Recovering Mercedesoholic in Western Montana

[Guest rbwerst]

Tripped/stumbled in here while searching for a factory service manual (FSM) for one of my customers that has twin 2005 Dodge 3500 4x4's (one is currently a no-start, and I was told these are the last two trucks he plans on owning so he would appreciate it if I would learn everything I need to know to keep them running )...so I suppose that means I'm one of those "bandwidth-leachers..." Regardless of the reason, I've been a self-employed mechanic for most of my adult life (more than 30 years...but who's counting). I specialized in electrical repairs, worked mobile (full shop in a 1-Ton truck with a delivery-box), and am pretty much retired now with only a few customers that I am still willing to do any work for. Went back to school at 45, degree in journalism and computer science; live in a small town west of Missoula on I-90; make a little money making music; teaching, & repairing computers; help manage my girlfriend's counseling practice; cover local news events, and serve as the contact for our community newspaper www.clarkforkchronicle.com; pastor a small church; and try to squeeze in a little time to hunt, fish, garden, and keep track of my old Airedale (who seems to think he needs a walk every morning)...Oh, and somebody should have warned me about getting old too ... Since I don't own one of these trucks myself I doubt I'll be one of your most active posters, but I'm willing to be of assistance if anything comes up within my circle of expertise... Richard in Alberton

[mr.mindless]

Hopefully your customer's '05s treat him well and you won't have TOO terribly much reason to stop in here!I'm a fellow newbie, but this seems like a darn good - and helpful/ knowledgeable - group!

[Mopar1973Man]

Well seeing your trying to get a repair done I can lift the limitation for you... POOF! Standard Member...

[LiveOak]

Welcome to the forum rbwerst! Glad you found us.

[Guest rbwerst]

That was fast...and appreciated!A little later this week I"ll be heading in to see what codes the computer has stored...I took a quick look, when I had to repair a fuseable link on their '92 dually last Thursday. I didn't have any test equipment with me at the time, but it appeared the glow plugs, fuel pump relay, and the related fuses were all in good shape and working properly...this 24 valve electronic system is quite a bit different than most of the diesels I've worked with before...I'll be posting back when I know a little more.

[flagmanruss]

Welcome Aboard Just a tip: Cummins doesn't have glow plugs. Cummins uses an electric preheater grid in the intake just before the manifild. Because of this, use of starting fluid (without disabling the grid) can cause an explosion... spoil your day.

... the glow plugs...

[Guest rbwerst]

Thanks for the info...at first glance I knew something was different...it was one of those "We're not in Kansas anymore Toto..." type moments. In general, unless the glow-plug/pre-heater system has been disabled, I leave the starting fluid alone. It's back to the drawing board at the moment, since there was a compatibility issue with my laptop/software, and the OBDII adapter...any thoughts on the ElmScan 5 / ELM327 based adapter?

[Mopar1973Man]

Talk to GuessWho512 he's got a Elm scantool...