1957 Chevy 3100, meet 1994 Dodge Ram 1500

[Purcell69]

After a bit of research and lots of trouble shooting, I found out where the yellow wire with the red tracer came from. It had not pulled out of the 84-way connector, but rather a loop that is installed in a non-manual transmission application, since there is no need for a clutch safety switch. While I was trouble shooting, I put 12v to the yellow and red wire, only to have the starter engage. A bit more digging and I found the green plug body that the wire had pulled out of, pin and all.

Once this was done, I found the engine would crank but not fire off. The fuel pump wasn't spinning. It seems the wire code between 1994 and 1996 had changed, so my plan to splice the wires to the rear half of the frame (twelve wires to ten) was a fail. More digging got me to 12v keyed power for the fuel pump, but it still would not start. The Automatic Shut Down relay was tripping, killing the ignition...no spark.

I got access to the 1996 FSM for a Dodge Dakota and figured the schematics were pretty close. There was also a section addressing the ASD which had some good info on troubleshooting ASD issues. In spite of being 109* outside with 20% humidity, I couldn't resist finding the problem. After checking all the fuses, I found there was one missing from the main fuse panel. Also, it is not uncommon to have issues if the PCM isn't properly grounded, so I cleaned the aluminum body of the PCM and installed a dedicated ground lead to the chassis, rather than just relying on the mounting bolts to do the job.

With all of this now done, the truck fired right up! I still have more clean-up to do, including ditching the factory headlamp switch in favor of one that looks "correct" in the Chevy dashboard. At least I am now back to a running truck.

-Joe

[Rickysnickers]

Nice diagnostic work Joe!!!

[Purcell69]

Originally Posted by Rickysnickers

Nice diagnostic work Joe!!!

Thank you Ricky! I was concerned that it may have been conflict between the PCM and the non-computer controlled transmission. The 1996 harness is for an automatic transmission equipped truck, as is the 1999 PCM. Since the transmission I have doesn't require a computer, I was afraid the lack of signal was causing the ASD to trip, which would have meant I needed to find a 5.9 V8, 5 speed, 4wd PCM. Fortunately that isn't the case.

All in all, I'm pretty handy with a test light.

-Joe

[joedoh]

nice work! nothing like digging finding and learning. better than driving sometimes.

Originally Posted by Purcell69

In spite of being 109* outside with 20% humidity, I couldn't resist finding the problem.

haha I resemble that remark! the midwest humity may not fry an egg on the sidewalk but it might boil one.

[Old57]

Nice job, glad you got it traced down and running.

[Purcell69]

Originally Posted by Old57

Nice job, glad you got it traced down and running.

Thank you. I had it idling on its own yesterday. It was running rich since the Oxygen sensors aren't hooked up yet, but at least it is better than it was on OBD-1. I still need the SCT tuner and some programming before it will run 100% right.

I still count it as a win.

-Joe

[Purcell69]

I noticed the other day that the serpentine belt wasn't tracking straight. It kept trying to jump out of the front edge of the crank pulley. It turned out the power steering pump pulley wasn't fully seated. It was off by 5/16" which was enough to walk the belt out of the crank pulley grooves and up on to the front lip of the pulley. I got it fully seated now and the belt tracks like it should.

Now I need to find out why the ASD is killing my spark again today.

-Joe

[lower50's]

Keep at it, you will get it eventually.

[Purcell69]

July 23 was a mixed bag. It was my birthday and I was hoping to play with the truck project some more, as well as hit the Pull-a-Part again for the rear lighting and fuel pump harness. The truck didn't want to start and my daughter had plans to stop by since she was off work that morning, so Pull-a-Part got put on the back burner.

She did right by her Dad though and brought me a hammer and dolly set for my birthday. There are a few gouges in the back wall of the cab that need to be addressed. I've never done legitimate metal work other than "Mongo smash with big hammer." It is time to try my hand at fixing this without slathering it full of filler putty.

Tuesday, I made my run to the City and hit Pull-a-Part for the rest of the 1996 harness that I did not have. My thoughts being it is far easier to troubleshoot a complete, factory correct, harness than one that has been cobbled together. I still had to cut and splice my fuel pump connection, as 1996 uses a different connector than is used on 1994-1995, and the module I have is a new 1994 unit. In the future, if the pump module goes bad, I will get the correct 1996 pigtail and change the pump to a 1996 model, for ease of maintenance, as everything will be 1996 rather than mix and match.

Yesterday, I spent the day chasing the no-spark issue. I knew I had fuel. I could hear the pump spin up and fuel in the injector rails. I could also smell it in the exhaust, so the injectors were doing their part. It seemed as if the coil wasn't getting power, at least by the test light. With a multi-meter, I was getting 10.4v in the Run position. The battery was down from trying to start the truck the past few days.

