site sponsor, plus they are good people to deal with.the question is how do you guys think a fully built trans will handle the drive, plus towing i still tow, and there are opportunities to tow as well as i might buy my first toy hauler as well.I will be adding a Pac Brake on the truck down the road to aid in braking and in warm up.my other question is can a fully built trans handle towing in 4th gear? i used to tow in 4th on level ground with my stocker trans but that might have been part of the problem. i will not like when i say the Camper sticker said that the GVW was 13,900.Now i have hauled before way heavier stuff then this, i just want to know how the built trans will handle the constant double duty as a DD and a heavy hauler.I will be posting videos once this truck is all together again. i miss the sound of my truck

Here is to help dianose the OBDII port problem...

well got another update.

the obd2 port is fine minus the white wire with the black line in it, the SCI or SFI bus. it runs 4.9v and when the heater turns on drop to .17:cry:

also the center ground has issue when checking in reference to the obd2 port. OHM resistance goes from .3 to 1.2 when hvac is turned on.

started working on the truck again today and guess what, it rained:banghead:

the good news is that we have found our short, bad news is that until i can find where the short it in the dash this truck is still grounded.

At this point, the whole dash is taken apart, i have a video showing the issue but my phone refuses to upload it to YouTube. since shooting the video the truck is now in parts, with wiring harnesses taken apart and stripped off the truck like a bunch of vultures at a junk yard.

If i should get youtube to accept my video i'll post it here.

--- Update to the previous post...

Finally got the video to post.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lI3OdrGcTeQhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lI3OdrGcTeQ

I'm still holding to my guns... That it sounds like a ground problem...Take notice both HVAC controls and Instrument cluster are on the same ground...

I always get a kick out of it when a buddy comes over and get's a wiff of my tranny stick.

Well i have found that the resistance in (omega sign one i think ohm) running 200 i can see the resistance step up on the center ground.when the heater controls go on it steps up from .3 to 20.3, 45.2, 60.5, 75.9, now at the blower motor relay thing by the fan motor i see it climb as high as 118 Ohm. Im assuming this is my short, but the fact it steps up makes me think it does this because mike said it grounds out what it wants?I also cleaned all the grounds inside the dash today, they were fairly clean but i polished them anyways. I might try and chase the outside ground tomorrow as well.

well today took a change for better or worse.We tried once again grounding out the HVAC control unit, and yet no results. Removed the Chime box, and removed ABS module, still nothing.The got on the horn with Mike and we cross checked the OBD2 voltages and guess what my White wire Pink strip is running high. Mikes Voltages are ~3.44v on the W/P line and im 4.22v.The i pulled the wiring loom apart in the engine room and checked for resistance or even for a contact to ground none, resistance was .2 (withing limits), then cross checked the other two parts of the wiring harness and same results.then while retesting another theory we pulled the power leads to the blow motor and the truck tripped again. so then we pulled the fuses in the engine room, apparently pulling them causes said error, and now the question is WHY!:banghead:So now were back to square one, but now this only deepens the puzzle even more as to what is going on in this truck.I'm praying that i find the problem soon or im liable to ship the truck to mike and let him play with it:lol:The plan tomorrow is to run a solid separate lead from the fuse box to the blower motor and bypass it in the stock wiring harness. If this doesn't fix the problem then im going to go diving onto the understand to look for anything that is out of place.

Did you do a voltage drop test to ground all all of the circuits. You hood the positive lead on the ohm meter to the ground on the device or circuit that you want to test and then you put the negative lead to a good ground. when you turn on the device, the circuit should read 0 volts. If it shows voltage, the ground is bad.good luck

Yes i have thus far. I started cleaning all of the grounds to the truck from the batteries.However i have since noted another nominally in which the No Bus error happens when you pull the fuses from the blower motor relay and the blower motor fuse in the engine room, replace them and the problem goes away.

So i was on the phone with the service department........

Me: My obd2 scanner will not read my check engine light codes, what is the cost to hook up the DRB3 to my truck?

