The Camano Experience

[Gary Lewis]

I had to put a new rubber cap on that nuisance little port just the other day.

The ONLY time I've ever seen it used is for a return from throttle body heating.

Do you know why else it would be there?

Or any reason I shouldn't epoxy it shut?

I'm pretty sure that's what it is for, Jim. On the early EFI trucks there was a line coming off the heater hose and going through the throttle body and then into that port. But they discontinued that on the later EFI trucks. So it should be able to be sealed off.

I've wondered about tapping it and running a pipe plug in, but am afraid it is too thin.

[FuzzFace2]

Dave - Didn't see your post before I replied, but I think Scott is just wanting to put a connector into the circuit so he had remove the part easily. Not tap into the circuit. At least, that was my guess and the reason I responded the way I did.

If it is like most of the controllers I have dealt with there should not be a need to "tap in" to anything if he was to remove it.

Power all the time and ground should be stand alone and just removed from were they tie into the trucks system like fuse box for power & dash frame ground.

The trailer brake wire is also stand alone from controller to rear trailer light hook up socket.

Could just be cut at the controller and tied up out of the way as it is not "hot".

The brake light wire should use a scotch block to pick up the brake lights. Remove the block & wire and you are done.

I also want to know why he added the rod to the cooling system?

What is he trying to save?

When I worked at the hospital we had them in the 2 drinking foutian water coolers to save the tanks from rusting along with the piping of the system.

Water was pumped through out the hospital and returned back to the chillers to be re-cooled and filtered before doing the loop again.

Now that I think of it the hot water loops did not have a rod in the 2 systems so I wonder if the rod only works in cold water? Forgot the kitchen loop did not have a rod either.

Dave ----

[ArdWrknTrk]

Dave - Didn't see your post before I replied, but I think Scott is just wanting to put a connector into the circuit so he had remove the part easily. Not tap into the circuit. At least, that was my guess and the reason I responded the way I did.

If it is like most of the controllers I have dealt with there should not be a need to "tap in" to anything if he was to remove it.

Power all the time and ground should be stand alone and just removed from were they tie into the trucks system like fuse box for power & dash frame ground.

The trailer brake wire is also stand alone from controller to rear trailer light hook up socket.

Could just be cut at the controller and tied up out of the way as it is not "hot".

The brake light wire should use a scotch block to pick up the brake lights. Remove the block & wire and you are done.

I also want to know why he added the rod to the cooling system?

What is he trying to save?

When I worked at the hospital we had them in the 2 drinking foutian water coolers to save the tanks from rusting along with the piping of the system.

Water was pumped through out the hospital and returned back to the chillers to be re-cooled and filtered before doing the loop again.

Now that I think of it the hot water loops did not have a rod in the 2 systems so I wonder if the rod only works in cold water? Forgot the kitchen loop did not have a rod either.

Dave ----

I won't say what I think of Scotch-Locs on a family forum, nor where I anyone who even thinks of using one should put it....

There are (somewhat) acceptable ways of making a vampire splice.

I've discussed and shown them before.

[kramttocs]

Dave - Didn't see your post before I replied, but I think Scott is just wanting to put a connector into the circuit so he had remove the part easily. Not tap into the circuit. At least, that was my guess and the reason I responded the way I did.

If it is like most of the controllers I have dealt with there should not be a need to "tap in" to anything if he was to remove it.

Power all the time and ground should be stand alone and just removed from were they tie into the trucks system like fuse box for power & dash frame ground.

The trailer brake wire is also stand alone from controller to rear trailer light hook up socket.

Could just be cut at the controller and tied up out of the way as it is not "hot".

The brake light wire should use a scotch block to pick up the brake lights. Remove the block & wire and you are done.

I also want to know why he added the rod to the cooling system?

What is he trying to save?

When I worked at the hospital we had them in the 2 drinking foutian water coolers to save the tanks from rusting along with the piping of the system.

Water was pumped through out the hospital and returned back to the chillers to be re-cooled and filtered before doing the loop again.

