Rich, I saw some a couple years ago at a flee market and bought some. Its in my tool box for when I need it in the middle of no where.

 

Heya folks,

So I interrupted power to the PCM. I thought that sounded like the best idea in terms of not throwing codes. The van will turn over but won't start. However, it does result in white smoke pouring out the exhaust. Even if there is no long term damage from forgetting the switch and doing this all the time, it doesn't smell great and doesn't sit well with me.

Back to other thoughts, perhaps I'll try the CPS or IDM enable output next.

Cheers,
Josh

 

I wouldn't have thought it would spray fuel at all without that input.

 

Just to be clear, I cut the two red wires in the main wire bundle going into the PCM then tried to start and got the white smoke.

Cutting the white/black (not black/white) which is the IDM enable lead, pin 70, seems to have provided a cleaner kill. Van turns over, doesn't start, no smoke, no CEL (haven't tried to pull codes yet).

 

And for those who like the build aspect of it, my better half Kathi just updated our blog with a bunch of progress pictures, check 'em out if you're interested

https://birdsofpassage.wordpress.com...-hit-the-road/

Cheers all,
Josh

 

Very cool I'm interested in your guys trip.

Is it difficult to drive threw these countries like customs, border crossings, or police?

 

We spent 14 months driving from San Diego to Panamá already. There are a lot of resources out there that provide, basically, step by step instructions for all border crossings in the world, with vehicles. There is a wealth of logistical information out there, you can download map overlays for campsites, water accessibility, all sorts of stuff. There's even an app now (iOverlander I think it is called). A couple websites - liferemotely.com and drivetheamericas.com are kind of where to get started with overland travel in the western hemisphere. There is a wealth of information for travel in Africa and Asia as well if you go looking.

Borders are a hassle but we probably averaged 2 hrs per border crossing, including vehicle permits and all the associated stuff. At most borders you go stamp out of one country, and cancel your vehicle permit, perhaps get a deposit refunded (MX in particular). Then you cross the border, stamp yourself in, go do your vehicle paperwork, go back and get the vehicle stamped into the owner's passport, and perhaps go buy mandatory insurance in some countries. The hardest part is figuring out what order the steps have to go in and what little windows to go to, which is where the online walkthroughs with pictures are so great.

Police corruption is out there in every country, as is danger, but it's largely overstated IMHO. What you hear in the news in the US is different from the day to day lives of hundreds of millions of folks in latin america. We spent a ton of time in Sinaloa and Chiapas, Guatemala and Honduras. We didn't go clubbing and then wave our wallets around in cities like Morelos, Mexico City, Belize City, Guatemala City, San Pedro Sula or Tegucigalpa, but then again what dumb**** does? We had one kind of odd run in with local police in Tabasco, MX, where they came up with 15 different bull**** reasons why a road was closed and why we should turn around and go a different (much longer and less convenient) way. We figure they were in on a drug movement or something and after 10 minutes gave up arguing and turned around and went the other way. Beyond that, in all countries, border officials, army, police, etc were always polite and courteous and usually just really into finding out what a couple of gringos were doing living out of a vehicle in the middle of nowhere...

The hardest part about travelling in Latin America is deciding to go and then not ending up going WAY slower than anticipated We planned on 18 months San Diego -> Ushuaia (Chile). We took 14 months getting to Panamá, felt hurried the whole time, then decided to sell the pickup and come home and build a van, which is where this whole thing came from. Safety advice for travel in Latin America is pretty basic. Don't travel at night. Don't go partying in big cities or tourist areas or, if you do, don't take your valuables with you. If you park in touristy areas hide your **** well and make sure your vehicle is hard to steal. That's about it.

 

What an exciting trip! Be safe and stay well! In 1973 we toured Europe on a 650 Triumph motorcycle and went thru ten border checks. With my long hair we always got profiled and all our belonging went thru. Once when entering Italy, we went thru the usual border check but then five miles down the road was stopped by a couple soldiers. They had machine guns and lots of bullets and I was nervous! We could not under stand them and they insisted about something. I shifted my weight on the motorcycle which exposed the 650 of the bike and they started laughing and were very happy to know how big the bike was. Waved us on our way! I thought I was going to jail for sure!

 

Kill switch is all done interrupting the IDM enable signal from the PCM. I'll chime back in if there are any downstream unforeseen consequences. Thanks again to all for their input!

 

Very cool thank you for the detailed response.

I thought it was a bunch of puppycock with traveling out into the Latin countries. I'm glad you guys have been safe and keep on traveling. I hope you guys chime in here every so often. Keep an internet connection close to these old trucks/vans the help and ideas of these old gurus can be a worth its weight in gold.


I once met in the middle of the desert a couple from Switzerland who flew to Alaska with bikes and camping supplies. There journey consisted of traveling from Alaska to Argentina by bike. No joke and I met them in Ridgecrest ca while quail hunting. I love birds too

 

Interrupting the IDM signal won't cause the white smoke since the injectors won't be firing. The one that Springerpop uses that was linked on the first page is a DIY way for this. Or if you don't want to mess with it, you can buy a relay that will do the same thing. VANDAL ALERT Theft Avoidance Module

Of course for the ultimate in anti-theft, get a Ravelco installed.

 

What a great build and what a great story. Keep us updated on the progress. We love seeing the fruits of our "labor" here on FTE and a build like this is just plain cool.

I'm Also glad to hear the immobilizer is working for you. I guess that's the best way to get that job done, huh!? Good to know.