rossvtaylor
Adventurer
And then drive the guru to Flagstaff for the afternoon...
Freightliner ambulance conversion project.
- Thread starter Ozrockrat
- Start date
Ozrockrat
Expedition Leader
On no. No guru today. Then the diff didn't fit. But some minor progress on the little things.
I use a Little Giant safety step for getting in and out of the module. Works fantastically and is useful when trying to work on other parts of the rig. But I have just been laying it in the doorway when not needed. Time for an upgrade so 4 hooks and 2 footman's loops later it is set.
Now just as a recommendation I have found this kit very handy. It contains stainless screws is various sizes and heads along with the taps, drills and drill taps for all of them. Every time I need to fix something to the aluminum I just grab this and go. Also I always use thread lock on all the aluminum-stainless interfaces. It both stops some of the electronics and also stops the screws from loosening as easily. (Freightliners are not called shake liners for nothing)
You can get the drill taps in a kit from Amazon.
I use a Little Giant safety step for getting in and out of the module. Works fantastically and is useful when trying to work on other parts of the rig. But I have just been laying it in the doorway when not needed. Time for an upgrade so 4 hooks and 2 footman's loops later it is set.
Now just as a recommendation I have found this kit very handy. It contains stainless screws is various sizes and heads along with the taps, drills and drill taps for all of them. Every time I need to fix something to the aluminum I just grab this and go. Also I always use thread lock on all the aluminum-stainless interfaces. It both stops some of the electronics and also stops the screws from loosening as easily. (Freightliners are not called shake liners for nothing)
You can get the drill taps in a kit from Amazon.
Ozrockrat
Expedition Leader
Expo East
Just an FYI for those heading to Overland Expo East.
We will be there and setup in the feature vehicles area. Stop by and say g'day. Hopefully if you cannot see the big pus yellow ambulance we will be flying a boxing kangaroo flag.
We are also running a couple of classes/talks called "DIY Expedition Vehicles" ( Friday at 2PM and Saturday at 10 AM )
Just an FYI for those heading to Overland Expo East.
We will be there and setup in the feature vehicles area. Stop by and say g'day. Hopefully if you cannot see the big pus yellow ambulance we will be flying a boxing kangaroo flag.
We are also running a couple of classes/talks called "DIY Expedition Vehicles" ( Friday at 2PM and Saturday at 10 AM )
RiderBloke
Observer
One of these years I may get there and I'll fly my boxing kangaroo flag and wear my cricket hat.
Sent from my iPhone somewhere on the face of the earth using Tapatalk
scooter421
Adventurer
I like the ladder Oz, been debating on keeping the step I am currently using or installing a regular fold down rv step. I like that one but if I recall your truck sits a bit higher than mine. What are the step heights on that Little Giant? It might prove to be a little high for my truck.
That is very cool you're going to be doing a bit of training at the Expo. You've got plenty of knowledge to share. I certainly can't make Expo East but I am waiting to sign up for This coming Expo West.
Scooter...
That is very cool you're going to be doing a bit of training at the Expo. You've got plenty of knowledge to share. I certainly can't make Expo East but I am waiting to sign up for This coming Expo West.
Scooter...
guidolyons
Addicted to Gear Oil
Who makes that tap kit? Greenlee?
guidolyons
Addicted to Gear Oil
Who makes that tap kit? Greenlee?
Found it:
Found it:
rlrenz
Explorer
Where would we be without Amazon? They have a great search engine, and darn near anything available. The only soft spot is in machine shop supplies, but I've read that they want to get deeper into that as well.
A good source for industrial supplies, nuts & bolts, etc, is McMaster-Carr - great search engine, all in stock, and fast shipping.
A good source for industrial supplies, nuts & bolts, etc, is McMaster-Carr - great search engine, all in stock, and fast shipping.
rossvtaylor
Adventurer
I like the ladder, too, but it's a pricey Little Giant! I've owned cars that cost less...
Ozrockrat
Expedition Leader
Finally found the cruise control plugs. Hidden In the kick panel near the diagnostic plug.
For anyone chasing down cruise on a 1999 FL60 with Cummins.
If you check the photos. It looks like 2 separate plugs per switch. It is actually only a single plug.
Wire numbers Cruise on/off N10D and N02 also has wiring to lights N29 and GND1 (many of these numbers in the harness)
Set/Resume N10E, N12, N22 and GND2. Also has GND2 and N29AB for the lights.
