HELP! Not Immediate so I didn't post it in Help

[Mopar Man1]

I have some more questions and help!



I was driving home in my truck(info in sig below) just bought it last Wednesday,first night driving. Topped a hill,no shaking no nothing,the headlights just go out,just go out... running lights still going everything. . dashlights. . everything cept headlights I bout flipped though cause I was out here in the boonies and couldn't see a thing. I pushed the light switch in,pulled it back out into headlights and they came back on,went back off,came back on and stayed on. Got almost all the way home and they go back out! Same thing. . no nothing. . just go out They flicked back on once then off,I pushed the switch in,back out,no lights,done this a few more times and they came back on. This was always on low beams to. I just pulled out on the light switch praying they wouldn't go out and stay out. They didn't and I'm home safe and sound but WTF is going on here!?!?! Whats the problem? I need to know! I drive a good bit at night but mostly here on the back country roads,and without headlights you can't see the hand in front of your face. Could yall help me on this?!



On the other,it's rolled over the miles to a even # so I'm fixing to change the oil in this thing. How much does it hold,What weight should I get? I'm probably going to get Rotella or however you spell it. A Fellaguard filter or something to that effect would be a good one right? I need to just find a book on these trucks like a service manuel so I can learn to work on them. Any help on where to get a book like this? Thanks for any help and sorry for all the constant questioins!!



Jimmy

 

[Mopar Man1]

Ok I'm about ready to die. After I got back last night I looked at the truck. The lights and all worked on it. Except when they went out on me on the road. It sat all night and about half of the day today. My pappy and me went to town in it to meet a friend,I noticed when we left the turn signals did not light up in the dash. Didn't think much of it,got to town,checked the lights, and it didn't have ANY brake lights and NO turn signals at all. Tried the headlights,they work,running lights and all work to. We got back home and I thought I'd check to see if I had blowed a fuse. I put a fuse in the headlight slot cause it looked a little old. Checked it,still no turn signals or brake lights or anything. I cranked the truck up,noticed that after everything went off,I looked and the Brake light and the light on the bottom of the message board on the dash was still lite up. I thought that was a bad sign,I remembered that I turned the flashers on last night but they didn't even work I don't remember if I left them on or off(the flashers that is) I pushed the little flasher button down and I had the left turn signal light on,then all of a sudden the turn signals started working,this is while it's still running. Brake lights and all,push the little flasher button and it comes up,no flashers or anything. I shut the truck off and I'm kinda bum-fuzzlied then I smell smoke and see if coming through the crack of the fender/firewall,jump out and run to the front,don't see fire or anything,I get the battery cable off and it stops smoking and I'm shaking all over,I thought I had done burnt my truck to the ground. . I'm gonna walk over here and My grandpaw looked it and said it looks like a fuseable link(factory one he said) just shorted out and burnt up. . I don't know because I don't know S#@! about diesels or wiring at all... . so now the battery cables are off the truck,I'm afraid I'm going to look out the window and see my truck burning to the ground right next to our shop full of paint! I'm afraid to even plug the battery back up to roll the windows back up. WTF has happened!?!? This happened after the headlight moments going down the road... I just feel like. . I don't know what now,I love this truck but I goofed up and pulled the neutral safety switch out enough to where it wouldn't fire,so that has scared the **** out of me once,then the headlight moment and that scared the mess out of me... now today the lights won't work and wiring started smoking... I think this truck hates me yall... Sorry for the long story but now I'm scared half to death of this truck,every time I touch it something goes wrong





Forgot to mention,there is some ****ty looking wiring on the drivers inner fender(this is where the smoke was coming from) Someone put a hydro winch on it but it has some wiring run to a little breaker it looks like and a few to the hot side of the battery,looks like they took a 50 ft long wire,just wrapped it up after they got it ran to where they wanted and tied it off. Also there is a fuse=able link wire laying on the fender that runs under the firewall but its just a naked wire laying on the inner fender ... . I don't know what to do now



Jimmy

 

[dusthomps]

Well, for your electrical problems, I'll refer you to Philip. #ad




As for your oil change, it will hold 12 quarts and 15w-40 is the oil you probably want to run in your climate. As for filter, a Fleetguard is fine as well as a few others. You can look at the TSB's to see the recommended filters.





Dustin

 

[Mopar Man1]

For the last hour or two I've been looking through Electrial things on the site. Searching looking for people with some of the same problems. I noticed people saying check connections and look for corrosion. Below I'll list a few other problems I have,tell me if this is all related to the headlight switch and why it burnt that fuse-able link into. I know some of this stuff isn't related to the headlight switch but help me out anyways if you can.



