Clean grounds!

[Dave3500]

Hi all,a while back I did the overdrive hunt fix & it's been doing fine for the most part. I had the trans gone through by the old-time trans specialist & it's fine but if I let it set for a few days or so I get the hunt back until it's hot. So I'm thinking I need to clean up my grounds.Anyone dune the job & have a list, pix would be even better!:thumb1:Thanks,Dave

[angus]

Hi all, a while back I did the overdrive hunt fix & it's been doing fine for the most part. I had the trans gone through by the old-time trans specialist & it's fine but if I let it set for a few days or so I get the hunt back until it's hot. So I'm thinking I need to clean up my grounds. Anyone dune the job & have a list, pix would be even better! Thanks, Dave

Are you talking about the "lockup converter" issue? or is "overdrive hunt" a completely different issue?

[Mopar1973Man]

Passenger side battery ground. This ground deals with the PCM directly. Then test your alternator of AC Noise.

[angus]

Mike has had a great deal of discussion over this AC noise issue.. If this turns out to be the culprit I highly suggest you address the alternator, as opposed to installing a noise filter patch.. Just my:2cents:

[Dave3500]

Are you talking about the "lockup converter" issue? or is "overdrive hunt" a completely different issue?

Overdrive hunt is where the trans is bouncing in & out of overdrive. The tack drops 100-200 RPM's.

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Mike has had a great deal of discussion over this AC noise issue.. If this turns out to be the culprit I highly suggest you address the alternator, as opposed to installing a noise filter patch.. Just my:2cents:

I did a Geno's rebuild kit a few years back. Last Fall when the batteries died I but in another Alt. just to be sure.

So the batt ground on the pass side it is, hope that does it!

Dave

[dripley]

There have been a few cases here of alternators out of the box with AC noise on them.

[Dave3500]

There have been a few cases here of alternators out of the box with AC noise on them.

OK I will have to check that as well guys. Thanks guys, Dave

[angus]

When my son bought his 99 he had the issue with the converter locking in, and out constantly at highway speed.. A guy at a local transmission shop told him it was a ground problem.. When he unhooked the grounds, cleaned, checked, and reinstalled the problem seemed to go away temporarily then returned.He got the idea over at CF to install a noise filter on a particular wire going into the PCM which cured the problem... Two months later the Alternator diedpersonally I share the opinion that if the alternator is working properly there is no need to install a noise filter.Allowing the electronics of your truck to be exposed to leaking AC voltage, or (noise) is asking for trouble IMO..

[Dave3500]

Thanks for sharing your experience!

[Pondsy]

I agree...thank you for sharing your experiences. I have quite a long list of to-do's, but this is definitely high on the list along with checking the alternator (if the tranny is ever truely fixed - almost ready to scrap it and lease a half-ton).

[pepsi71ocean]

the trucks work fine for 10 years, replacement of worn parts is paramount,would you want to feed your 1,200 dollar ECM dirty power haha...most of the trans isues do back track to leaking diodes out of the alternator. and rebuilt ones they rebuild what failed, not everything. so if the diodes are marginal then they may not replace them, and wham! failed alternator out of the box.

[Pondsy]

I hear ya Pepsi!My truck turned out to be a piece of $#%&. Supposed to have a "built" tranny with mostly DTT parts by local shop that is very good, but previous owner did some stuff with the truck and used another shop (unknown to me or the shop that did the tranny initially) and the converter/valve body/cooler and a band? were junk. Fixed that and now an issue with the Nuetral safety switch and cpl minor parts.Once straightened out, its back to cleaning all grounds and checking the alternator out. Then .... lol.

[JAG1]

I don't know how much good it does but a book I have says there are some good reasons to ground the Alternator directly to a battery. I did this off one of the nuts holding the housing together using cable just as heavy as the main charging wire.Anyone know good any reason for that?.

[Mopar1973Man]

:cookoo:Alternator is already grounded to the engine, and the engine is grounded to the battery.

[JAG1]

Alternator is already grounded to the engine, and the engine is grounded to the battery.