After charging the battery, I tried it with the multi-meter again and was getting 11.9v while cranking, yet it still didn't want to start. I jumped to a possible bad Crank Position Sensor. Chrysler is notorious for being sensitive to non-Mopar electronics, so I figured the Autozone lifetime warranty sensor was bad, completely forgetting about the coil. Both were new parts, with the coil being an O'Reilly part that had been a spare for my Jeep ZJ, when I had it.

I swapped the CPS for a new one under warranty. Since it was getting dark and I had the front end left to reassemble, I opted to change the coil at the same time. I had a spare that I picked up in the wrecking yard a few weeks ago, a factory Mopar unit. It's not ideal to throw multiple parts at a problem while trouble shooting, but again, it was getting dark. With everything reassembled, the truck started up. It would idle on its own and even responded to throttle input (I found I had left a vacuum port uncapped when I disconnected the vacuum gauge last week).

I let the truck idle for ten minutes while I watered horses for the day. It runs ridiculously rich right now, but the O2 sensor is questionable and is not currently located at the Cat inlet, which is probably throwing things off. Vacuum at idle is 15" and is smooth. It seems I have the bulk of the problem licked.

-Joe

[Purcell69]

The overly rich condition still has not been addressed, but the more I look in to it, the more I believe it is related to the upstream O2 sensor and the catalytic converter.

The Dodge Magnum engine has a two in to one exhaust with the two headpipes merging at the catalytic converter. The center of the merge has the port for the upstream O2 sensor. The the factory "converter" is nothing more than an empty shell, a mod performed by the previous owner of the Donor Dodge. About 18" back from the outlet of the converter shell, I installed an old catalytic converter I had laying around from a XJ Cherokee. I did this when I was still working with the OBD-1 system, which also ran somewhat rich, as a means of trying to sort out what would potentially improve the fuel condition. Meanwhile, the O2 sensor is still mounted in the opening at the front of the factory catalytic converter, far away from the heat the converter normally generates.

Regardless of whether or not the stock converter has any guts in it, the truck runs so rich that there is actually fuel smoke coming out of the exhaust. This leads me to believe the O2 sensor isn't working, leaving the truck in "limp home" mode, rich, but running. I am going to start with a new O2 sensor for the upstream port. Even without any internals in the catalytic converter, the truck should not be this rich. And yes, I am certain it is not oil smoke.

In the end, the final fuel trim will be addressed by the SCT tuner and programming, but until I have that, I'd like to get everything else I can sorted out.

As to the aftermarket camshaft, it is a Comp Cams grind. The cam card is attached in the pictures. It is supposed to be on the edge of "computer friendly", though they recommend a tuner.

I have been in contact with Marty Fletcher at UtahAwesome Performance while trying to sort the old non-idling issues under OBD-1. He is the most knowledgeable person I have spoken with about the Dodge Magnum engine family and has invested a wealth of time and resources in programming and tuning these motors, as well as designing his own cam grind to maximize torque while retaining the stock valvetrain. All of his work has been validated with dyno testing, both in the tuner programs he installs on the SCT tuners he sells as well as the cam grind. Had his cam been available two years ago, I would have bought his grind over the one I have, but the difference between the two isn't enough to make me want to pull apart the engine I have and start over.

-Joe

[Purcell69]

I got the overly rich issue resolved now and it is running good. I took a little video now that I can breathe with the truck running in the same vicinity.

https://youtu.be/Vawb6X_jhQ0

-Joe

[joedoh]

sounds good!

I do that "double ziptie to tie things out of the way" thing too haha

[Rickysnickers]

Nice work Joe. From my Dakota owning days, I seem to remember guys not even hooking up the rear O2 sensor. They would just zip tie it to the frame.

[Purcell69]

Originally Posted by joedoh

sounds good!

I do that "double ziptie to tie things out of the way" thing too haha

Thanks Joe!

Lol, yeah, I go through a crap ton of zip ties until I have everything right where I want it. Once I get the inner fenders back in place, most of the zip tie mess will go away and there will be proper cable stays in place to tidy things up. For now, I get the bulk zip ties at Tractor Supply or whoever else has them cheap while I'm shopping.

For my own reference, I leave the ties long if I don't expect them to be used beyond temporarily, and cut the tails off the ones that I expect to leave in place. That way, I can remember which ones need to go away when I am done.

-Joe

[Purcell69]

Originally Posted by Rickysnickers

Nice work Joe. From my Dakota owning days, I seem to remember guys not even hooking up the rear O2 sensor. They would just zip tie it to the frame.

