Thanks. There's more to get done for sure.
CK5
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'91 K5 Four Wheel Camper
This is the build for my 1991 V1500 Blazer, AKA the K5.3. It started out life being sold to the U.S. Government with a 350 TBI/700r4/241 combo. 4 years with a 5.3/700r4 Combo and now moving to an 8.1L Vortec and NV4500 5-speed.
I like the red stitching on the floor patch. 
Happy Calendar month Mr. December 
I had to use a blue sharpie to upgrade the engine and transmission specs on the calendarHappy Calendar month Mr. December
Thanks dude!Happy Calendar month Mr. December
I had to use a blue sharpie to upgrade the engine and transmission specs on the calendar
The specs are true to the pic at that time. But we all know what it's got now. It's all grown up now.
Backup lights are wired in and work. I need to tie the wiring down, but it's all plugged in. Getting to the plug on the trans is an effort in braille. All I can do is feel it. I got the connector up to it and felt it "click" into place. Scratch that one off the list.
Now a new issue developed. I'm realistic to grasp that the build is still fresh and issues may pop up. Better now than 50 miles into the desert somewhere. This happened in my driveway, so that was convenient. I went to take the truck to work yesterday. It lit right off in 20-degree temp. It ran for 3-5 seconds and stalled like I hit the key. Needing to get my ass to work, I pop the hood and check all the fuses. They all look good, nothing popped. Hmm. Need to go to work, so I switch back to the Caddy and haul ass.
I start checking today. Brainstorming with Larry Friday night has us thinking I might be out of fuel or don't have the power supply locked in like it was before. First thing is looking at the fuel pressure. So I throw a gauge on the rail and turn the key on. Nothing. To check the wiring and the pump I unplugged the relay and put my manual test relay in and flip the switch. Bingo, fuel pressure. That tells me the circuit is good and the pump builds pressure. That's not it. Why isn't it turning the relay on? I plug in my Bluetooth device to the ALDL connector and notice something odd. Normally there are some LED status lights on the device that come on when it's plugged in. Key-off I get the normal red LED indicating I have power. Turn the key on and the light goes out and I don't get the green blinking LED that shows it's connected. Also, watching the status of the device on my phone, key off it's connected to the device. Turn the key on and the Bluetooth connection is lost. So either it's not getting power or not getting ground.
I move outside and start looking at the connections to the PCM and where I moved the power wires from the battery to the junction block. I moved the wires back to the battery and retried. Nada. Now I start looking at the two main connections to the PCM. Nothing looks out of sorts. I take the PCM off the set it on the inner fender. I hook the power back up to the battery and turn the key on and the dang thing started. ???? I went back under the hood with it running and start wiggling the wires at the PCM. I get it to stall after hitting a certain spot. Key still on, I can wiggle it again and hear the fuel pump relay click and also see the pressure peg on the gauge. Wiggle it again and it stopps. I pull the plugs off the PCM and all the terminals look good. I got the PCM set where it was working again, back on its mount and it was starting every time again. I decide to take it for a run just to test and I don't make it out of the driveway. Stalled again. I go back and pull the PCM off the mount and notice something as I was wiggling wires with it loose. There was a small spark from the PCM housing when it rested on the side of the mount where one of the bolts is. I noticed the fuel pump relay had clicked. I thought it was me wiggling the harness but it was actually grounding the housing that was waking it all up. I snap it in place and go back to the garage and made a quick ground wire and installed it to ground the housing. It worked. The engine starts and runs as it did before. Bumps and shakes on my drive didn't give it a hiccup. I've fixed the symptom, but don't have a clue why the PCM housing is requiring grounding all of the sudden. It doesn't make sense. GM PCM's don't require external grounding. I might be calling the folks at Howell Monday just in case.
Park brake fun tomorrow.
Now a new issue developed. I'm realistic to grasp that the build is still fresh and issues may pop up. Better now than 50 miles into the desert somewhere. This happened in my driveway, so that was convenient. I went to take the truck to work yesterday. It lit right off in 20-degree temp. It ran for 3-5 seconds and stalled like I hit the key. Needing to get my ass to work, I pop the hood and check all the fuses. They all look good, nothing popped. Hmm. Need to go to work, so I switch back to the Caddy and haul ass.