:ashamed:Yes however, over time with corrosion and age the grounding gets weaker and can help burn up an alternator just as easily as a bad battery cable connection. Plus my book says it helps charging more efficiently when grounded directly to the battery. I am not an elect. engineer, I can only repeat what is said in this book I have. Not about to burn the book Mike.... I did run an ohm meter from alt. casing to the engine block and found some resistance. Perhaps from the heavy powder coating on the mount bracket, I don't know:think:, but I ran the ground wire and it made me feel better anyhow:hyper:

[Rogan]

I hear ya Pepsi! My truck turned out to be a piece of $#%&. Supposed to have a "built" tranny with mostly DTT parts by local shop that is very good, but previous owner did some stuff with the truck and used another shop (unknown to me or the shop that did the tranny initially) and the converter/valve body/cooler and a band? were junk.

I feel your pain on someone using junk parts.. My trans was 'built' by Justin of Eastern Diesel Performance. He never would return calls, or answer phone, even though the warranty was (is) still valid (says truck's previous owner.) I didn't find out until after the fact, that there was so much negativity surrounding this "shop" in Maryland.. My trans is supposed to have a triple disc converter, red clutches, kevlar bands, etc.. 5 months after the "build", I had to replace the solenoids and sensors in it. And I still have issues with the transmission.

[pepsi71ocean]

I hear ya Pepsi! My truck turned out to be a piece of $#%&. Supposed to have a "built" tranny with mostly DTT parts by local shop that is very good, but previous owner did some stuff with the truck and used another shop (unknown to me or the shop that did the tranny initially) and the converter/valve body/cooler and a band? were junk. Fixed that and now an issue with the Nuetral safety switch and cpl minor parts. Once straightened out, its back to cleaning all grounds and checking the alternator out. Then .... lol.

there are threads between here and cf about my issues and mine came from their main shop. tell me more about your issues.

:ashamed:Yes however, over time with corrosion and age the grounding gets weaker and can help burn up an alternator just as easily as a bad battery cable connection. Plus my book says it helps charging more efficiently when grounded directly to the battery. I am not an elect. engineer, I can only repeat what is said in this book I have. Not about to burn the book Mike.... I did run an ohm meter from alt. casing to the engine block and found some resistance. Perhaps from the heavy powder coating on the mount bracket, I don't know:think:, but I ran the ground wire and it made me feel better anyhow:hyper:

i call bs, but i also would say that its important to make sure that the cables themselves are good. cuz ive noticed that sometimes the cables are usually suspect. Personally i don't like the idea of the block having multiple paths to ground in this case, since i think there are already two grounds to the actual block its self. and when ohm testing or doing a vDrop test you should be going from main cable to main cable and unhook the rest of the cable from the engine.

[Pondsy]

Tell me more about your issues.

I had an issue with the tranny overheating. I thought it was because the edge gauge was giving me incorrect readings. Installed an autometer gauge and temp was identical to edge readout. Brought it to shop...checked cooler (it was crushed on back side) and replaced but didn't drop temps much. In the end, sent converter out and builder said internals were practically melted from heat and couldn't believe I was able to drive the truck at all. Replaced that and upgraded to 48 valve body with shift kit while it was out. Heat problem is gone, but I had no reverse lights and it wouldn't start in neutral (always has when in a drive-thru at coffee shop). Replaced the switch, but reverse lights were on no matter what gear it was in. Shop going to resolve that issue next (I Hope!). The alternator and grounds I'm just doing as part of my preventative work along with upgrading the brakes to 3rd gen (since it needs all new stuff anyway) and replacing all the brake lines. Then I have to finish replacing fluids in steering box/diffs/radiator and pull radiator out to clean off the gunk/oil from the overflow now that I have re-routed it to under the truck. There's more but enough for now lol.

I feel your pain on someone using junk parts.. And I still have issues with the transmission.

Reading your story has me scared I'm in for some of the same fun! Don't have the funds for that lol. Hoping for the best but time will tell.

[Rogan]

Reading your story has me scared I'm in for some of the same fun! Don't have the funds for that lol. Hoping for the best but time will tell.

I dont have funds for it either. Lol. Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2

[IBMobile]

Pondsy, don't forget to flush the brake system. It needs to be done every 30-40k mi.