U010C Lost Com Turbo Actuator

[Ram77]

Just got the truck back from having the Blend Doors, actuators, Heater Core and Evaporator replaced (2 blend doors broken but replaced everything since getting the air box out is such a PITA). Truck had been sitting for a week with the batteries disconnected while the work was being done.
Started the truck and began driving. Within a few miles the CEL popped with a U010C. Truck felt sluggish and no exhaust brake. Thought it might be due to low voltage so ran a couple errands and took my dump trailer and emptied it (about 4K lbs trailer+load). Made multiple attempts to reset the CEL but it remained active.
I pulled the connector on the actuator and verified 12 VDC between pins 1 & 4(ignition on) . Read resistance between pins 2 & 3 and got 120 ohms (ignition off). Trouble shooting steps call for the resistance to be read from the NOx 1 module connector, but I couldn't get at it today and won't have access to the truck again until next weekend. I also couldn't get to the PCM connectors either.

1st question for the smarter folks here: Is 120 ohms read from the actuator connector good? I would hate to spend the enormous amount of money on a new actuator and/or turbo just to have the same problem if a wire got dinged (possible but not likely since those wires aren't exposed where we did any of the HVAC work)

2nd question: Is there any way to test the actuator to verify if it is good or bad?

3rd question: If the actuator is bad, should I replace just the actuator (my Launch does have the calibration capability). I have read a few posts where new actuators would not calibrate and a mechanic (or 2) have said they ALWAYS replace both the turbo and actuator as a matched set (not sure if this is just a recommendation or requirement)

4th question: If replacing the actuator and/or turbo is the fix, what would be the best option? Looking for a drop in unit, but keeping with my motto "Never just REPLACE, always UPGRADE when possible".
I started leaning towards ATS, however, I found 1 recommendation for it and 1 mention of quality issues so I am on the fence there. I have also looked at the Fleece Turbo/ Actuator combo, but I want to be sure it is plug and play with my (mostly) stock set up. I also read on here about the City Diesel? replacement actuator.

Apologies for book above!

What are your thoughts?

 

[Diesel85]

I would first start by making sure your batteries are fully charged and do a load test on both of them.

 

[Timd32]

Here is a PDF on this one.

It sure sounds like you should retrace other work performed prior to replacing parts.

 

[Grumpy8811]

I would say if it wasn't having problems before I took it in for repair, I'd take it back to the repair guys first.. maybe something got disconnected.

 

[Topzide]

First, please list what year and model truck on your signature line. This helps us to help you. Now on to helping with the issue. How many hours on the truck, combined? how much boost is being produced? How much EB horsepower? If time is any where close to 4K, I'd replace the actuator with a City Diesel unit, as it requires no calibration on your behalf. It's a plug and play unit. If your having low boost and EB horsepower below 30, again I'd lean toward the actuator. I went down this road a little while ago. How old are the batteries? Low batteries can cause weird gremlins to show up in our trucks at times. Are you still hearing the turbo go through the it's self check before starting? The one thing to remember, if the turbo vanes are stuck due to carbon build up, an actuator won't help and a full turbo would be needed. The factory actuators fail due to time of use because of the electronic components used. They have also fail due to a coolant leak, and frying the circuit boards! Have the work retraced, to make sure nothing is unplugged. Good luck.

 

[Ram77]

Updated Signature, filled out the truck profile but didn't realize that doesn't show. 17 Big Horn 4x4 Quad Cab, Monster intake, Heater and CAI. Bully Dog GT Tuner
Boost is low, 1-2 psi until I get into higher rpms even under a load and then only 21psi . Absolutely no exhaust brake. Batteries are fairly new, but I will grab a load tester and check it next weekend when I get back. Total hours at least according to the dash is probably around 2k-2.5k, but from what I hear these are very inaccurate. ~129K mi.
I haven't found anything unplugged. The only thing regarding wiring I'm not 100% on are the bus lines from the actuator to the NOx1 Module connector. I need to get it in the garage and jacked up to get access to the NOx connector. No work has been done down that low however, there was some coolant spilled in that area while removing the Heater Core.
The actuator looks fairly accessible and replaceable. How difficult is it to replace the turbo? I would like to replace the boost tubes as well. I found a decent dent in one of them when I installed the CAI. Had to have been from the factory based on the location and the fact that nothing had been touched in that area prior.

 

[Ozymandias]

Im pretty sure your Turbo didn't go bad in the work bay - it is Nonsens right now to talk about turbo or actuator replacement if it worked fine before the dash was removed.

 

[Ram77]

Im pretty sure your Turbo didn't go bad in the work bay - it is Nonsens right now to talk about turbo or actuator replacement if it worked fine before the dash was removed.