I start checking today. Brainstorming with Larry Friday night has us thinking I might be out of fuel or don't have the power supply locked in like it was before. First thing is looking at the fuel pressure. So I throw a gauge on the rail and turn the key on. Nothing. To check the wiring and the pump I unplugged the relay and put my manual test relay in and flip the switch. Bingo, fuel pressure. That tells me the circuit is good and the pump builds pressure. That's not it. Why isn't it turning the relay on? I plug in my Bluetooth device to the ALDL connector and notice something odd. Normally there are some LED status lights on the device that come on when it's plugged in. Key-off I get the normal red LED indicating I have power. Turn the key on and the light goes out and I don't get the green blinking LED that shows it's connected. Also, watching the status of the device on my phone, key off it's connected to the device. Turn the key on and the Bluetooth connection is lost. So either it's not getting power or not getting ground.
I move outside and start looking at the connections to the PCM and where I moved the power wires from the battery to the junction block. I moved the wires back to the battery and retried. Nada. Now I start looking at the two main connections to the PCM. Nothing looks out of sorts. I take the PCM off the set it on the inner fender. I hook the power back up to the battery and turn the key on and the dang thing started. ???? I went back under the hood with it running and start wiggling the wires at the PCM. I get it to stall after hitting a certain spot. Key still on, I can wiggle it again and hear the fuel pump relay click and also see the pressure peg on the gauge. Wiggle it again and it stopps. I pull the plugs off the PCM and all the terminals look good. I got the PCM set where it was working again, back on its mount and it was starting every time again. I decide to take it for a run just to test and I don't make it out of the driveway. Stalled again. I go back and pull the PCM off the mount and notice something as I was wiggling wires with it loose. There was a small spark from the PCM housing when it rested on the side of the mount where one of the bolts is. I noticed the fuel pump relay had clicked. I thought it was me wiggling the harness but it was actually grounding the housing that was waking it all up. I snap it in place and go back to the garage and made a quick ground wire and installed it to ground the housing. It worked. The engine starts and runs as it did before. Bumps and shakes on my drive didn't give it a hiccup. I've fixed the symptom, but don't have a clue why the PCM housing is requiring grounding all of the sudden. It doesn't make sense. GM PCM's don't require external grounding. I might be calling the folks at Howell Monday just in case.
Park brake fun tomorrow.
Like you said at least it happened in your driveway and not 198 miles from home.
If you need a get me by grill and bezels I can see what I have around.
If you need a get me by grill and bezels I can see what I have around.
Boy that's no kidding there. That's why I'm driving it when I can. I want stuff to happen so it can be fixed now and not on the highway or 50 miles into the bush. That being said Larry called me a little bit ago and we compared notes. Sounds like the most obvious possibility is the ground stud on the back of the passenger side head might be loose. I'll be going over all the grounds, but Larry tied all the PCM related grounds there because they all landed in the same spot when he routed the harness. I don't think it's an issue within the harness.Like you said at least it happened in your driveway and not 198 miles from home.
If you got something as far as the grille goes I might take you up, but I'd really like to find the correct core support as I like the look better.
Success. I went out this morning and reached over the engine to the grounds on the back of the head. Sure enough I can feel the ring terminals move. I put a ratcheting wrench on the bolt and got a 1/2 turn out of it. It's tight now. Disconnected the temporary ground I put on the housing and the engine fired right up.
I managed to get the front cable removed from the park brake assembly. Man that's a crappy job. I tried to get the clips to push in so I could pull down on the cable and it just wouldn't budge.
Here's the little SOB in its natural habitat.
I ended up saying "F" it. I can't use this cable anyway, so I went on with snapping the three lock tabs off the end and was able to pull the cable out after I removed the grommet from the floor.
The new cable does not use the same retainer.
It takes the standard "U" shaped spring clip to hold it. I don't have any of those. I texted Larry to see if he had some and he said he did. I drove the truck over as a test and no issues. Everything is back to normal. Got the clips and made a couple of adjustments over there.
When I got back I pulled the steering wheel to see why the turn signal switch worked to the left but would not hold when going right. Found the link between the lever and the switch wasn't tight. I fully thought I had a broken spring, but it was ok. Pulled the link and reinstalled it and made sure the screw was tight. It's back to working normally in both directions.
I managed to get the front cable removed from the park brake assembly. Man that's a crappy job. I tried to get the clips to push in so I could pull down on the cable and it just wouldn't budge.
Here's the little SOB in its natural habitat.
I ended up saying "F" it. I can't use this cable anyway, so I went on with snapping the three lock tabs off the end and was able to pull the cable out after I removed the grommet from the floor.
The new cable does not use the same retainer.