1. If you turn the headlight switch on when the key is not in it,the water temp and oil press. gauges pegs out.



2. My flashers do not work at ALL. I pressed it down once,they didn't work,then that disabled my turn signals and my brake lights didn't work.



3. Last night like I've said above,the headlights would flicker on and off but all the running lights would work. Push the switch in and pull back out and they would work,might have to push and pull a few times for it to work.



4. I've also noticed that my turn signals blink REALLY fast. They start kind of slow but they blink really fast.



5. I don't know what the problem is here but I'd really like it fixed. My cruise doesn't work! It has the On and Off switch on the steering wheel,you have to push hard on it then it'll pop to on but it doesn't work. What is the problem here?



6. My headlights are goofy,the drivers side light is good and bright but the passengers one isn't bright at all. They both work on Hi and Low but the passengers side one is always dimmer,is this just a problem with a old light? Would I be best to just go buy two new ones?



7. This truck has a big ole hydro winch on and has some crappy wiring ran on it and I'm thinking some of my wiring problems maybe through the ****ty winch wiring.



8. It has a extra transmission cooler ran behind the cab,between the back of the cab and back tires on drivers side. It has a electric fan on it but it's got mud in it somehow(I'm thinking from mess off the front and rear tires slinging onto it. So now the electric fan is locked up so it ain't helping a whole lot. Where could I possibly move this thing to where it could say protected from mud and dirt but still be able to some good amount of air through it,I'm going to put another electric fan on it so hopefully it'll work again.



9. Where in heck can I get a wiring diagram for this truck so I can understand what is what? I'm not going to work on the wiring,we have a good friend who knows his stuff with wiring but having a diagram would help ALOT



10. I looked at that website wannadiesel gave to me for a service manuel but they only go back to 1994... . so where is a place that sells '93 Service Manuels?



11. What about the fuel filter,where is it located on the motor, I know people was saying it needs replacing,also about having to prime it before you fire it. Or would all this be explained in the Factory Service Manuel?



12. On what people were saying bout checking for corrosion on all connections. What should I do to fix this? What can I put on them to keep them from corrioding up again? I've been people put just like wheel bearing grease on the battery posts but I haven't got a clue what that is for... help me out on this please!



Sorry for all the questions,I just post whenever something goes wrong or whenever I think of more questions. I've found out about a diesel mechanic pretty close to me that they say is the best in the US,said people from CA have drove here to BFE Alabama for him to work on a truck. I'm going to see if he can help me out and possibly work on the truck,puttin in gauges,belt/hose change and all that stuff that I don't know much about on these trucks. I'm hoping he will be my big help. Thanks yall

 

[Philip]

Well, for your electrical problems, I'll refer you to Philip

ROFLMAO





Ok lets start easy on this one. To many different problems listed. So look at the small wire coming off you NEG battery terminal to the raditor support. Remove the wire from the support and sand the support to bare metal at this point. Sand the terminal on the wire end. Reattach the wire and let us know if that cures anything or hopefully everything.

 

[MMiller]

Hey jimmy,



Are you old enough to drink beer yet? Sounds like you might need one about now! Or at least something to calm your nerves, my favorite is Mountain Dew!!



Anyways start with your grounds like Phillip said. I'd replace the flasher for the flashers too.



Start with the easy stuff, and we'll help you through it!!

Maybe make sure you have fire insurance too.



Sorry couldn't resist.



Michael

 

[dpuckett]

For your oil change, Id go for a Fleetguard LF3894 oil filter. Dont be surprised if the guy at Cummins tells you that it wont work on the 12V. Tell him (or her) that you know several guys who run them on their 1st Gen 12V engines with no problems.



Check out your headlight switch- they go bad, esp on the duallies, with their extra lights. I had a similar problem in Mom's 92 when it was still mine, and it was the switch.



Fuel filter is located under the driver's side of the intake/head, about halfway back from the front of the engine. It looks like a miniaturized version of an oil filter. It SHOULD have a WIF (Water In Fuel) sensor on the bottom of it. Unplug the sensor, and spin the filter off. Then you can get a set of ChannelLocks and screw the sensor off the filter. Put the sensor on the new filter, fill it about 3/4 full of clean fuel or Diesel injector cleaner, screw it back on. THere is a bleed screw on top of the housing (10mm head) that you can crack about 90deg, and pump the primer on the lft pump (lower left rear of block- looks just like the type on the old carbureted gassers) until fuel flows out of it. BE SURE TO RETURN THE PRIMER HANDLE TO THE UP psosition. If you dont, you can break the pump.