Them: what kind of scanner is it?

Me: A Smarty.

Them: Sir we cannot hook up our DRB3 tool until you return your obd scanner to stock.

Me: ???????But the programmer won't even connect to read the codes....

Them: Well then the fee is 125 plus tax, and then your truck must be at stock before we will hook it up to read codes.

Me: (Screw this), Thanks have a good day.

Them: (hang up, before i got done saying thanks....)

--- Update to the previous post...

So last night mike and i went over the wiring diagram again, and then it hit me, when the shop installed the Voltage regulator they never reattached the Ignition 5v lead.

So mike and i went over the DTT instructions, and while very vague it doesn't say anywhere to physically cut the 5v lead to the PCM, so last night i went out in a pair of shorts, slippers and a coat to look and sure enough it was cut.

So i today cut the 5 volt lead and re spliced the 5v lead to the PCm (even though it was half ___), and sure enough problem 1 went away.

This just means that the whole time the PCM was going dead because we would pull anything connecting the HVAC system to the PCM @ the AC relay switch thing that goes to the PCM, its a 5v lead thus the only other source of voltage going to the PCM.

problem 2 of the smarty not connecting to the truck, i am still puzzled on, but now knowing the truck is fixable i have moved to now permanently fixing the issue with No. 1 and will work on No.2 shortly, along with the other issues of cleaning up the engine room wiring mess.

Today i started that by cutting off the grounds leaving the cab (off the gauges and such) and ran them to a new ground on the drivers side ground. I have the two gauge grounds going to there directly with a 3rd wire that will go to a tack strip eventually, but for now it will serve its only use which is to now remove some of the 20 + wires chasing through the firewall.

Tomorrow my brother and i will start soldering the wires together, and getting that problem eliminated, the first problem of the smarty not working i will (once the truck is back together) will take it out to either the school, or pepboys etic and see if their code scanner will hook up, if it does and talks to the truck and such i'll move to the next step, back to Bob Wagner to see what he thinks.

When i spoke to Bob yesterday he seemed to think it was a grounding issue, but as for the fix to the shorting on the dash he was unsure.

So the heater issue is fixed?

So the heater issue is fixed?

Yep, that problem is now a part of the past. now the next problem, the dreaded (what i call the Jimbowe syndrome:wow: ) So its been hovering around the 20-30's in the morning, fired the truck up and bam she stalled when i threw it in gear, i was like ZOMG, WTF. A call to DTT yeilded this TSB on the matter... TSB 18-014-01 -Performance Enhancement for Severe Cold Weather Environments (Stalling) Symptoms/Condition: Customers may experience hard starting and/or idle speed fluctuations. Cummins 24-valve engines used with automatic transmissions can be severely effected by the use of sub-grade #1 diesel fuel when ambient temperatures are below 0C (32F), typically prevalent during the winter months in Alaska, Northwestern Canada, and similar climates/temperatures elsewhere. But, after some experimenting today i noticed that if i idle the truck for 2-4 mins in Neutral then put it into a gear she didn't die, and it was the same temp outside today as it was yesterday. (and yes it stalled as well on first try, then i idled it for a few mins then threw it into gear and wham problem solved. So im going to eventually take the truck in for a TSB flash. The only other thing is the truck runs solid, i towed my first trailer with it a 4,000lbs motorcycle trailer, she drives like a big rig, it makes you want to keep driving. she accelerates hard to 2,000rpm then shifts to about 1,600, and continues that run all the way up. But yea i get smoke !, on ever loaded shift in 3 and 4th gear, when ever the engine is below 1,300rpm (give or take), so i have to figure that out as well. I think it might be my hard foot, b3ecause i noticed if i haul heavier (like the motorcycle trailer) then the truck doesn't go that low, but stays in that 1,600-2,000 rpm zone. Will upload a video of the driving later for inquiring minds.

I think smarty has a cold weather flash, if you can get it to connect.