MG Metalworks Van Build

[mgmetalworks]

Although is was a pretty good shock to the wallet, I'm pretty stoked at the outcome of the day. I now have a torque converter on its way that is specifically configured for the 6.7L Cummins/Allison combo. I also had a pretty good conversation with the owner of Destroked about fitment "challenges" in these vans. He pretty much confirmed what I was thinking about placement of the engine. I won't have as much work as he explained they went through though since I have the newer body style and more room to work with in the front.

As far as the parts go, the torque converter is the last of the "paycheck killing" items. I have what I need now to mate the engine/trans/transfercase together so time to get my hoist built and get this monster drivetrain mounted!!

So many cool things happening in the Cummins tuning scene now too. The aftermarket is just blowin' up for these new engines and the power/economy numbers are super impressive. In time they'll only get better too. :sombrero:

 

[fmboss429]

Staying tuned...

 

[mgmetalworks]

More trimming on the wiring harness today. I think I finally have the unnecessary junk out of the engine harness. I've had more than one pile like this after a good trimming...



Two things have been keeping my mind busy the past couple of weeks on this project... 1) Air conditioning and 2) Cruise control. Neither of them is a show stopper but both have their own unique challenges to make work right. For the A/C, the Ram truck and Ford van have different approaches to how each system is activated and controlled. You could say that the Ford system is a little less complicated than the Ram system in that it is actually hard wired to the PCM and gets fan/temp control commands directly. The RAM however uses a climate control module to send fan/temp control info via the interior 125k baud rate bus to a gateway module (the instrument panel cluster in this case) where it is then translated for transmission on the 500k baud rate CAN-C bus that the connects to the ECM. Nothing is ever easy right? I have a plan to make it work though...actually I think there are at least three ways you could make this work but I won't know which one I want to do until I get some parts in and do some bench testing. Ebay has been awesome for finding affordable parts for this stuff.

The cruise control is a similar problem in that there are intermediate modules between the steering wheel controls and the engine ECM. I see lots more CAN bus data collection and deciphering in my future.

 

[ujoint]

Bam, need an emoticon for mind explosion!

 

[njtacoma]

Bam, need an emoticon for mind explosion!

Agreed!

 

[bknudtsen]

I got the in person explanation yesterday when MG came over to check out my new rig. My only response was, "Well, of course!"

 

[mgmetalworks]

Really the only part about this that is hard to figure out is why did Chrysler choose to use a microcontroller to send data to another microcontroller that then translates the message to tell the ECM that a switch has been turned on and the algorithm that constantly monitors the system pressure via a pressure transducer can trigger the compressor relay to cycle on/off between some high/low values set in the calibration??? I love technology but it seems like a very round about way to trigger a relay....

The Ford system cycles the compressor on/off with a low and high pressure switches.

oh well... that's what I have to work with.

 

[dcguillory]

Naughty Crysler pressure transgender or whatever

 

[fmboss429]

Bam, need an emoticon for mind explosion!

+1 on this!!! I am actually starting to understand how all this links and works together... It's been by experience, Chyrsler has always seemed to be the odd bird of the bunch. Look at their muscle cars in the 60's and 70's, built completely different from the others.

 

[mgmetalworks]

Time off from work means time for progress on the Cummins conversion!!!

After hours of trimming out the fat and double/triple/quadruple checking diagrams, I finally have the engine side of the harness where I want it. It is really just a skeleton of its former self but that's a good thing. Everything that isn't needed is gone and it is very very simplified vs. the factory harness. Not a single butt connector either.



I started on the Ford engine bay harness and have most of the fat trimmed out of it. I'm working on restructuring several circuits now for the integration of the Cummins wiring. I have plenty of relays and fuses in the factory Ford battery junction box but because Ford seems to love shared circuits, I have to be careful about what I take out and what I'm connecting to. The Ford approach to wiring is a lot simpler than Chrysler's in my opinion so much of my time spent on the wiring for this conversion has been coming up with a way to make the Chrysler circuits work within the same "scheme" as the Ford. This way I don't need to have a bunch of extra Chrysler parts just to trigger relays.

I found a Smart Junction Box on ebay so now I can plug everything in and power it up to check out all of the wiring before getting it in the van. Once I get this, I can also test out my "Advancetrac/RSC elimination" theory. I think the same theory will also work for eliminating the TPMS...I've been asked about that before too.

getting closer...

 

[ujoint]

I like the sounds of that. TPMS bye bye!

 

[tgreening]

You guys are going to need to put a lexicon up front spelling out to us lay people what all this gibberish means. Advancetrac/RSC? TPMS? Is that like Truck PMS or something?

 

[njtacoma]

You guys are going to need to put a lexicon up front spelling out to us lay people what all this gibberish means. Advancetrac/RSC? TPMS? Is that like Truck PMS or something?

OH, OH, OH, something I understand in this thread, sort of.
TPMS = Tire Pressure Monitoring System!
Advancetrac/RSC = some sort of Traction control and Roll Stability Control = Keep your van from turtling when you drive like a maniac.

I think those are right, without looking even!

 

[mgmetalworks]

OH, OH, OH, something I understand in this thread, sort of.
TPMS = Tire Pressure Monitoring System!
Advancetrac/RSC = some sort of Traction control and Roll Stability Control = Keep your van from turtling when you drive like a maniac.

I think those are right, without looking even!

You got it!

 

[mk216v]

Really the only part about this that is hard to figure out is why did Chrysler choose to use a microcontroller to send data to another microcontroller that then translates the message to tell the ECM that a switch has been turned on and the algorithm that constantly monitors the system pressure via a pressure transducer can trigger the compressor relay to cycle on/off between some high/low values set in the calibration???

That's what she said!