Solus Ultra Cam retard test

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  • ephratah service center
    Senior Member
    • Oct 2007
    • 143

    Solus Ultra Cam retard test

    Does any one know if the cam retard P.I.D. for a 01 Blazer 4.3L is still available in the 14.2 release. I had a Blazer in yesterday and wanted to verify timing for a customer that had replaced his distributor and was unable to locate the pid I had to get the old solus out with 12.2 installed to verify timing of distributor. I looked in trouble shooter and in ACC/ELECTRICAL/THEFT data group and every place else I thought it might be and did not see it any place.
  • greasybob
    Senior Member
    • May 2008
    • 1590

    #2
    Did you look in the trouble shooter under Fast Track Data Scan. I see it listed.

    Comment

    • greasybob
      Senior Member
      • May 2008
      • 1590

      #3
      By the way, is that distributor adjustable ? What did the Cam retard data pid read ?

      Comment

      • Crusty
        Senior Member
        • Dec 2007
        • 2450

        #4
        It might be in the "Troubleshooter" but where is it in the normal data groups-??
        Not everyone looks for quidance from the "Troubleshooter" because they know what pid they expect to see.
        Where is it-??

        Comment

        • ephratah service center
          Senior Member
          • Oct 2007
          • 143

          #5
          I checked under trouble shooter but it shows up as N/A rather than displaying a number the old solus with 12.2 showed it correctly the vehicle is scheduled for some other work in the morning so i will plug in and see what it displays to verify that it is not displying correctly

          Comment

          • Crusty
            Senior Member
            • Dec 2007
            • 2450

            #6
            Originally posted by ephratah service center
            I checked under trouble shooter but it shows up as N/A rather than displaying a number the old solus with 12.2 showed it correctly the vehicle is scheduled for some other work in the morning so i will plug in and see what it displays to verify that it is not displying correctly
            If you can't find the pid in the normal data groups, or it displays an incorrect value, try changing from graph view to pid-list view.

            If you can provide a 17 digit VIN, the developers might be able to look into the issue for us.
            There could be a reason if the 4.3 is an "X" or if the 4.3 is a "Z" (eighth digit of the full VIN).

            Comment

            • crackerclicker
              Senior Member
              • May 2008
              • 400

              #7
              Originally posted by ephratah service center
              I checked under trouble shooter but it shows up as N/A rather than displaying a number
              Raise your RPM.

              Comment

              • ephratah service center
                Senior Member
                • Oct 2007
                • 143

                #8
                I was mistaken there is no spot for it in the 14.2 release it just gives you instructions on how to perform the test with no spot for the results.
                The vin is 1GNDT13W81K238691 I made sure this morning that I have the correct vehicle selected and it is correct just not showing any results for test.

                Comment

                • Crusty
                  Senior Member
                  • Dec 2007
                  • 2450

                  #9
                  Originally posted by ephratah service center
                  I was mistaken there is no spot for it in the 14.2 release it just gives you instructions on how to perform the test with no spot for the results.
                  The vin is 1GNDT13W81K238691 I made sure this morning that I have the correct vehicle selected and it is correct just not showing any results for test.
                  Ah, I see. It's a 4x4, engine code "W", 2001 (5th, 8th & 10th of the VIN).
                  I forgot about that engine designation (W).


                  THIS IS A CLASSIC EXAMPLE TO THE SOFTWARE DEVELOPERS WHERE THE VIN IS IMPORTANT-!! nudge-nudge-wink-wink-say no more... (credits to Monty Python-!! LOL)


                  As greasybob says, the distributor may or may not be adjustable.

                  If it is an adjustable distributor it may not have a fixed value designation, or PID, for the cam retard (or possibly cam OFFSET).

                  Three engine codes for the 4.3 engine makes it a real research project to verify the 4.3-X, the 4.3-W, or the 4.3-Z, and which one has or hasn't got a fixed distributor which would have that PID.

                  Take a look in your information system and see if there is a procedure for either replacing the distributor and/or setting the timing. That might clarify the distributor configuration.