It takes the standard "U" shaped spring clip to hold it. I don't have any of those. I texted Larry to see if he had some and he said he did. I drove the truck over as a test and no issues. Everything is back to normal. Got the clips and made a couple of adjustments over there.
When I got back I pulled the steering wheel to see why the turn signal switch worked to the left but would not hold when going right. Found the link between the lever and the switch wasn't tight. I fully thought I had a broken spring, but it was ok. Pulled the link and reinstalled it and made sure the screw was tight. It's back to working normally in both directions.
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Sounds like you need to find someone to help work on your truck that pays better attention to details
Just goes to show, even God stubs his toe every now and then.Sounds like you need to find someone to help work on your truck that pays better attention to details
It's all good dude. Lately, I'm used to it. LOL. But it proved to be a good exercise in troubleshooting the problem. That was probably more valuable than anything else. Getting to know the system better during active diagnostics is immeasurable. Better to find this stuff now than on a dusty trail later. Or on the highway to work!Sounds like you need to find someone to help work on your truck that pays better attention to details
You are still the crew chief. One slightly loose bolt out of two engine swaps on this truck is a better track record than my clowns at work.
i always use a small hose clamp on the p brake housing clips. works ok still need to finesse it.
I tried that. Between my bear paw hands and the need to hold the clamp and tighten it at the same time I just could not get it to pull the clips in. My right hand cramped up in the process. That was the signal to stop screwing around.
Collecting parts for installing solar to the camper. I've got other more important things to get done post swap, but just getting stuff ready.
This is my first time going into solar so I've been reading a bunch. I've already got a 240 watt panel I horsetraded for. Going to start out with a basic amazon special solar charge controller. Still need to get wiring for the panel and go bigger on the gauge of wire from the aux battery to the camper.
In our style of travel, the truck gets moved every day so my current setup has been fine even without having a huge deep cycle battery. The load overnight of the fridge, lights and charging stuff has not killed the battery. So it's not priority, but more of the electrical nerd in me wanting to try something new.
The bonus here is since I don't drive the truck every day, the time it sits at least the batteries will stay topped off without a need to put a charger on it. I said both batteries because I will change the existing 150amp continuous duty solenoid for an automated charge relay (ACR). This will allow the solar to keep the cranking battery up as well as the camper battery. When the engine is running, power will still go the other way and charge the camper battery from the alternator. 240 watts is probably way overkill for my plans but the panel didn't cost me anything.
I will add another power meter like the one I have to keep tabs on the solar input and the existing one will keep tabs on the power consumption.
I think it will be a fun project to set up. Plus if we end up staying in one spot for two nights I'll know the batteries will stay charged and not require running the engine to make power.
The 8.1 is getting an oil change today after work. It's got 600 miles on it since the swap and it's time to dump the dino sauce for some Mobil 1 synthetic.
This is my first time going into solar so I've been reading a bunch. I've already got a 240 watt panel I horsetraded for. Going to start out with a basic amazon special solar charge controller. Still need to get wiring for the panel and go bigger on the gauge of wire from the aux battery to the camper.
In our style of travel, the truck gets moved every day so my current setup has been fine even without having a huge deep cycle battery. The load overnight of the fridge, lights and charging stuff has not killed the battery. So it's not priority, but more of the electrical nerd in me wanting to try something new.
The bonus here is since I don't drive the truck every day, the time it sits at least the batteries will stay topped off without a need to put a charger on it. I said both batteries because I will change the existing 150amp continuous duty solenoid for an automated charge relay (ACR). This will allow the solar to keep the cranking battery up as well as the camper battery. When the engine is running, power will still go the other way and charge the camper battery from the alternator. 240 watts is probably way overkill for my plans but the panel didn't cost me anything.
I will add another power meter like the one I have to keep tabs on the solar input and the existing one will keep tabs on the power consumption.
I think it will be a fun project to set up. Plus if we end up staying in one spot for two nights I'll know the batteries will stay charged and not require running the engine to make power.
The 8.1 is getting an oil change today after work. It's got 600 miles on it since the swap and it's time to dump the dino sauce for some Mobil 1 synthetic.
Somewhat along the lines of putting the 8.1 in. It's like pounding a nail with a sledgehammer.Overkill is the standard. Embrace it!
- Joined
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Hopefully that oil filter came off easier than last time 
It was tight. But the gasket stuck to the block when I pulled the filter off. It came off pretty easy though. Nothing unexpected happened otherwise. All was good.Hopefully that oil filter came off easier than last time
This should turn into a wealth of knowledge for me. Looking to do the same thing with solar panels once the camper is finished.
