Polishing a t*rd

aarcuda69062 wrote:
> In article <13sp930a5noi5b6 RemoveThis @corp.supernews.com>,
> John Corliss <jcorliss RemoveThis @fake.invalid> wrote:
>
>> Tom Lawrence wrote:
>>>> 'Fraid not. I just cleaned and treated the battery terminals and cables
>>>> the other day. In the process, the cables were both disconnected for about
>>>> 45 minutes. When I reconnected them and started the truck, that damned
>>>> light was still there.
>>> Well, if the condition still exists that caused it to trip in the first
>>> place, then it's going to come back on. Pull the codes, and see what it's
>>> complaining about.
>> I messed up. It's not the Engine light on the left, it's the light that
>> tells you to replace the Oxygen sensor, "Maintenance Needed" on the right.
>
> You'll need a scan tool to turn that light off.
>
>> There is only one Fault Code present at this time, and it's 12 (that the
>> battery has been disconnected recently). I'll check the fault codes
>> again after I drive the truck some more.
>
> If the check engine light wasn't on before, why would you expect
> new fault codes?

Thanks for that. Sometimes the obvious eludes me. Bear in mind though,
I'm a total newbie at this computerized vehicle stuff. Up to now, the
newest rig I've owned is my '81 Ford F-150.

And you're right, the check engine light WASN'T on before.

--
John Corliss
 >> Stay informed about: Polishing a t*rd 

Tom Lawrence wrote:
>> I messed up. It's not the Engine light on the left, it's the light that
>> tells you to replace the Oxygen sensor, "Maintenance Needed" on the right.
>
> That light's got absolutely nothing to do with the O2 sensors, nor any other
> part of the emissions system. It's triggered by time, and it just a dumb
> "reminder" to bring the vehicle in for service. It's pretty much useless.
>
> If an O2 sensor were failing, that would indeed light up the "Check Engine"
> light. IIRC, those codes are somewhere in the twenties on the OBD-I
> systems.

Thanks Tom. That's good info to know. And the OBD-I system is what the
truck is running then. Too bad, because Harbor Freight has an OBD-II
code reader on sale for $40 right now. But I expected that, since OBD-II
dates from 1996 and on, I believe.

An OBD-I code reader is mighty spendy. And I'm not even sure there's a
generic version of them, or is there? Might be that the '92 Dakota's ECM
has a proprietary plug.

However, since there are no fault codes present at this time, I guess my
concerns at this point are limited to figuring out why the motor races
whenever the rig is rolling downhill (either direction) and I have my
foot off of the accelerator. When I come to a complete stop, the motor
races a second and then suddenly starts idling at a normal rate.

That and the weird way that my friend was dealing with the radiator and
fan. I'm going to get some more info from him and see if I can figure
that one out though.

--
John Corliss
 >> Stay informed about: Polishing a t*rd 

Tom Lawrence wrote:
>> working on Dodges. Said that I should clean my throttle body, but I see it
>> as some kind of sensor related issue.
>
> Clean it anyway... can't hurt... will probably help. If the paint never
> got washed in 16 years, just think how cruddy the TB must be.

I've run some injector cleaner through it and my friend did so
regularly. This helps, but of course taking the TB apart and cleaning it
is probably a good idea.

And I *did* wash it, but the paint is so course in places that it
shredded my cotton wash pad and left lint all over the rig. No biggie
though, I found a can of acrylic enamel at the local NAPA. It matches
the Colorado Red color almost exactly. Will be sanding the bad spots
down, rattle can primering them and then touching them up with that can
of red AE. If that doesn't work (and I'm very good at rattle can
painting) then I'll get a spray gun, some paint and spray the truck myself.

Now THAT'S how to "polish a turd"!

--
John Corliss
 >> Stay informed about: Polishing a t*rd 

John Corliss wrote:
> Tom Lawrence wrote:
>>> working on Dodges. Said that I should clean my throttle body, but I
>>> see it as some kind of sensor related issue.
>>
>> Clean it anyway... can't hurt... will probably help. If the paint
>> never got washed in 16 years, just think how cruddy the TB must be.
>
> I've run some injector cleaner through it and my friend did so
> regularly. This helps, but of course taking the TB apart and cleaning it
> is probably a good idea.
>
> And I *did* wash it, but the paint is so course

Eh... make that "coarse", not "course".