                  Comment

                  • greasybob
                    Senior Member
                    • May 2008
                    • 1590

                    #10
                    Not to hi-jack this thread or anything but the stated tolerance for cam retard for this engine is -5 to -17 degrees with no more than a 2 degree variation when reving the engine.. As far as I know the VIN W engine does not have an adjustable distributor. The reason I was wondering what the data pid was showing is that I had a similar vehicle I worked on this summer that had a complaint of random misfire during start ups and on humid days and sometimes on acceleration. This was backed up by the misfire history in the PCM. My first thought was to replace the distributor cap, a previous shop had replaced a fuel injector or maybe the whole assembly the owner wasn't sure. The new cap didn't solve the problem. I checked the injector poppet routing, ok. The cam retard pid on the scanner was at -15 degrees with no variation. I pulled the distributor to check the gear for wear, very little also very little side to movement in the distributor shaft. What I did notice however was a lot of end play in the distributor shaft. When installed I could pick the rotor up about 3/8th of an inch. As I move the rotor up it would turn in the direction that would retard the timing. I told the customer that I would install a new distributor and assume the risk of it fixing the problem. New distributor, the cam retard is now at -1 and no more misfire for over 2 months now. This makes me wonder about the whole -5 to -17 degress thing. I've heard of people notching the distributor on these to obtain a the lower retard reading, but this is just compensating for some thing else that worn, timing chain, distributor or gear. I wish that I had saved the data from this truck.

                    Comment

                    • Witsend
                      Banned
                      • Nov 2012
                      • 2942

                      #11
                      "Three engine codes for the 4.3 engine makes it a real research project to verify the 4.3-X, the 4.3-W, or the 4.3-Z, and which one has or hasn't got a fixed distributor which would have that PID."
                      Well GM made 4.3 W, X, and Z. What happened to the Y and Why? Sure Seems retarded to me, maybe find the Y version in a Short Bus Chassis Cab some day.

                      Comment

                      • Crusty
                        Senior Member
                        • Dec 2007
                        • 2450

                        #12
                        Originally posted by Witsend
                        "Three engine codes for the 4.3 engine makes it a real research project to verify the 4.3-X, the 4.3-W, or the 4.3-Z, and which one has or hasn't got a fixed distributor which would have that PID."
                        Well GM made 4.3 W, X, and Z. What happened to the Y and Why? Sure Seems retarded to me, maybe find the Y version in a Short Bus Chassis Cab some day.
                        Don't even try to ask an engineer "Y"... ROFLMAO
                        Can you even IMAGINE growing up in an engineers' house-?? LOL
                        Wait a minute.....growing up-??? Naaaaaaw....
                        Growing OLD is mandatory.....Growing UP is optional-!! LOL

                        If something isn't broken, an engineer doesn't think it has enough "features" yet...

                        Comment

                        • ephratah service center
                          Senior Member
                          • Oct 2007
                          • 143

                          #13
                          I think the PID is needed even if it a fixed dist. this truck keeps showing a p0300 which is why it has ended up at my shop it has been to several other shops and will radomly throw this code customer claims he can make it throw the code by pulling a long hill at 55 MPH and around 2500 RPM's it will miss fire.
                          It has a new injector spyder that was upgraded to the new style with the popets being eliminated and an injector for each cylinder,new distributor, new cap,rotor,plugs, wires. Cylinder #5 shows the highest count on misfire so I did a running compression test on Cyl #5 and have 90 PSI. I did notice cylinder #5 plug wire had some spark bleed from wire when I tested for spark with an adjustable gap tester and had the gap out to the max.
                          I am just getting involved in this have not spent a lot of time on it yet any help would be appreciated.
                          I still say pid should be available if something breaks like the gear on dist. or the timing chain how are you going to verify timing after repair?

                          Comment

                          • ephratah service center
                            Senior Member
                            • Oct 2007
                            • 143

                            #14
                            I checked Alldata and if you look up P1345 which gives you the dist. timing processs it states timing should be +2 Deg. or -2 Deg this vehicle shows 4 Deg which I assume is +. I dont have the P1345 but I was just looking for information the scanner also states + or- 2 Deg. for this vehicle if that is enough to screw things up or not I dont know. Should I go through the process of pulling the dist. and moving it 1 tooth and any idea how much 1 tooth would move timing?

                            Comment

                            • greasybob
                              Senior Member
                              • May 2008
                              • 1590

                              #15
                              There are 13 teeth on the distributor gear so if you divide 360 degrees by 13 that should give you about 27 degrees per tooth. But here is where I always got a little confused, it takes 720 degrees of crank shaft rotation to make the distributor spin one revolution so that would make one tooth equal to about 13 and a half crank shaft degrees ( or maybe that should be 54 degrees, I'll have to think about that). But I don't think they measure it that way.
                              It's interesting that you note that all data states that the retard should + or - 2 degrees. Shop Key and the Snap On trouble shooter both state that it should be -5 to -17 when you look up the P1345 code definition. The plus or minus two spec seems to only apply to the adjustable distributor in the 5.7.

                              Comment

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