I'm getting a little frusterated with diesel techs that can't think outside of a computer telling them what to think.

Took the '03 back into the dealer this morning to have them test the injectors. Truck has been kicking out black smoke like mad lately. Of course, they turn the key and can't get it to kick out anything. Tech tells me I simply haven't been driving it hard enough. It's showing only 10-30% throttle ever being used, and a whopping 19 mpg. "This can't be" I explained. The truck has been getting tromped on (hence all the black smoke and a written warning from Colorado DPS) and all my hand calculated MPG's are in the 11-13 mpg on the highway. If the ECM is telling them that, then there is something else going on. He tells me that he dosn't hand calculate my mpg (despite my fuel log), and who is to say what normal fuel mileage is on these trucks. Nothing wrong, eh? I told him you can't expect me to believe that the hand calculated milage is normal. All he could say was, "Who am I to say?"

Anyone have any thoughts on what is actually going on?

 

Check for a boost leak is one thing to check. To see if it is an injector the tech can do a return flow test on each one. If he dosen't know how get him to call Star. They will teach him.

 

Haha. Well, I told them to at least check the oil for diesel for starters. For as long as the truck had been sitting, that should be a good indication of a leak, at least.

 

Had the same run around last year with dealer, same bs... ended up going to local injection shop they did the injector return tests found a few that were weak... in the end 6 new injectors for 1/2 the price of the dealer including installation.

 

If you have a bad injector you may not have diesel in the oil. That only happens if the injector body gets cracked. If you had a cracked injector body you would have oil all over the back of the truck and you would know it.

 

Well, the diagnostics should tell you a lot. Unfortunatly, the tech doesn't know enough to use the data he has to make a correct diagnosis.

First off, why does the ECM say you've never used more than 30% throttle? IS there something wrong with the TPS? The ECM?

I'm not a diesel expert by any stretch of the imagination. But from what I'v read, too much fuel will cause black smoke. So, where is the extra fuel coming from?

Why is mileage so high according to the ECM? Which sensor is not working correctly? Logically, this is what I'd be looking at. The ECM thinks you're using a lot less fuel than you are. But it's actually adding too much fuel. Why is that?

I don't know the answers to those questions. But if it was my truck, I'd find them.

 

That's precisely the point I made to the Diesel Tech. He just shrugged.

SpLaT, did that take care of your problem completely?

 

Hopper,

Don't know how close you are to Golden, CO but Email Max and tell him your problems and I'm sure he can help you. His Email address is PERFCARTRUCK at AOL.COM . BTW he is the Owner of a car and diesel shop.

 

Ditto on MAXTORQ. He lives overr on dieselram.com and one of the gurus there.

Pete