YakkoWarner
Full Access Member
- Joined
- May 29, 2024
- Posts
- 100
- Reaction score
- 100
- Location
- Central Texas
- First Name
- Wolf
- Truck Year
- 1989
- Truck Model
- R2500 Suburban
- Engine Size
- 454
I still have not found my phantom (or demon more accurately) electronics problem causing random shutoffs and/or extreme running issues. Without some sort of extremely elaborate test rig, I can't truly test the wiring under all conditions....sitting at home in the driveway with basic DVM confirms I have proper connectivity "at that moment in time", I suppose some sort of fancy impedance tester could potentially flag issues at various frequencies. That is beyond my resources.
The one constant throughout the past several months has been the fact that merely turing it off and back on makes the problems go away (for a while). The only machine that I know which can be consistantly "fixed" temporarily by power-cycling is a computer. So now I have to face the absolutely terrifying elephant/rhino/T-rex...is the ECU itself malfunctioning? Thats the one peice that I havn't replaced, probably not replacable, and how would one even consider it since no one is making them?
If that is the case, should I attempt a carb retrofit, or spend more than the truck is worth to attempt something like a Holley aftermarket injection system. This is so overwhelming because no one even knows everything that the ECU actually does - I know it does the spark timing, idle control and injector pulsing on the output side, and reads 5 or 6 sensors on the input side. It also apparently controls the fuel pump relay. But that only accounts maybe a couple dozen of the hundreds of wires going into it...so what ELSE would quit working if you removed it and went to a different system?
Is there even such a thing as a drop-in replacement? The ideal would something that directly replaces it, but based on more currect technology and able to offer some sort of I/O interface capable of real time monitoring and interaction. I don't think any such thing exists.
Carb refit seems more doable simply because the fuel delivery change is simpler - put in a low pressure pump in place of the 15PSI pump currently in the tank. Running 3-5 PSI through lines rated for 15 is no problem. A Holley-type system wants 60PSI, running 60PSI through lines rated for 15PSI most certainly IS a problem. Both cases will require a distributor swap, which means the brand new distributor I put in has to go, along with all the new sensors I've replaced. I just have to eat the loss on those. I don't even know whats involved up on the intake side - I'm assuming some sort of adaptor plate on the intake and getting creative with the fuel lines at the very least. Is it even a viable option?
I have owned 4 OBD-1 vehicles - This is the 3rd one I have had fail on me electronically (the 4th just literally was falling apart round me physically but it kept running right up until the water pump siezed and shredded the timing belt) - the other 2 electronic failures also had other issues that made saving them impractical. I really like this Suburban and I'd like to keep it alive but at this point I'm afraid to even venture the 15 miles up the road to the grocery store in it, much less do a job or take a road trip in it.
The one constant throughout the past several months has been the fact that merely turing it off and back on makes the problems go away (for a while). The only machine that I know which can be consistantly "fixed" temporarily by power-cycling is a computer. So now I have to face the absolutely terrifying elephant/rhino/T-rex...is the ECU itself malfunctioning? Thats the one peice that I havn't replaced, probably not replacable, and how would one even consider it since no one is making them?
If that is the case, should I attempt a carb retrofit, or spend more than the truck is worth to attempt something like a Holley aftermarket injection system. This is so overwhelming because no one even knows everything that the ECU actually does - I know it does the spark timing, idle control and injector pulsing on the output side, and reads 5 or 6 sensors on the input side. It also apparently controls the fuel pump relay. But that only accounts maybe a couple dozen of the hundreds of wires going into it...so what ELSE would quit working if you removed it and went to a different system?
Is there even such a thing as a drop-in replacement? The ideal would something that directly replaces it, but based on more currect technology and able to offer some sort of I/O interface capable of real time monitoring and interaction. I don't think any such thing exists.
Carb refit seems more doable simply because the fuel delivery change is simpler - put in a low pressure pump in place of the 15PSI pump currently in the tank. Running 3-5 PSI through lines rated for 15 is no problem. A Holley-type system wants 60PSI, running 60PSI through lines rated for 15PSI most certainly IS a problem. Both cases will require a distributor swap, which means the brand new distributor I put in has to go, along with all the new sensors I've replaced. I just have to eat the loss on those. I don't even know whats involved up on the intake side - I'm assuming some sort of adaptor plate on the intake and getting creative with the fuel lines at the very least. Is it even a viable option?
I have owned 4 OBD-1 vehicles - This is the 3rd one I have had fail on me electronically (the 4th just literally was falling apart round me physically but it kept running right up until the water pump siezed and shredded the timing belt) - the other 2 electronic failures also had other issues that made saving them impractical. I really like this Suburban and I'd like to keep it alive but at this point I'm afraid to even venture the 15 miles up the road to the grocery store in it, much less do a job or take a road trip in it.