Now that i Have taken you through the changing, I'll tell you some things that the book wont tell you-

1) the filter isnt always the only part ot unscrew. Sometimes the fuel heater comes of with it. I have found the best way to solve this problem is to start it all back together, less filter, and get an allen wrench to tighten the threaded fitting back into the heater. If the filter comes off on its own, with everything else staying where it should be, disregard what I just wrote.



If you cant get your hands on a service manual, at least get a CHILTON manual. It is good for basic stuff that new owners may not know. AFter you've been aroudn these things a while, you basically have the important stuff down.



MMiller- if I recall incorrectly, I dont THINK he's old enough to have a beer, but he does need to get himself a cheerleader or sorority chick (someone easy) and head down to the fishin hole for some... ah... . um ... ... hmmmm... ... . recreational relaxation. :-laf



Daniel

 

[Philip]

This truck has a big ole hydro winch on

Explain this a little better. Why would a hydraulic winch have wiring to it????

 

[Mopar Man1]

LOL Thanks for the help guys. I'm going to get the headlight switch at the local Dodge store Monday hopefully. I'm going to start checking grounds and all. It's got to have another battery on it,the one thats on it is getting pretty ****ty. Thanks for the help on the fuel filter change to. I'm going to see if I can order a FSM or look on Ebay.



I can't drink beer... legally LOL But I can't either,can't stand the taste but throw me a bottle of JD and one Coke when your up I'm a ugly sumbitch though,can't pick up the girls easily haha Maybe the truck will help out some



I'm going to have to get with the program and get this stuff done soon because it is possibly going to have to go on a trip from Alabama to Nebraksa towing a gooseneck trailer up and the trailer and a 92 CTD(my buddy is looking at one for sale on here)back so I want it to be dependable!



Jimmy

 

[JApplegate]

i hate to take away from his post but... ... my high beam light on my dash board works sometimes and other times it won't..... already got in trouble from the police. .

 

[dseabaugh]

I think most would say this is good advice when you have this severe of a problem on a vehicle you are not familiar with. The dim light is usually from a poor connection. Either Corroded or bad ground. Check to make sure your body grounds and ground from the engine and frame are good. If you can't find them , run a good heavy wire from where the negative cable bolts to the block to a body bolt. A loty of times a headlight will be dim from the plug on the back being rusty or not being plugged in all the way. Lights will find their own ground and act real squirrelly ( flash stuff that is not even on , etc. ) when you have a bad ground. Check your headlight switch. They have been a problem on trucks that pull trailers because people will run their trailer lights hooked into the truck lights and overload the cheap switch. The switches are bad about burning up. Check the plug that goes to the switch to see if it has been overheated as well. Tape up or use shrink tube on any bare wires you find anywhere on the truck. Un-tape any places you find that someone has worked on the wires and see if they have a good connection and solder the repairs if needed. Retape them. Disconnect anything that has been added to the truck that wasn't factory. That means the winch, Cb hookups, etc. A lot of wiring problems are caused by somone making a shortcut hooking up stuff where it shouldn't be and running wires over sharp body parts for a shortcut, etc. follow the wires all the way to where the bozo hooked them up and disconnect them. Unhook that locked up fan. If if is thermostat controlled and tried to kick on it was probably as bad as a dead short right there. After checking all this and disconnectiong the junk, then hook up your battery cables and see where you are at. You can try hooking up each item you disconnected after checking the wires for damage and putting a Fuse in the line . If It blows the fuse, then you know something is wrong with that item you just hooked up. DO not piggyback an add on assessory to something else on the truck. Get a fuse block kit (genos has them) to add all the junk. That way you won't burn up something else when you have a problem with the add ons. The crappiest work I've ever seen is where people worked on their own wiring (adding or repairing) and should never have touched a thing. Look for add on wiring that no longer has anything hooked up to it and strip it out. A lot of times people pull their goodies out and just clip the wires off and stuff them out of sight where they short out on the dash and smoke things. Don't worry about working on a Diesel. It is pretty much the same as a Gas vehicle but your power goes to the fuel solenoid instead of a distributor. The injector pump sends fuel to the injectors just like the distrubutor sends electric to the spark plugs in a gas burner. . Same simple firing one cylinder at a time. You don't have as much computer control garbage on the old diesel either. Good luck.

 

[Philip]

my high beam light on my dash board works sometimes and other times it won't

Replace the bulb and socket for that light. Check you dash grounds while you at it. The ground is located behind your OD switch on the backside of the metal frame work supporting the dash.

 

[Tim1]

Hey bud, you might consider relays for the lights and remove the load from the switch, as they have a known weakness. Tim