> in places that it
> shredded my cotton wash pad and left lint all over the rig. No biggie
> though, I found a can of acrylic enamel at the local NAPA. It matches
> the Colorado Red color almost exactly. Will be sanding the bad spots
> down, rattle can primering them and then touching them up with that can
> of red AE. If that doesn't work (and I'm very good at rattle can
> painting) then I'll get a spray gun, some paint and spray the truck myself.
>
> Now THAT'S how to "polish a turd"!

--
John Corliss
 >> Stay informed about: Polishing a t*rd 

> An OBD-I code reader is mighty spendy. And I'm not even sure there's a
> generic version of them, or is there? Might be that the '92 Dakota's ECM
> has a proprietary plug.

Yeah, but they're pretty much unnecessary - you can just cycle the key and
count the number of times the Check Engine light flashes. This procedure
should work on your truck, if it becomes necessary:

http://www.dodgeram.org/tech/gas/Trouble/pcm_fault_code.htm
 >> Stay informed about: Polishing a t*rd 

Tom Lawrence wrote:
>> An OBD-I code reader is mighty spendy. And I'm not even sure there's a
>> generic version of them, or is there? Might be that the '92 Dakota's ECM
>> has a proprietary plug.
>
> Yeah, but they're pretty much unnecessary - you can just cycle the key and
> count the number of times the Check Engine light flashes. This procedure
> should work on your truck, if it becomes necessary:
>
> http://www.dodgeram.org/tech/gas/Trouble/pcm_fault_code.htm

That's what I've been doing (instructions are in the Haynes manual my
friend gave me with the truck.) But as aarcuda69062 pointed out, if the
Check Engine light hasn't been coming on (and it hasn't) I don't really
need to check for error codes anyway.

--
John Corliss
 >> Stay informed about: Polishing a t*rd 

John Corliss wrote:
> Tom Lawrence wrote:
>
>>> I messed up. It's not the Engine light on the left, it's the light
>>> that tells you to replace the Oxygen sensor, "Maintenance Needed" on
>>> the right.
>>
>>
>> That light's got absolutely nothing to do with the O2 sensors, nor any
>> other part of the emissions system. It's triggered by time, and it
>> just a dumb "reminder" to bring the vehicle in for service. It's
>> pretty much useless.
>>
>> If an O2 sensor were failing, that would indeed light up the "Check
>> Engine" light. IIRC, those codes are somewhere in the twenties on the
>> OBD-I systems.
>
>
> Thanks Tom. That's good info to know. And the OBD-I system is what the
> truck is running then. Too bad, because Harbor Freight has an OBD-II
> code reader on sale for $40 right now. But I expected that, since OBD-II
> dates from 1996 and on, I believe.
>
> An OBD-I code reader is mighty spendy. And I'm not even sure there's a
> generic version of them, or is there? Might be that the '92 Dakota's ECM
> has a proprietary plug.

Should be cheaper than OBDII. My EQUUS OBD-II reader was around $100,
works decent, so I checked their site to see what they might have for you.

http://www.iequus.com/products.php?category_id=1_10_3
There's a reader for GM, one for Ford, one for Imports, and...
the one for Chrysler isn't merely a code reader, it's a "Code Reading
System"! Oh boy.

http://www.iequus.com/product_info.php?product_id=3165&category_id=1_10_3
I clicked "enlarge image", zoomed in on that some more, and could read
on the packaging that the procedure is to "Cycle Vehicle's Ignition Key"
then "Read Fault Codes" then refer to booklet to "Pinpoint Problems"
There's no code reader at all, it's just a pamphlet with the codes
listed. And you can find that info for free.

> However, since there are no fault codes present at this time, I guess my
> concerns at this point are limited to figuring out why the motor races
> whenever the rig is rolling downhill (either direction) and I have my
> foot off of the accelerator. When I come to a complete stop, the motor
> races a second and then suddenly starts idling at a normal rate.
>
> That and the weird way that my friend was dealing with the radiator and
> fan. I'm going to get some more info from him and see if I can figure
> that one out though.
>
 >> Stay informed about: Polishing a t*rd 

> That's what I've been doing (instructions are in the Haynes manual my
> friend gave me with the truck.) But as aarcuda69062 pointed out, if the
> Check Engine light hasn't been coming on (and it hasn't) I don't really
> need to check for error codes anyway.

