Re: Too much thinking

From: Vanderburg (vanderbu@silk.net)
Date: Wed Aug 19 1998 - 21:57:58 EDT


I love the idea of being able to switch computers!
Find out who makes Dodges computers, I heard from a dodge dealer that Mopar
has them made up by someone independent? They (the vendor that makes them)
should be able to easily make up a harness that will allow you to simply
switch from one computer to the other with just a flick of the switch.
Personally I like the idea that the one that is not turned on is not
powered.

-----Original Message-----
From: Jon Steiger <stei0302@cs.fredonia.edu>
To: dakota-truck@buffnet.net <dakota-truck@buffnet.net>
Date: Tuesday, August 18, 1998 11:56 PM
Subject: Re: DML: Too much thinking

>At 11:59 PM 8/18/98 -0400, you wrote:
>>Hey list, two questions/thoughts I've been thinking about that I'd like
your
>>comments on
>>(yes, no, what are you, crazy? - that kind of thing). These ??'s are for
my
>>'95 318 CC - but probably apply to all the Daks.
>>
>>1) Replaced my plugs & wires last week (MSD Helicore's), and in the
process
>>got very annoyed with the thin metal tubes (towers) that protrude up
around
>>the plug wire from the engine. I had alot of little crap down in there
>>around the old plugs, but no way to get it out! With the plugs in there is
>>no way to get a tootbrush or anything in to brush it away. With the plugs
>>out, well most of it would get into the engine (don't want that!).
>>Has anyone tried to remove these metal protrusions? Does anyone have any
>>ideas on how to clean around them w/out getting it into the engine? I was
>>thinking of maybe cutting these off with a Dremel & cutting wheel, but all
>>those little metal bits flying around make me a little hesitant.
>
>
> Just use an air compressor to shoot some air down there. Its definitely
>a good idea to clean them out before removing your plugs. As far as the
>heat shields go, there's no need to cut them. If you want to remove them,
>unhook the spark plug wire first, then just squeeze down near the base of
>the shield and pull them out. They'll compress and come out of the
machined
>openings in the head that they sit in.
>
>
>>
>>2) I'm planning on getting the Mopar Perf. SBEC (easy enough) but was
>>thinking about what it would take to have both chips installed at the same
>>time, but control which one you are running through via an A/B type
switch?
>>I know, the change-out of the chips is pretty easy, but this way you could
>>easily switch "on the fly" (go for the stock chip for normal
driving/mileage
>>& switch to Perf. chip when street dualing, playing around). Since it
takes
>>the computer a bit to reprogram, would this be worth while? From a
>>theoretical view, it should work - but I have enough electronics
experience
>>to know that theory & reality quite often don't match up!
>
> Right you are. :-) The problem with this is that, rather than being
>a single chip, the PCM is unserviceable. You'd have to switch the entire
>computer. On my '96 V8, that's 65 seperate connections. In theory, all
>you need to do is keep power to both PCM's at all times (if you want to
>retain their memories; otherwise you don't have to worry about it) and
>switch between 120-130 lines to 60-65 common lines (depending on wether you
>are suppling constant power or not). Pretty simple in theory; all you need
>is about 65 relays, a switch, and a bunch of wire. :-) Even if you were
>lucky enough to get the relays for $5 each, you're still looking at
>$325.
>
> Another option might be to mount the PCM in the cab and you could
>physically change the plug. Still, that's a lot of wiring (to extend the
>harness), and a pretty big hassle as far as actually using it goes.
Another
>factor that comes into play is that a few people have reported *better* gas
>mileage with the performance PCM, so it might be better to just leave that
>in all the time.
>
>So, I guess its like most things... If you really want to do it and you've
>got the cash, then yeah, its definitely do-able. :-)
>
>
>
> -Jon-
>
> .--- stei0302@cs.fredonia.edu ------------------------------------.
> | Affiliations: DoD, EAA, MP Race Team, NMA, SPA, USUA. RP-SEL |
> | '96 Dodge Dakota v8 SLT CC (14.85@90.72), '96 Kolb FireFly 447 |
> `----------------------- http://www.cs.fredonia.edu/~stei0302/ ---'
>



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