Now that I think of it the hot water loops did not have a rod in the 2 systems so I wonder if the rod only works in cold water? Forgot the kitchen loop did not have a rod either.

Dave ----

Thanks for the replies guys - busy day and I'll respond in full when I finish in the shop.

Dave - this brake controller is a 'hidden' unit so what is normally a dial or up/down buttons on the controller itself is remote to this one. Not a kind that is very common. Gary is correct - since it goes through the dash I want to add a connector inline to make it easier to work on the dash and do some wiring outside the truck.

[kramttocs]

Thanks for the replies guys - busy day and I'll respond in full when I finish in the shop.

Dave - this brake controller is a 'hidden' unit so what is normally a dial or up/down buttons on the controller itself is remote to this one. Not a kind that is very common. Gary is correct - since it goes through the dash I want to add a connector inline to make it easier to work on the dash and do some wiring outside the truck.

The anode is to protect the aluminum radiator and intake. Is it needed? I really don't know but with it being in the cap it doesn't (well, shouldn't) provide an inconvenience and is cheap insurance. Before looking any further into using that lower port I removed the cap and bent the ears a little so it was a tighter fit. I think that did it but will know for sure after a drive tomorrow.

My brief thought process was to shove an aluminum rod in there all the way to the other side of the neck that would be held in place with a cap over the end of the port (like is there now). Then hang the anode off that rod, suspended out in the middle just like it does when coming off the cap. I believe the anode is hooked to a rubber coated loop on the radiator cap so something similar would need done. Hopefully just bending the tabs was enough.

I am with you Jim - that port is a nuisance. I don't like relying on just a clamped on cap and the epoxy route is appealing. Gary - I looked at mine and agree - doesn't look like a good candidate for a threads. Shame as that would be ideal.

Dave - here is the controller

Definitely a deviation from the normal style.

The harness of interest is the center one that has a dial and push button. Right now with the custom dash panel in the dash bezel cubby I have to fish that dial/button through and it's a pain. The led is already in a connector so I want to cut those other 4 wires and put them in the same connector. I was hoping it wasn't a problem but wanted to "ask twice and cut once"

Jim - sign me up as a member of the anti-scotch-locs team. It would have to be a really, really special use case for me to consider them but I've heard good things about the Posi-taps.

Took me a long time with the weather but finally got the trailer wiring finished. This included replacing two of the three center running lights on the back with backup lights. Really happy with how they turned out.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MCWMK9G/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 . The lights aren't anything really special but I needed something that would fit in the same hole as the current lights and these did that.

Now I've got the 80 1 ton loaded up to get the driveshaft figured out tomorrow morning. 100 mile round trip which I need to get some runtime on the Thermocure.

 

[ArdWrknTrk]

The anode is to protect the aluminum radiator and intake. Is it needed? I really don't know but with it being in the cap it doesn't (well, shouldn't) provide an inconvenience and is cheap insurance. Before looking any further into using that lower port I removed the cap and bent the ears a little so it was a tighter fit. I think that did it but will know for sure after a drive tomorrow.

My brief thought process was to shove an aluminum rod in there all the way to the other side of the neck that would be held in place with a cap over the end of the port (like is there now). Then hang the anode off that rod, suspended out in the middle just like it does when coming off the cap. I believe the anode is hooked to a rubber coated loop on the radiator cap so something similar would need done. Hopefully just bending the tabs was enough.

I am with you Jim - that port is a nuisance. I don't like relying on just a clamped on cap and the epoxy route is appealing. Gary - I looked at mine and agree - doesn't look like a good candidate for a threads. Shame as that would be ideal.

Dave - here is the controller

Definitely a deviation from the normal style.

The harness of interest is the center one that has a dial and push button. Right now with the custom dash panel in the dash bezel cubby I have to fish that dial/button through and it's a pain. The led is already in a connector so I want to cut those other 4 wires and put them in the same connector. I was hoping it wasn't a problem but wanted to "ask twice and cut once"

Jim - sign me up as a member of the anti-scotch-locs team. It would have to be a really, really special use case for me to consider them but I've heard good things about the Posi-taps.

