ISX

I have confidence that it will work and run and everything as it should, but the wires are just splicing too much. Dodge puts so many wires together that it is almost impossible to have wires that go from one thing to another. Instead they go from one thing to another making several pitstops. I have tracked all the wires down, fixing all that BS as best I could but some things are just tied into too many things. I know what needs to be done to fix it all but it will take a lot of time. I think I will just lower my standards a bit and call this good. I am going to be doing a lot of dirt bike riding and I already had to have the guy I ride with pull our trailer this last weekend. I have another one this weekend and I need my truck for it. I am so close to being done now, the hard parts are pretty well done. Well there wasn't really any hard parts, just parts that look crappier than others. I can hide it all but I don't believe in hiding stuff, I think the stuff behind the scenes should look just as good as the stuff in front of the curtain. Anyways I just got back from the dirt bike trip and will work on it little by little all week and hopefully be done by sunday. Thanks for all the support guys! It is definitely a time problem. I have money since I am working so much that I don't have the time.. I could have had it done weeks ago but I get bummed out on stuff that could potentially not go how I want (like this). I'll get it done though and hide it all and it should all be good. Not perfect, but good.

Sooo, uhh, I'm still working on this thing :ahhh:Was gonna get it done yesterday but that didn't happen. The more I look at it the more I want to stop and redo it all a completely different way, but I want to tear the dash apart too. It's still a lot better than stock, but now that I know how it is all wired I would like to do it a different way. I will finish this way up though and wait for another time. It would be so nice to have an identical truck to do that I could do the final draft of work on, save all the rough drafts for my truck so I could have a flawless other truck. This might not look too bad when it's all said and done and I get it all hidden.

Well, it actually changes depending on a bunch of factors. Below freezing, it is basically the same temp as ambient. As it gets warmer, you start to see a change. I think around 70F ambient I was seeing a 5-10F difference for temps on the air filter. At 90F I am thinking 10-15F difference. Now towing actually makes it spike a little, getting up to 25F difference. Not so much in the winter but at 70F ambient was where I was seeing 20-25F difference. Running a constant high EGT makes the exhaust manifold hotter and it radiates to the air filter. My temp probe was zip tied near the front/top of the BHAF.

Yes it goes unread after someone else votes. There have been some new members voting in the poll lately.

Anywhere that sells them. I don't have any preferences on who I buy a steel gasket from.

We know all about that switch don't we It's the one marked "4wd Light Switch." I think you don't have to take anything off to take that out, just pull the connector off and unscrew it, go get a new one and screw it back in. Easiest fix in the world. To make sure it actually is the switch though, you can measure the resistance between the 2 pins on the switch, when you press the button on the bottom of the switch, it should read 0 or so ohms, and be infinite when you release the button. Another way would be to take the connector off, then jumper the 2 holes on the connector with a paper clip or something, this simulates 4WD operation and your light should come on. If it comes on, you know you just have a bad switch, which seems quite common.

A new gasket might do the trick. I am just wondering how it came to leak there. Use lots of penetrating oil and let it soak for a good amount of time (at least an hour) before taking those bolts out, makes life much easier.

That adds a twist to the problem. If rain gets in the relay, it won't work right. The solenoid might work, but the relay is only used to turn the solenoid on, and if it has water in it then the thing won't work right. I would make sure it isn't cracked anywhere, same with the stuff in the fuse box, make sure they can't get wet.

Very interesting points. All seem to contradict the thread I got it from Should be interesting to see the result. My probe is in the back divider so it sees 4/5/6. One thing to note is that the HY35 has no divider. That might be different from a divider with a hole in it but is still something to think about. Here's a pic I stole from a DTR thread of the HY and HX.

I saw this on another forum (http://www.dieseltechtalk.com/forums/showthread.php?70-Stock-turbo-Mod) and figured I would give it a shot since I am sooo close to having EGT's completely controlled. I think this will set me over the edge and I will be able to do whatever I want with the truck. The thread states that a stock HX35 has only the back 3 cylinders wastegated because of the divider between them. They carry on to say that this design raises EGT's under full boost (wastegate open) conditions. By drilling the wastegate port through to the other side of the exhaust (through the divider), all 6 cylinders are wastegated and provide more flow through the turbo, lowering EGT's. Of course I like to test everything myself so that I can say it worked on my specific truck as well They said a 3/4" works good but since I have a mill here, I set it all up dead center and drilled it to 15/16". I might go back with a 1" end mill later, still deciding if I should or not. It has to be dead center for it to be that tight as the wastegate valve thing that covers the hole is 1 1/8" diameter, so you don't want it to be off any if you use a big drill bit. I still need to test it and put the turbo back together, and finish wiring the truck and, yeah it will never run again lol. Maybe friday. Here's a video I made showing the planning process. http-~~-//www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyhHRPUF7NA Here is a pic of my turbo when I got done.

This will probably help you out a bunch, if you haven't already seen it. http://www.stamey.info/Truck/Cummins53BlockFAQ.htm I don't know what that link says but I know a lot of people say the 53 block has issues only with those trying to pull the moon closer to the earth. If you pull sane loads supposedly it is fine.

