Got the new ignition switch, and of course the old one connectors are old and brittle so I had to mess with them to get them apart... got the new switch in place and of course after connecting the battery, I get ... nothing.!!! Battery went dead probably from the old switch not turning off all the way.. so the charger is on and we will see what comes up next!! (battery is about a month old)

 

Cleaned up a few things and tried to go for a ride, battery is dead! not sure if it is a drain or a bad charger, I did remember to check the central door locks and they are now working after replacing the computers. I'll give it an hour charge and try again.

 

After a charge, it started fine. went for a couple hours drive with the grandson and no problems... Well it does wander on the road a bit, and when I parked, the park pawl didn't hold so I used the parking brake, which worked fine. Grandson had fun playing with the power seats I did let him ride up front (with a car seat) and he liked being able to see everything! I think I found my new co-driver / Navigator (???)

The Check Engine light did come on with a code for intermittent miss, but I am guessing it is from gas that has been in there for who knows how long. Almost empty so I'll let it get as ow as I dare and fill it up with some Top Tier premium (no ethanol) and see how that works out. Looks to hae new wires and coil so maybe there is an issue there, maybe not.

 

Drove to work Monday and Tuesday, (80 miles each round trip) went Ok, a bit of vibration between 6 and 70 mph, and when I let off the throttle, the truck wants to swerve to the right..
Thinking vibration may be tires or drive shafts,and the swerve could be a sway bar or??

Got home last night and realized I have no brake lights.. Funny thing is the shifter works when I step on the brake pedal, I can hear the lock clicking. Maybe I dislodged a wire when I installed the ignition switch? Gonna take some digging I guess.

 

dug into wiring and found it wasn't a wiring issue. Tail light on drivers side had a bulb with an LED in it, which melted the housing, and burned up the bulb holder. Pass side has a standard bulb that does not work on the brake filament. Looks Ok, but does not have continuity through the bulb. The trailer converter looks to be working correctly. Parts are on order again

 

Parts came in and .. of course, the light housing was complete except for the one bulb holder I needed. Did a bunch of cosmetic rebuilding and it should be OK. Apparently the 2 element bulb holder is a rare commodity. Lights are working now so it is time for some vibration detective work. My guess is either a dry u-joint, or tires (probably tires) and a peek at the trans shift cable. It doesn't always lock into park and rolls at times. I use the E-brake when parking until I figure it out.

 

Step backwards... truck won't start when I tried to drive to work.... When I turned the key on, there was a lot of relays clicking and truck turns over, but doesn't start. Not sure if it is spark or fuel related. I did reset error codes Sunday with my ScangaugeII and it is still plugged into the port to use to monitor temps, maybe that is the problem (??) Looks like rain today so not sure when I can check it out. acts just like before I replaced the computer, no security light on the dash...

Update: went out this morning and disconnected ScangaugeII, plugged in my other scanner and truck started right up like nothing happened... Not too sure I want to drive it to work and back home at midnight.. maybe some more testing is in order..

 

went back another step and cleaned contacts on the 'new' tail light assembly so the bulbs will now work. Still no answer as to why it wouldn't start the other day. I noticed when I turned on the ignition key, there was a lot of relays clicking on and off the whole time until I quit . When I started it later, they only clicked once and the motor would then start.

 

Haven't updated this for a while,

latest problem is the radiator fans, the electric ones up front, don't come on when I turn on the A/c. Been playing with relays and checked fans, they turn and have resistance on them, just don't turn. Plenty of electrical gremlins left in this beast, but it seems to run down the road at about 207F, which I think is a bit high with a 180 thermostat. New clutch fan and still runs warm. The quest goes on....

 

I would try to apply 12V directly to the fans to see if they actually spin.