Hi...
I live in northern BC and the weather here has not been very nice.It'll be down to -33C again tonight.
I work the graveyard shift and this morning on my way home I noticed the TACH not working,I then looked and seen that the OD light on the gear shift was lit(off).So the Turbo is off.
You step on the pedal and it takes quite a bit to move the truck.
I added in some Anti-Gel in the fuel thinking that might be the problem.
My 1997 Dodge Neon is froozen solid.
I have the front end rapped in sleeping bags,tarped,to heaters,battery charger and block heater all ready to go.I need the temp outside to drop into the teens....then I'll kick it all on.The block heater is on though.
Anyway I need to keep my truck running and was hoping someone in the forum might be able to help me with some tips or ideas.

 

turbotuff,

Regarding the tach. not working and your o.d. light blinking, check out what I wrote in a reply to rancherman84 in his question thread, "tach wrks when it wants to!". R.A.

 

OK I will right now.
Just a note the OD off light is SOLID off not blinking.

 

Thanks dieselzen,I read the thread and I will check that sensor tommorrow in the daylight and hopefully alittle warmer
weather(-17C).

-35C is danm cold there has to be something froozen.
Can the Turbo itself freeze up?Automatically making the OD-off light come on?
What about the tranny itself..can it freeze?



I'm thinking of putting Tiger Torches under it tommorrow to see.
I'm going to try and get it in to a shop for a few hours on graveyard tonight but that is not for sure.

 

Turbo Tuff,

YEOW! I just did the celsius conversion to fahrenheit of a minus 33. It chills me from here! You know ya'll ought to think about moving your country farther south...........
Somebody told me awhile back that he found he had enough condensation inside his trans. to freeze it's operation til it warmed up enough to melt it. But it seems to me that he had a 4X4 also. I can't remember how he warmed his trans. but it worked for him. 'Course, recently there was a post about water getting splashed up on the 4X4 linkage and then freezing you in the position you leave it in the night before. Don't have any direct experience just what I've read. What the heck is a tiger torch?!

R.A.

 

Well I didn't get a chance to get the truck into a shop bay last night.The temp this morning 7am is still at -34C.

I also figured out that the OD and Turbo do NOT run with each other.
You got me going enough to dig deeper.
My turbo is running fine,it's like you say, in the tranny.
If your right the tiger torch should help.
Here's what a Tiger Torch is:
http://shop.store.yahoo.com/shopsour...igertorch.html
They run on propane,there is also a round canister that lays down and the Tiger torch gets inserted into that.

I just need to track one down.

I'm really hoping that it is OK to operate like this!
Please tell me if it's not ok.
I also added some Anti-Gel to the fuel hoping that would help.
It wasn't the problem but at least it'll keep the fuel flowing.

 

I'm sorry Turbo Tuff, I forgot to mention last night the OD light is only for letting you know when the E4OD's OD is engaged (light off) or when it's not (light on). It is also used by the PCM (powertrain control module) to let you know of computer codes it has stored in memory of things it is finding wrong with it's ability to shift. If there is a code registered, the OD light will blink. Though sometimes something can be wrong and the PCM won't register a code. The turbo, as you know, has nothing to do with the E4OD, PCM, or shifting.
Interesting implement, the Tiger Torch. I'd be careful in using it. Have you ever heard of a "catalytic heater"? The one's I've seen are made by Coleman Outdoor Products. They burn the vapor of Naptha (white gas). Although they were made for camping, I've got one I use to heat my little house (got it on now). They're rated for 3,000 to 5,000 btu's and on the high setting will burn for about 13 hrs. (3/5ths of a gallon of fuel). I'd think it'd be a good tool to warm the bottom of the trans. as the heated air goes straight up from the top of it (it stands about 12 inches high). I'm not sure if they're sold anymore as there was a concern of carbon monoxide (I've been using one for 8 years and never had a CO problem). You can find them on ebay though for around $40 U.S.
Yeah, the temps. you're seeing, seems anti-gel for the fuel is a must.

R.A.

 

dieselzen,
Well the temp only went up to -28C(up from -35C) so again I need to wait till tommorrow.
On top of that it's snowing!!
I can't get into a shop bay till the weekend so my fingers are crossed.
Here's something...last night around dinner,a guy a block away had a Tiger Torch under his p/u truck and had to leave to go get something.
While he was gone the truck caught fire!
That's not all...his wifes truck and then his Logging Truck all caught on fire,all right-offs.
One good thing is ,his house is still standing.
If I go that route,I'll be alot more carefull than that.
I've done this many times so I'm capable of doing it.
Anyway I'll post back!

 

Dang! That's bad luck for the guy. Hope he had insurance which would cover it. Even partially is better than none. R.A.

 

I know what you mean with the cold. I can't believe that guy would just leave the torch going and walk away. Anyway just make sure you don't over heat your oil. I don't know what could be wrong with your turbo if it is pouring out lots of black smoke when you put the peddal down there is something wrong with your turbo. You have probably seen a Natural aspurated ford diesel go with a cloud of black smoke. If it is like that your turbo might be locked up.

 

Thanks...there is no BLACK smoke.Turbo is working.
Just have the OD light showing that it is not engaged it is OFF.
The light is NOT blinking so no error codes showing.
This morning the temp is up to -21C but with a high of -8C so that'll help.We are being dumped on right now with snow but I can work with that.
There was about 6" of fresh snow when I left the MillYard this morning so I locked the hubs and put it into 4x4 with no problems so I have my hopes up.
I'll sleep this morning and wait for the temp to rise.

I really appreciate everyones help...

I really enjoy this rig...there's nothing like a Ford!!

 

Well I couldn't sleep so I headed out to the truck and the car(97' Dodge Neon - froozen).
I decided to try and unthaw the car first...jacked up the front end and put the Tiger torch down under the front and blew the hot air towards the block,then took 1/2 quart 5/30 and set it in hot water until it was very warm liquid and added it to the engine,then took 3 gal fresh gas and added it to the tank.
I let the torches go for 30 minutes.
I had to boost the battery with my Ford...after about 5 tries it fired right up.
It's warming up now.

I'm to beat this morning to try the truck.
Maybe later if I don't sleep all day...6 hours is about it anyway.
So maybe I'll post back later.

 

Hi...Ok it's the weekend and I'm back on my truck!
I'll start with checking the RPM Sensor.

Would this RPM Sensor (if not working) keep the OD light on showing that it is off?Or is that something else?

Also I had a problem a year ago with the OD light in the OFF mode and it turned out to be a connection on the trannie.
Where on the trannie is this connection?

 

I have two block heather when it gets very cold. What you did with your oil, some people just drop the oil and refil with hot oil.

 

Hey Kido...I would have done that but it was too cold to drop the oil at the time.It's getting a full oil change today though!