Well, not entirely true. There are codes that can get set that won't
illuminate the CE light.
 >> Stay informed about: Polishing a t*rd 

Tom Lawrence wrote:
>> That's what I've been doing (instructions are in the Haynes manual my
>> friend gave me with the truck.) But as aarcuda69062 pointed out, if the
>> Check Engine light hasn't been coming on (and it hasn't) I don't really
>> need to check for error codes anyway.
>
> Well, not entirely true. There are codes that can get set that won't
> illuminate the CE light.

Well, I know that the 12 code (battery has recently been disconnected)
won't light the CE indicator. My Haynes manual lists all the fault
codes, but doesn't say which ones do or don't turn on that light.

--
John Corliss
 >> Stay informed about: Polishing a t*rd 

Beryl wrote:
> John Corliss wrote:
>> Tom Lawrence wrote:
>>
>>>> I messed up. It's not the Engine light on the left, it's the light
>>>> that tells you to replace the Oxygen sensor, "Maintenance Needed" on
>>>> the right.
>>>
>>> That light's got absolutely nothing to do with the O2 sensors, nor
>>> any other part of the emissions system. It's triggered by time, and
>>> it just a dumb "reminder" to bring the vehicle in for service. It's
>>> pretty much useless.
>>>
>>> If an O2 sensor were failing, that would indeed light up the "Check
>>> Engine" light. IIRC, those codes are somewhere in the twenties on
>>> the OBD-I systems.
>>
>> Thanks Tom. That's good info to know. And the OBD-I system is what the
>> truck is running then. Too bad, because Harbor Freight has an OBD-II
>> code reader on sale for $40 right now. But I expected that, since
>> OBD-II dates from 1996 and on, I believe.
>>
>> An OBD-I code reader is mighty spendy. And I'm not even sure there's a
>> generic version of them, or is there? Might be that the '92 Dakota's
>> ECM has a proprietary plug.
>
> Should be cheaper than OBDII. My EQUUS OBD-II reader was around $100,
> works decent, so I checked their site to see what they might have for you.
>
> http://www.iequus.com/products.php?category_id=1_10_3
> There's a reader for GM, one for Ford, one for Imports, and...
> the one for Chrysler isn't merely a code reader, it's a "Code Reading
> System"! Oh boy.
>
> http://www.iequus.com/product_info.php?product_id=3165&category_id=1_10_3
> I clicked "enlarge image", zoomed in on that some more, and could read
> on the packaging that the procedure is to "Cycle Vehicle's Ignition Key"
> then "Read Fault Codes" then refer to booklet to "Pinpoint Problems"
> There's no code reader at all, it's just a pamphlet with the codes
> listed. And you can find that info for free. (my stuff after this is
> clipped)

Thanks for finding this site. I've sent them a message on their contact
page asking for clarification regarding why I should spend $39.86 on
that item, and what is included in addition to a description of fault
codes. I'll be very surprised if I get a reply from them.

--
John Corliss
 >> Stay informed about: Polishing a t*rd 

> Well, I know that the 12 code (battery has recently been disconnected)
> won't light the CE indicator. My Haynes manual lists all the fault codes,
> but doesn't say which ones do or don't turn on that light.

Try the link I posted. It does.
 >> Stay informed about: Polishing a t*rd 

Tom Lawrence wrote:
>> Well, I know that the 12 code (battery has recently been disconnected)
>> won't light the CE indicator. My Haynes manual lists all the fault codes,
>> but doesn't say which ones do or don't turn on that light.
>
> Try the link I posted. It does.

I just learned last night that my friend has been running the truck
without a thermostat. That's why he was blocking the radiator off with
pieces of cardboard. He took it out because the truck kept blowing head
gaskets by cyl. 2. His theory was that the backpressure from the
operational thermostat contributed to the head gasket blowing.

But first, he had the head boiled while it was off and left the coolant
temperature sensor in it. Shortly after he put the head back on, he
noticed that the fan refused to come on so he bought a new CTS that was
made in Mexico. It made no difference, so he bought another one made in
Pennysylvania. It's in there now, but the fan still didn't come on and
the truck would overheat. After he figured out this was happening, he
removed the thermostat and started using the cardboard system.

This has GOT to be generating some kind of code, but when I disconnected
the battery I wiped any codes out for the time being.

--
John Corliss
 >> Stay informed about: Polishing a t*rd