Ricky, I am finding that to be common practice as well. Just about every place I have researched while working on this has had the same answer. The second O2 sensor is pretty much to determine the "health" of the catalytic converter. At the present moment, my dashboard consists of the two gauges in the video, (vacuum and oil pressure), so I have no CEL to worry about. In the long run, when I get an actual gauge panel installed, I will have the CEL feature, but the SCT Tuner and programming will delete the need for the second oxygen sensor, and keep it from tripping a Check Engine Light.

-Joe

[Purcell69]

First drive today, moving under its own power again for the first time in more than 10 years.

https://youtu.be/zlejOez1yAo

-Joe

[Purcell69]

Pictures to follow tomorrow, but here is the latest...

I spent yesterday doing lots of little things. The front sheet metal is back on the truck now so I could finish getting the wire harness situated in the engine compartment. When mounting the front bumper, I found there was some interference between the bottom edge of the bumper and the brass fittings on the transmission oil cooler. I used a block of wood and a hole saw to notch the bumper for clearance. Being on the bottom, the notch isn't visible and the cooler can remain mounted out of harm's way. I've also found the new mounting location works great with the transmission, no more leaks from the dipstick tube seal.

I used my new hammer and dolly set to knock out the gouges in the rear wall of the cab and finished out with a skim coat of Rage to finish the job. It looks so much better.

Test driving the truck the other day, I found the seating position felt like it was about 1" low. I used some leftover 11ga 1"x2" box tube to make some risers and now the seating position feels better. In the long run, I am going to get some power seat bases for that "perfect" position, but this will work in the meanwhile.

Today, the plan is to work on thinning out the in-cab wire harness. All the wiring for the climate controls and the sound system can be removed. When I add A/C, I will be using the vendor supplied components rather than the Dodge equipment. I also want to finish setting up all the wiring for the exterior lights.

The new O2 sensor will be arriving today as well, so that will get installed and the truck can be run with the computer receiving input from the sensor rather than in default mode.

-Joe

[joedoh]

a running driving truck is so much more fun and encouraging to work on than an inert pile of steel, nice work!

[Purcell69]

Here is the resolution to the clearance issue between the front bumper and the transmission cooler. The perspective is off in the last two pictures. They were taken looking down at the cooler, not up.

The hole saw worked quite well and didn't booger up the chrome bumper. Since I was only cutting a notch, I clamped a piece of 2x6 to the inside of the bumper, sticking out past the edge I needed to trim. Then from the outside of the bumper, I started my cut. The pilot bit for the hole saw was drilled in to the wood block, right at the edge of the bumper, keeping the blade steady while it cut the metal. I used a little oil to help cool the blade while I cut.

-Joe

[Purcell69]

Here is some of the work on the rear of the cab where it was gouged. I am almost done with it. When I applied primer yesterday, I wasn't quite happy with the biggest repair. I will need to work on it a bit more.

-Joe

[Purcell69]

The front sheet metal is back on for now. There is still paint and body work that needs to occur, but at least at moves from A to B when needed without having to be towed or pushed.

My new oxygen sensor arrived yesterday. The truck runs better with it, but the fuel sync still needs to be set at the shop. I can't help but suspect there may still be a small vacuum leak that I need to find, only because when I rev the engine, it is slow to return to idle. That and low-ish vacuum at idle. The cam isn't that big, so I would think the vacuum numbers would be better. These are all little things though.

I got busy with other things that needed to be done yesterday, so the wiring didn't get addressed as planned. I did find my finishing touch though...I had this plate on my old Mazda pickup back in the day, up to the morning it got totaled in the office parking lot.

-Joe

[Purcell69]

Originally Posted by joedoh

a running driving truck is so much more fun and encouraging to work on than an inert pile of steel, nice work!

You know it Joe. Just to have it run is a huge feeling of accomplishment, add to that the ability to drive it, even on a limited basis is a tremendous bonus and a shot in the arm when it comes to wanting to get even more done.

-Joe

[Purcell69]

Kim wanted to take a little ride in the truck with me tonight. She took video. The squeak is coming from tensioner pulley.

https://youtu.be/iU8FfShXh80

-Joe

[mikebte]

Originally Posted by Purcell69

Kim wanted to take a little ride in the truck with me tonight. She took video. The squeak is coming from tensioner pulley.

https://youtu.be/iU8FfShXh80

-Joe

That looks like freaking great time. Love the video, I’m your first subscriber, so don’t forget to keep making videos.

Love custom builds like this, your not using a prefab chassis and engine and all the stuff other people use to make “basically” the same build. Yours is one off and tells a story about the owner.

[Rickysnickers]

Awesome man, way to go!!!