Fuel Economy, Hypermiling, EcoModding News and Forum - EcoModder.com - View Single Post

thingstodo · 05-14-2012, 07:32 PM

I brought a battery out to SalvageS10, cleaned up the battery posts on the truck a bit, installed the battery and turned the ignition to see the startup sequence that I remember - but that's not what I saw.

I remember a sequence - turn the key, you get a steady tone that shows your seatbelt is not on, the dashboard powers up and shows minimum, a steady rise to maximum (I can't remember if the gauges were done in a series or all at the same time) and then the gauges drop to present values - oil pressure and temperature, motor temperature, fuel, tach and speedometer.

That's NOT what happened today when I put the key into the S10. The tone for seatbelt did sound. The Check engine light lit. And that's about it. NOTHING on the dash lit up.

What did I do wrong?

OK - crank the motor .. the battery cranked (no gas tank, so it could not start). The windows go up and down. The radio works ... but there is no dash display.

I was counting on driving the dash with signals from my PLC 5/60. I have PLC code ready to drive 4 - 20 mA or 0 - 10V signals, even pulsed 12V or 5V. I just needed to know what the existing signals are in order to imitate them. I also need to see what minimum scale and maximum scale look like.

So I need to create a dashboard of some sort. This will PROBABLY make it a bit more difficult to get SalvageS10 licensed. A big empty screen does not inspire confidence in a vehicle inspector. But does a home-made dashboard with salvaged meters inspire more confidence?

My memory is excellent for some things, and very poor for other things. I've learned not to trust my memory, so I'll do some reading and perhaps post on one or two of the chevy sites to determine if I've broken something or if I just don't remember a thing about how this dash used to work.

It would seem very strange that removing the gas tank would make the dash stop working ... but who knows? If that is the problem, then I will not likely get the dash to work again.

Since I did not see a display, I didn't check out the color coded wires going to the dash ... it seems kinda pointless since I would not be able to tell if a signal was being sent to the display.

05-14-2012, 07:32 PM	#103 (permalink)
thingstodo Master EcoModder Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Saskatoon, canada Posts: 1,488 Ford Prefect - '18 Ford F150 XLT XTR Tess - '22 Tesla Y LR Thanks: 746 Thanked 565 Times in 447 Posts	Memory not right, or I broke something I brought a battery out to SalvageS10, cleaned up the battery posts on the truck a bit, installed the battery and turned the ignition to see the startup sequence that I remember - but that's not what I saw. I remember a sequence - turn the key, you get a steady tone that shows your seatbelt is not on, the dashboard powers up and shows minimum, a steady rise to maximum (I can't remember if the gauges were done in a series or all at the same time) and then the gauges drop to present values - oil pressure and temperature, motor temperature, fuel, tach and speedometer. That's NOT what happened today when I put the key into the S10. The tone for seatbelt did sound. The Check engine light lit. And that's about it. NOTHING on the dash lit up. What did I do wrong? OK - crank the motor .. the battery cranked (no gas tank, so it could not start). The windows go up and down. The radio works ... but there is no dash display. I was counting on driving the dash with signals from my PLC 5/60. I have PLC code ready to drive 4 - 20 mA or 0 - 10V signals, even pulsed 12V or 5V. I just needed to know what the existing signals are in order to imitate them. I also need to see what minimum scale and maximum scale look like. So I need to create a dashboard of some sort. This will PROBABLY make it a bit more difficult to get SalvageS10 licensed. A big empty screen does not inspire confidence in a vehicle inspector. But does a home-made dashboard with salvaged meters inspire more confidence? My memory is excellent for some things, and very poor for other things. I've learned not to trust my memory, so I'll do some reading and perhaps post on one or two of the chevy sites to determine if I've broken something or if I just don't remember a thing about how this dash used to work. It would seem very strange that removing the gas tank would make the dash stop working ... but who knows? If that is the problem, then I will not likely get the dash to work again. Since I did not see a display, I didn't check out the color coded wires going to the dash ... it seems kinda pointless since I would not be able to tell if a signal was being sent to the display.