edcasey

Before the Prodigy came out, it was my Brake controller of choice. I still have them in both my personal vehicles. The Prodigy is a little easier to use because you don't have to set the level and the digital display is better than the LED but if it works I wouldn't replace it. Here is a link to the installation and adjustment manual. http://www.marksrv.com/brake_control/voyager_manual.pdf

Is it this one?

I've always been a big fan of Tekonsha products. I've probably installed a couple thousand of them over the years. For the price, Tekonsha Prodigy's are hard to beat. I've also have installed about 30 BrakeSmart's. They are a hard sell because of the price but the performance is awesome. The hydraulic sensor system is much, much smoother and consistent than an inertial or time activated brake controller. Once you tow a trailer with a BrakeSmart (I have no experience with MaxBrakes), you'll find the performance of other brake controllers to be disappointing. If you don't mind spending spending the money, they are the way to go.

Great idea for a new forum. I spent 15 years working as a Master certified RV tech and service manager. Unfortunately, the industry went down the drain, in my area, when the economy took a nose dive. 10 years ago I built a cargo conversion camper (hard to believe it's been that long) with all the parts I had piled in my garage.

Your new write-up looks great. This is one of the best mods I've done. Easy to install, inexpensive and fixes both problems with the puke bottle.

The problem is that there where several different turbos used on our trucks depending of the year. Here are some examples but there are many more part numbers. TC-HX35-3539373 TC-HX35W-3533318 1996-1997 5.9L (180hp) Auto TC-HX35W-3592428 2001-up Dodge Ram 2500.Cummins Diesel Turbocharged truck (old body style);Transmission NV4500 5spd standard TC-HY35W-03-07 2003-2007 Ram 3500 Series 2WD Dually Cummins 5.9L 24 Valve Intercooled Turbo; DSL; 6 spd. standard 2004-2007 5.9 Liter 474516 and 4036551 TC-HY35W-3587088 Cummins 24Valve Engine Turbo Here's some excellent info on the turbos used in our trucks: http://www.turbo-mopar.com/forums/vbarticles.php?do=article&articleid=122

If you're like me and have a 2000 auto and don't know which turbo you have, here are a few pics of the HY vs. HX

You will have no more fuel volume entering your injection pump with 1/2 inch fuel line vs. 3/8 inch fuel line. You definitely do not need a Drawstraw.

Just remember the pressure to open the overflow valve comes from the internal vane pump not the lift pump. The lift pump wont push fuel through the VP44 when it's running. The little bit of fuel that circulates through the VP44 with the engine off is back feeding through the internal regulator. This wont happen with the engine running.

You should see a P1688 if you experience this failure. You don't need to do any reprogramming. If the transistor is bad, new ones aren't expensive even thou they are only available through Bosch (made in Spain). I would recommend having the part replaced by a qualified technician as it is a little tricky. When my injection pump failed, I attempt to collect as much information as I could about the VP44. I found information in America about the VP44 difficult to find. However, in Europe where VP44's are more common, information is easier to come by. These pumps are used by Audi, Volkswagen, Skoda, Ford, Opel, Vauxhall, Chevrolet, Saab, Nissan, BMW, Volvo, MITSUBISHI, MG, MAN.... For instance, in Europe the transistor in the pictures I posted above is sometimes replaced by a better quality component. Here's a video of the procedure. You may not understand the audio but you get the idea of what the repair involves.

These pictures show the connection failure that is common in the switching circuit of the pcu. This one shows the circuit repaired

I often use Rotella but had stopped because of the smell after an oil change. Since adding Mike's crankcase vent mod I tried it again and had no smell.

A company can write any requirement they want into a warranty but the requirements may violate state law. Some states have laws preventing the requirement of warranty registration of any kind (cards, on-line,ect). For instance, California Civil Code Section 1793.1 states any warranty registration card or any electronic online warranty or product registration form must contain a statement that "Informs the consumer that failure to complete and return the card or form does not diminish his or her warranty rights." A call to your state Attorney General's office is a good idea if your refused warranty for any reason.

It's not a dumb question at all. The science of fluid mechanics tells us running dual fuel pumps (assuming they are identical pumps) in parallel would not increase the fuel system fuel pressure compared to running a single pump but would potentially double the volume output of the fuel system. Realistically, in a closed system, fuel volume delivered to the injection pump would only increase if one pump had insufficient volume output to satisfy fuel requirements. It's very similar to electrical pressure (voltage). If you run two 12 volt batteries in parallel, voltage remains 12 volts but the capacity (amp hours) will double. If you run two 12 volt batteries in series, the voltage doubles but capacity remains the same as one battery. Dual fuel pumps are very common in high performance gasoline applications that require high fuel volume and high fuel pressure. Many companies make dual fuel pump kits for these applications. However, on our trucks with relatively low pressure requirements, in most cases, it makes more sense use one high volume, low pressure pump. A complete Raptor kit will cost less than buying and plumbing two lower volume pumps (Carter, Holley,ect). I'm probably one of the few people who has two fuel pumps plumbed in parallel in a CTD application. However, I only run one pump at a time because one pump provides more than enough fuel flow to supply the VP44. Running both pumps at once provides no advantage. The only reason I have two pumps in parallel is for redundancy. If one pump was to fail, I simply throw a toggle switch on the dash to change pumps. I use my truck to pick up wholesale campers all over the Northeast and a failed fuel pump can be very expensive (tow bill, lost time, hotel room ect...). My fuel system:

I wish I had his air setup and air bags. Maybe this winter. I'm looking forward to Koyote's write-up.

