Found a "sun sleuth II" diagnostic machine at the dump today. It does not power up. It looks in great condition though. All parts seem to be with it. Anyone know about these things. It looks like something Gary should have in his arsenal.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cajun_croc/8154461338/" title="IMAG0184 by cajun croc, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7279/8154461338_a445aa450d.jpg" width="282" height="500" alt="IMAG0184"></a>

 

Check the fuse in the back.

 

Does it look something like this? I can't read the controls on yours, but you can on mine so may be able to compare.

In any event, it looks cool!

And, btw, these pic's are in the lowest size setting for the camera, and I see things I don't like in them. Probably going up one notch.

 

Gary it looks similar. From what I can find it was a 10,000 dollar machine in the 80's. It is used as a sniffer and can be used to dial in the carb. It has settings for up to a v12. The engine can even be shutdown from the machine. It has a scope, timing light, vacuum, and fuel line connections.

 

It would be fabulous if it worked. Mine doesn't do exhaust gas, so that's a plus on that one. Hope you can get it working.

 

My brother has a Sun (I think) exhaust sniffer, the State of Colorado owned it initially until it went to auction (after a few decades, I'd imagine).

The thing ultimately died, it makes some sort of error message and finding people who know anything about it is difficult.

 

The exhaust sniffer would be helpful, but not a to-die-for item as most of those devices are large and can't be used while driving. So, you can test the exhaust gas at idle, but not while driving.

The first time I used my scope I learned that they are good for finding single problems, but not if there are multiple problems unless you really know what you are doing. And, there should have been a lot of emphasis on the "really know what you are doing" part. In my case I didn't and couldn't determine what the problem was via the scope. As it turned out, the problem was a flat cam and burned valves. But, the valves weren't bad enough to kill compression - in fact, the cylinders with bad valves showed up fine on a compression test. So, while the scope will let you see which cylinders have bad compression by showing that the spark occurs at a lower voltage in them, it won't show burned valves if they don't kill the compression.

Also, you are supposed to be able to find a bad cylinder by killing the ignition to that cylinder and watching the amount of RPM drop with that cylinder. But, if you have several bad cylinders, as I did with some bad valves and some bad cam lobes, the RPM drop for each cylinder will be so all over the map that I found it hard to decipher.

So, I don't find it to be "the" tool that finds all ills. Maybe it would be if I were smart enough or trained/experienced enough to know how to use it. But, I do find it to be helpful if you have an engine with a single problem, like a coil going bad, a spark plug or wire shorting, or somesuch. And, it looks cool!

 

Imcnew to this site. How do I post?

 

RTFM

Ford Truck Enthusiasts Forums - FAQ

 

Was that a joke? You posted asking how to post?

 

No. It was not. I don't know we're to post a new thread. I'm new to this site.

 

Welcome to FTE. And, as Chris suggested, read the link he sent you. Or, go to the link at the bottom of this thread that says "1980 - 1986 Bullnose F100, F150 & Larger F-Series Trucks". Once there click "New Thread" on the left. But reading is the better approach.

 

Go to this forum's main page. In the upper left hand side you'll see this icon:

Click on it, make a pertinent title for your thread, then have at it

Edit: Looks like Gary beat me to the punch

 

Damn, you guys make want to dig out my stuff and post pictures of it. On the SUN machine, maybe you can find support for it on-line, it looks like SUN automotive is no longer with us. Most of my stuff was Peerless instruments, some of it has Sears on it (timing light). Peerless used to make a portable exhaust gas analyzer that could go on a seat for a drive test, their stuff was 12V DC powered.

 

Ok so I click on forums, and goto new post? Or list.