Now to do a test drive ( after redoing the DIP switches for the speedo) and see if by some magic stroke of luck the had the cruise control feature turned on in the "features" for this truck.
For anyone chasing down cruise on a 1999 FL60 with Cummins.
If you check the photos. It looks like 2 separate plugs per switch. It is actually only a single plug.
Wire numbers Cruise on/off N10D and N02 also has wiring to lights N29 and GND1 (many of these numbers in the harness)
Set/Resume N10E, N12, N22 and GND2. Also has GND2 and N29AB for the lights.
Now to do a test drive ( after redoing the DIP switches for the speedo) and see if by some magic stroke of luck the had the cruise control feature turned on in the "features" for this truck.
Ozrockrat
Expedition Leader
OK a warning SPEEDO CALIBRATION. Freightliner in their infinite wisdom have gone against every other standard in the world and defined their binary to be 1 = OFF and 0 = ON. I would like to kick whoever came up with that in the nuts many times or maybe slam their male appendage in a car door a few time.
OK Rant off. Calibration of our Amtek electronic speedos is rather simple. Get your Revs per mile for the tires you are running (on the rear if running 2 different types/sizes). Either the interweb and google foo or ask your tire supplier (get your pressure/weight charts at the same time). Then your rear end ratio, if running 2 speed diffs or a transfer case/brownie box take the ratio you run in normal operations. The calculation is Revs per mile x Drive ratio x Number of teeth on the output tone ring (16 for Allison's)
On mine that comes to 483 x 4.3 x 16 = 33230.
Then you lookup the calibration codes in the freightliner manual. (54.06 in my manuals). Photo to follow. In my case that equates to 1010100010. (old calibration was 1100011010 with the 245/70R19.5 specified tires).
Take a photo of your original settings. Swap the switches to the new settings. Test and compare to a GPS.
OK Rant off. Calibration of our Amtek electronic speedos is rather simple. Get your Revs per mile for the tires you are running (on the rear if running 2 different types/sizes). Either the interweb and google foo or ask your tire supplier (get your pressure/weight charts at the same time). Then your rear end ratio, if running 2 speed diffs or a transfer case/brownie box take the ratio you run in normal operations. The calculation is Revs per mile x Drive ratio x Number of teeth on the output tone ring (16 for Allison's)
On mine that comes to 483 x 4.3 x 16 = 33230.
Then you lookup the calibration codes in the freightliner manual. (54.06 in my manuals). Photo to follow. In my case that equates to 1010100010. (old calibration was 1100011010 with the 245/70R19.5 specified tires).
Take a photo of your original settings. Swap the switches to the new settings. Test and compare to a GPS.
Last edited:
rossvtaylor
Adventurer
Cool, thanks for being the Guinea pig and figuring out the 1s and 0s for me! Sorry I misled you about the plugs, though... I didn't unplug them and they looked like 4 separate plugs.
I'll change our speedo tonight, since I had to open up the dash for a friend...
I'll change our speedo tonight, since I had to open up the dash for a friend...
Ozrockrat
Expedition Leader
And a damn fine job you did with it to. You will still need to get the ECU end calibrated at some time as well but at least the speedo will be accurate.
Ozrockrat
Expedition Leader
OK test run complete. Speedo worked spot on. Totally in step with the GPS. Man have I been speeding. On the freeways I have been sitting on 2200 RPM. Looks like that equates to about 73-75 MPH. Hmmm tires are rated to 68. Oops. Cruise control is not configured, bummer but easily fixable I hope.
Also did a 0-50 run. And the results are:
Wait for it:
Wait for it:
Wait for it. Yes that is what I was doing waiting to hit 50. 23 seconds. Now to wait for the HP flash to 275 and see if it helps me out a bit.
For the nerds like me that equates to 3.2 ft/s or .0993 g :smiley_drive: I don't know if the body can handle those sorts of g forces over an extended time. Might have to back off a bit.
Also did a 0-50 run. And the results are:
Wait for it:
Wait for it:
Wait for it. Yes that is what I was doing waiting to hit 50. 23 seconds. Now to wait for the HP flash to 275 and see if it helps me out a bit.
For the nerds like me that equates to 3.2 ft/s or .0993 g :smiley_drive: I don't know if the body can handle those sorts of g forces over an extended time. Might have to back off a bit.