I'm also thinking of an on-board air system. I was inspired by 1speed on Expedition portal forum. He also did an airbag setup along with a ton of other stuff: Jim is a great guy and built his truck for off-road use. The build thread is 37 pages long but if you got a few hours to kill.... The air system starts on page 25. Yes, it is a Cummins. Here's the thread: http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=25237

Thanks!!! Those are easy to follow.

That actually is a stock replacement pump. It's a Carter 4943048 made by Carter for Cummins and also marketed by Alliant Power. It's the third generation of the Carter that was original equipment in our trucks.

Mike the fuel from the inlet enters the vane pump first. From there, the low pressure fuel goes to the timing device and pressure solenoid / distributor shaft. The passage that the wire goes through last in your picture is where excess fuel from the pressure regulator returns fuel to the vane pump to be recirculated. It is also the passage from the timing device that returns fuel to the vane pump. The only fuel that exits out the overflow (outlet) is excess fuel from the distributor shaft / pressure solenoid (which comes from the vane pump). There just is no way for an external fuel pump to force fuel through the VP44 and out the overflow.

Mike, if I understand what you're saying correctly, the second hole to the right that you can see the wire going to is the one that delivers fuel to the vane pump. Fuel enters threw the hole to the left (where the wire has a spade connector) and exits out the second hole into the input area for the vane pump. The hole to the right isn't connected to the fuel return port (overflow).

The fuel heater only keeps the fuel in the stock canister from gelling. It wont stop the fuel in the Airdog filters from gelling. If you remove the stock canister, you remove the need for the stock fuel heater.

Thanks Mike! I'm about half way done with a write-up on installing a Walbro 392 fuel system including the pluses and minuses of such a system and the parts necessary to put it together. Unfortunately, it's been slow going because I have been very busy at work and haven't had much free time. I'm also thinking of doing a write-up on the physics of a fuel system or more specifically the flow of a fluid. I studied fluid dynamics many years ago and with a short review I should remember the math involved.

Last year I had a serious problem with my puke bottle that ended with the installation of Mike's crankcase mod. I started a thread about it on CF -should-have-lost-my-puke-bottle-long-ago After that, I received about 8 million (give or take) PM's asking questions about Mike's crankcase mod. So I posted this to try to answer most of the questions: "Since I posted this write-up a couple of months ago and Mopar1973Man put it on his website, I've gotten quite a few PM's with questions. I thought I would try to answer them all here. The most common question is what size pipe and hose to use. The pipe is 1/2" PVC and the hose is 3/4" I.D. heater hose. Make sure you get 1/2" PVC not CPVC (usually cream colored) because their dimensions are not the same. A foot of 3/4" heater hose is plenty. The heater hose slides easily over the crankcase vent nipple but the PVC has an outside diameter of almost 7/8" so it has to be stretched a little to fit over. I used a little soap and it slid on without a major fight. You could use a different type of hose but be careful to check the inside dimension because some vinyl hose is sold by the outside diameter. For the rear 90 degree bend (the one that goes down behind the engine), Mike used a couple of threaded fittings. This makes it easier to install and you don't have to worry about getting glue on your motor. It's also easier to remove if you have to do motor work. There are several fitting you could use for this. I used a 90 degree elbow that has female thread on one side (costs 36 cents) and a straight fitting with male threads (costs 31 cents). Another question is the affect of heat on the pipe and black paint. Both are unaffected by the engine heat. I used paint made specifically for plastic. It's been my experience that this paint wont peel and is harder to scratch than regular spray paint. I recommend scuffing the shine off of the pipe with some fine sand paper even if the paint directions say you don't have to. I find it sticks better that way. The plastic paint is more expensive than regular spray paint but I had some in my shed so I used it. Being a cheap S.O.B, I probably would have bought a can of 99 cent Home Depot spray paint if I had to buy it. I recommend Mopar1973Man's crankcase mod to everyone who has a puke bottle on their truck. It is one of the best mods I've done. It's also very cheap. The pipe is $1.03 for a 10 foot piece and the fittings are 25 to 50 cents a piece. This is what I used: 1/2" PVC pipe (usually sold in 10' lengths) 3 - 90 degree elbows 1 - 90 degree SOC X FPT 1 - male adapter SOC X MPT PVC Cement sand paper 1 foot heater hose or similar 3/4" I.D. hose 2 hose clamps to fit over the heater hose paint"

The threads on the VP44 and fuel filter housing are both 12mm http://www.vulcanperformance.com/Metric-Adapter-06-JIC-X-12mm-p/m1206.htm. There has been quite a bit of debate about the size. Some people run 06 and some run 08. I run 06 (3/8 inch I.D. fuel line) with an 80 gph pump (at 15 psi) through the stock fuel pickup and my pressure never falls more than 2 psi.