Most people build some sort of plate to go over the bolts so they don't poke a hole in the filter. Some people just throw cardboard under it. Basically, use your imagination

I think you took that as I meant a gasser, that's not the case. The 400/800 is fords powerstroke, that 6.7 scorpion, which is a diesel. So the matched HP but half the TQ game still plays out.

I went to chevy.com and dodge.com and still can't find the dmax ratings.

Yesterday I was looking at new trucks, the gasser versions, and Ford is really stomping everyone. They have a ton more HP and TQ per CI compared to chevy and dodge. They have 4 engines for the f150, including a twin turboed V6. The mustang has a 30mpg 300HP V6 as well. Ford is really putting a dent in the competition. One interesting thing is chevy's site has almost no mention of the duramax. It is a PITA to find the power of it, I don't think I even did. Dodge is just as hard to find but is findable. I wonder if the 400HP/800TQ thing ford is putting out is making the other 2 hide what theirs puts out.

Quite the opposite here

I don't know how you just took that. I meant nobody knows the electrical side of the VP44. Like how it is programmed. We don't even know what it does with timing or what it bases it on. You can guess based on engine knock but to me that's like guessing how much compression it has based on how it starts in the cold. In other words, it's not accurate. We need numbers. Seeing as how we don't have numbers after all this time, then we have nothing and probably will have nothing in another 10 years unless someone figures out how to decode them, and shares the info. So back to my original thing lol, do you guys have some real ideas that I can actually use rather than these NASA minded ideas I'm not a miracle worker

Got some more done today. I have been putting this part off because I didn't know what to do with it. I think it turned out really nice.

Yeah I am not looking for the computer related crap, obviously I can't even do anything with it since I have a 12V. All it takes is a nerd to figure all these computerized trucks out, and since Mike hasn't figured the VP44 out, it must not be figure-out-able. I know how the fuel delivery works. Takes a bit of skill but I can figure it out. The problem is that the 215 pump retards timing after 13mm of rack travel, so that could mess with things, but I could figure that out as well.

The long thick wire (not going to the engine block, thats the ground) is the one you need to disconnect, it goes to the fuse box in the engine compartment on the drivers side fender. It will be the main fuse (120A). Then disconnect the 2 pcm wires and the ground. The easiest way to put the belt back on is to route it around everywhere it is supposed to go, leaving it under the alternator pulley, then pull the tensioner back and slip it over the alternator pulley (As in the exact opposite of how I took it off in the vid). Don't try and do it some other way as it is 10x easier than any other way. This should help.

I want to do more testing on my truck to see how things work. I did the valve thing so we know where they are at at both TDC's but that is one of the many things we don't know about these trucks. Another thing I want to do is measure how long the pump is pushing fuel. It won't be perfectly accurate since I have to do it unpressurized so part of the fuel that is under the pop pressure will not make it out the injector but it should give us a rough idea. I know there are a hundred other interesting things about our trucks that would be neat to know but I wondered if you guys had any specifics. Maybe even something we already know but another way of proving it. It can be anything from a mechanical part, an electrical part, even just a bolt. I am planning on getting pics of every single connector on the truck for reference as well. I gotta get my truck done by this week so then I will finally be able to finish some other things I wanted to do, like making a very fancy thing showing where the valves and pistons are and the stroke they are on all based upon 0-720* rotation (since it takes that much to do all 4 strokes per piston). Don't hold back any ideas!

The firewall has that blanket stuff on it as well, that's where they probably got it. The trick is to have some exhaust leaks that cover that blanket in soot because of horrible welds, so even a bad weld has some benefits

The relay is right above the back of the cylinder head on the firewall, just screwed in right under the cowl, basically above the shutoff solenoid. As for the fuse thing, thats very interesting. I tracked everything down and the 20A fuse marked the "Fuel Pump" doesn't have anything to do with any of this. It gives power to part of the PCM (Fused B+) but the PCM has nothing to do with the engine starting. The battery goes directly through fuses and to the key switch which then gives power to the solenoid relay, the PCM isn't involved. It is involved with the wire that holds the solenoid but we know that part works. I'll have to trace some more, theres some wires in the schematics that aren't right.

The shutdown solenoid is grounded to the front of the cylinder head.There is a relay above the cylinder head on the firewall that energizes the solenoid, but is only in use when the truck starts. It gives the solenoid a big kick and turns it on, which only occurs while starting. After you start it, the relay turns off but a separate wire keeps the solenoid energized and holds it in position until power is lost. If you just turn the key on, nothing will happen, it only energizes the relay in the start position. In the on position, the other wire has power but it is a small wire that can only hold the solenoid in place, not move it. One wire goes to the relay (contact 87) on the firewall. The relay feeds that wire power using another wire on the other side of the relay (contact 30) that is connected directly to the battery. The relay is energized with 2 more wires (ground on contact 85, positive wire on contact 86). The ground wire runs through a few connectors and is essentially grounded below the a/c compressor. The positive for the relay goes from the key, through the clutch pedal position switch (if you have a manual) and to the relay. The other wire that just holds the solenoid in place is spliced into a whole bunch of other connections that all have power when the key is on or starting. You said it locks it in place when you have the key on, so the last wire I talked about is fine, the relay is where your problem lies, or the wiring going to it or the solenoid. I do want to hear more about this 20A fuse you changed as the only 20A fuse in the power distribution box is for the fuel pump.

How did you do it?