So far I have found nothing around the dash that would affect the turbo or actuator. The only link between the 2 I have found so far is the batteries being disconnected. I have seen numerous reports in various forums stating weak or disconnected batteries have not created the problem necessarily, but I guess "uncovered" it? Puzzles me too, but who knows these days with electronics and the standard CAN bus gremlins.

 

[Grumpy8811]

The actuator looks fairly accessible and replaceable. How difficult is it to replace the turbo? I would like to replace the boost tubes as well. I found a decent dent in one of them when I installed the CAI. Had to have been from the factory based on the location and the fact that nothing had been touched in that area prior.

if replacing the whole actuator it has to be calibrated.. which of course requires the appropriate diagnostic tools to accomplish.. Geno's sell a actuator repair kit that doesn't require calibration, it is just the electric part and not the complete Actuator assembly.

 

[Ozymandias]

So far I have found nothing around the dash that would affect the turbo or actuator. The only link between the 2 I have found so far is the batteries being disconnected. I have seen numerous reports in various forums stating weak or disconnected batteries have not created the problem necessarily, but I guess "uncovered" it? Puzzles me too, but who knows these days with electronics and the standard CAN bus gremlins.

Have you tried to run the calibration feature on your Autel?
Or is there no connection at all?
Did you reset the ECM to have him restart blank?

 

[Topzide]

@Grumpy8811, The City Diesel unit that Genos sells, isn't a repair kit. It's an actuator that City diesel has designed to work on our trucks! It has better components than the factory, along with a stronger vane motor. It doesn't need calibration because it works just like the factory unit. It does a self calibration upon start up. Their unit is by far worth it, IMO. It's not a reman or repaired unit that you have no idea what was wrong with it before it was "fixed".

 

[Topzide]

@Ram77, Have you tried to return to factory tune? Could be a glitch with when the batteries were unhooked. If you can't get them load tested, you could do a quick check with a multi-meter. Check the standing voltage (12.6 +), then crank engine over and see what the voltage drop is. If it goes below 10.8, batteries are on borrowed time! With colder temps here or right around the corner, they may leave you stranded. A lot of us put our trucks on trickle chargers (smart maintainers). You can wire a trailer plug and feed back through the trailer socket. That way, you don't need to open the hood to hook up. If you have factory batteries, you got your monies worth! 5 yrs seems to be the average life span, without maintainer being used. Hope we got you going in the right direction. Waiting for updates.

 

[BigPapa]

The City Diesel Actuators are great. We've replaced 45 of the OE Holeset Actuators on our school buses with the City Diesel units since we started using them fourteen months ago. We have yet to have an actual problem with one of them. We have had one that one of our techs said was bad, but it turned out to be a low-voltage issue, not a problem with the Actuator, and we had three that the circuit boards were burnt up because the tech that installed them, not one of our guys, didn't drain the coolant. That cost his company a bit over $5K.

 

[Ozymandias]

I still don't believe that this turbo turned bad while sitting in the work shop.
I was perfectly fine until a mechanic touched the vehicle.

 

[Topzide]

@Ozymandias, Timing can bite you. Could just be coincidence. You know how the gremlins in our trucks love to drive us crazy!

 

[Grumpy8811]

@Grumpy8811, The City Diesel unit that Genos sells, isn't a repair kit. It's an actuator that City diesel has designed to work on our trucks! It has better components than the factory, along with a stronger vane motor. It doesn't need calibration because it works just like the factory unit. It does a self calibration upon start up. Their unit is by far worth it, IMO. It's not a reman or repaired unit that you have no idea what was wrong with it before it was "fixed".

I was at a loss for words this morning.. . so that was what I called it...a repair kit when in fact that kit sounds like a person can replace the electric portion of the actuator with that city diesel part, but I called it a repair kit.. because I am getting old and stuff don't always come to mind when I am thinking out loud.

 

[Ram77]

I still don't believe that this turbo turned bad while sitting in the work shop.
I was perfectly fine until a mechanic touched the vehicle.

If it was a dealership or shady place, maybe. And I'm not saying we didn't knock something loose

 

[Ram77]

Have you tried to run the calibration feature on your Autel?
Or is there no connection at all?
Did you reset the ECM to have him restart blank?

I didn't try the calibration, It requires the precal first, and the actuator has to be removed for that. Due to lack of time and space in the garage I couldn't get to it this weekend. I will be back at it next weekend when I get home!

 

[Ram77]

The GT Tuner is a piggyback that plugs into the OBD2. I did run it for quite some time with it disconnected. Batteries are fairly new, within the last 2 years, but I will hit them with a load tester this weekend. Factory batteries didn't last long at all!

 

[Ram77]

Just another thought, if it were weak batteries, it shouldn't kick a constant code while running, especially above 1200 rpm and the alternator still reads between 13 and 14 VDC I think, didn't notice a low voltage scrolling through the dash.