Durasparky question

[BeaterMan]

do you happen to know what the specified reading for the mix solenoid are, that way i'm not throwing parts at it "hopping" that fixes it without doing any diagonstics. I hate when people do that and dont even attempt to find the actual problem. Or tell me what ya think of this... the guy told me it had to have a feedback carb. so what if i durasparked it and left the feedback on as a temp. and made it appear that it had all the emission crap??? i know thats where breaking federal law starts but it like you said probably very few people actually have these older emission crap working. I even thought unplugging my computer, getting it tested and if it passes, that right there would prove that none of that crap works anyways. im thinking just get it to pass as it, i know it would, and then duraspark as i dont see this vehicle being streetable by 2012- as if i keep it that long it would get d60's and be a trailerable vehicle only.

kimcrwbr1 thanks for all your insight on this topic by the way!

 

[kimcrwbr1]

Yea I went thru and replaced everything and what messed me up was the egr the heads and manifold ports were totally plugged sot the computer did not sense the rpm drop on the KOER test. Do you have everything connected you said the preheater door was not working did you connect it direct to vacuum the way i got mine working i shot some wd-40 in the vacuum line and in the little tube on top of the bimetal switch in the bottom of the filter housing the round metal thing the vacuum lines hook up to. when it is cold it provides vacuum to the door and as the air warms up from the exhaustit will turn off the vacuum to the door. Is yours a automatic transmission I can give you mine and all the sensors and map and throttle motor for shipping and a couple bucks stuff it all in one of those flat rate boxes but yea you cant get a computer new and it is a crap shoot getting a good one it took three from schucks to get one that worked.

 

[BeaterMan]

when connected to direct vacuum- i used a hand pump the thermo door/flap didn't even hold vacuum. on my air cleaner there is no bi-metal switch nor has there ever been since i've owned it. my truck has a 5speed and i'm planning on going to the yard maybe friday to see what i can round up but if that doesn't work, ill let ya know about those parts.

 

[kimcrwbr1]

if you have a volt/ohm meter you can check the feedback solenoid check the two terminals there shoud be resistance or low ohms it should be a closed circuit it uses the computer to bleed air to the venturi cluster the more air the leaner when it is not working it is full rich

 

[kimcrwbr1]

look for a filter housing the vacuum plugs into a connector onto he bottom of the housing from the tree it goes to the bimetal on the lower filter housing then it feed out thru to round vacuum restrictor or whatever it is to the door i just started grabbing vacuum fittings that might work had to get a door motor on ebay when mine stopped working. if you dont have the schroud on the drivers exhaust manifold i guess you cantie the duct tube there to pull hot air off the manifold

 

[kimcrwbr1]

Your computer is kinna working or it would not run does the idle motor work or do you have a screw holding the idle

 

[kimcrwbr1]

also i dont think the preheater door will hold a vacuum did you check to see if it closed when you applied vacuum they are designed not to stay open

 

[BeaterMan]

i have the old heat thing that goes around the manifold but i doubt it will work with the headers i got on the truck.- that only seems to be for when its cold, i usually let it warm up a few anyways and once it get some temp that shouldn't be too big of an issue. ill have to look into that preheat door but i'm pretty sure mine is open all the time. lol and yea it does have a idle motor and not a screw and that seems to function properly for the most part.
I did want to work on it today some since i'm planning on taking it wheeling sunday but i gota go to physics class at 12 then i'm going to help a buddy aerating some lawns later so tomarrow will be diagnostic day. i think my more important thing to look at is the mix solenoid, air temps sensor, and a few other odds and ends. I know this will never be a horsepower demon but maybe i could get it to have a little easier time at climbing these rockey mnts and getting around without being so varied and unresponsive.

 

[kimcrwbr1]

The feedback solenoid is just that there are no readings just on and off the computer feeds it a pulse voltage you can check the connector and see if you get a pulsing voltage with the engine running at different rpms if you get power to the solenoid then yea it is the connection or the solenoid. If you messed with the idle screws the best way to fine tune it I found is to turn the idle screws 1 1/2 turns out then start it then unplug the idle motor then turn each out for the highest idle or best vacuum shut it off and check how many turns in then back out they should be within 1/4 to 1/2 turn between them then plug the motor back in and start it. For the curb idle just turn the motor off and the throttle motor should fully extend, go ahead and unplug it and start the motor and put it in gear you can adjust the curb idle with motor extended by turning the screw that moves the bracket to whatever the book saysjus have someone holding the brakes or block the tires but about 800 rpm in neutral worked pretty good for me. There are alot of things to look at but the feedback solenoid on the back of the carb is just a winding the computer opens and closes it when the oxygen sensor tells it wants lean or rich. there is actually a carb that adjusts for altitude too but I dont think your truck has the wiring I have seen them on ebay. Your computer might be working you just need all the other stuff working with it.

 

[kimcrwbr1]

You will know when the solenoid is working it will click for a few seconds after you turn the key off until the computer shuts down. You should hear the click on the passenger side that is the eec relay

 

[BeaterMan]

THe engine actually idles fine and doesn't ever die or anything, idles right around 900 rpms so i'm not even gona mess with that, i'll check the signal volts to the mix solenoid and the resistance on that itself but either way i'm sure it doesn't work, hints why i can unplug it and the truck runs no differently. i'll keep ya posted on my findings tomarrow and hopefully the junk yard will have what i need once my diagnostics are complete.

 

[kimcrwbr1]

did you check the egr it is real ez just hook a vacuum line from the tree or manifold vac to it at an idle and it should die. get the air bleed solenoid or feedback working and if your gettin 11 codes you should pass the emissions just make sure it is good and warm when you go in. I forgot you have a pump just apply vac to the egr at an idle

 

[BeaterMan]

yea the egr works and how it runs now, i'm not worried about it passing. it passed last time and ran like complete crap and didn't have a cat.

 

[kimcrwbr1]

So what was the final diagnosis

 

[enginepaul]

I'm jumping in here a little late and haven't read all the posts, so this may have been covered. There is a Ford Truck Emission Diagnosis manual that covers all repairs and it give you step by step procedures for all error codes and even what to do if there are no codes. If you must have smog, you should have this book because it will save time and money. (try e-bay or Craig's List)
As far as that solenoid behind the carburetor, it allows air in (opens a valve) while at cruising speeds to lean-out the mixture. If you connect a light or meter in series with the connector while the RPMs are held steady at a cruising range, you will see pulses IF the computer and sensors are working. The computer controlled smog, carb, and timing all work as part of a system = one needs the other for proper operation.
A cheaper all-in-one manual may cover some of the things that you need, but the Ford manual will cover everything related to smog.

If you pulled any codes, post them and maybe someone can guess what the problem is and suggest a solution.

I run legal California smog (Dyno test) and it was a pain to get it running right, but once is does, you will be happy.