Took me a long time with the weather but finally got the trailer wiring finished. This included replacing two of the three center running lights on the back with backup lights. Really happy with how they turned out.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MCWMK9G/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 . The lights aren't anything really special but I needed something that would fit in the same hole as the current lights and these did that.

Now I've got the 80 1 ton loaded up to get the driveshaft figured out tomorrow morning. 100 mile round trip which I need to get some runtime on the Thermocure.

I'm thinking I may just tap the little sprue to give the epoxy a bite.

It isn't likely to get above 212/100* so I may just use Marine-Tex.

Posi-Taps, -splice, terminations of any kind may be a bit more bulky, but used with dielectric grease don't corrode, don't damage the wire strands, don't fail and are infinitely reusable.

I used to get a lot of crap fixing the tow trucks.

I pretty much had to say "leave me alone and get out of my way or I'm walking right now. I'm under here because you meatheads can't be bothered to do it right. Not for me to do it wrong again!"

Nobody likes lying on the side of 95 with their lighting out because the $.15 connector either cut the wire or the darn thing shorted.

Plus, these newer light bars brain get fried if you short them. It can be very expensive

[FuzzFace2]

I'm thinking I may just tap the little sprue to give the epoxy a bite.

It isn't likely to get above 212/100* so I may just use Marine-Tex.

Posi-Taps, -splice, terminations of any kind may be a bit more bulky, but used with dielectric grease don't corrode, don't damage the wire strands, don't fail and are infinitely reusable.

I used to get a lot of crap fixing the tow trucks.

I pretty much had to say "leave me alone and get out of my way or I'm walking right now. I'm under here because you meatheads can't be bothered to do it right. Not for me to do it wrong again!"

Nobody likes lying on the side of 95 with their lighting out because the $.15 connector either cut the wire or the darn thing shorted.

Plus, these newer light bars brain get fried if you short them. It can be very expensive

Scott, I don't see why you could not cut the wires and add them to a connector or plug that would be easier to feed through the dash.

I would think even if you had to add to the wires to make them longer it would not change anything on how it works.

Just my guess

Dave ----

[Gary Lewis]

The anode is to protect the aluminum radiator and intake. Is it needed? I really don't know but with it being in the cap it doesn't (well, shouldn't) provide an inconvenience and is cheap insurance. Before looking any further into using that lower port I removed the cap and bent the ears a little so it was a tighter fit. I think that did it but will know for sure after a drive tomorrow.

My brief thought process was to shove an aluminum rod in there all the way to the other side of the neck that would be held in place with a cap over the end of the port (like is there now). Then hang the anode off that rod, suspended out in the middle just like it does when coming off the cap. I believe the anode is hooked to a rubber coated loop on the radiator cap so something similar would need done. Hopefully just bending the tabs was enough.

I am with you Jim - that port is a nuisance. I don't like relying on just a clamped on cap and the epoxy route is appealing. Gary - I looked at mine and agree - doesn't look like a good candidate for a threads. Shame as that would be ideal.

Dave - here is the controller

Definitely a deviation from the normal style.

The harness of interest is the center one that has a dial and push button. Right now with the custom dash panel in the dash bezel cubby I have to fish that dial/button through and it's a pain. The led is already in a connector so I want to cut those other 4 wires and put them in the same connector. I was hoping it wasn't a problem but wanted to "ask twice and cut once"

Jim - sign me up as a member of the anti-scotch-locs team. It would have to be a really, really special use case for me to consider them but I've heard good things about the Posi-taps.

Took me a long time with the weather but finally got the trailer wiring finished. This included replacing two of the three center running lights on the back with backup lights. Really happy with how they turned out.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MCWMK9G/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 . The lights aren't anything really special but I needed something that would fit in the same hole as the current lights and these did that.

Now I've got the 80 1 ton loaded up to get the driveshaft figured out tomorrow morning. 100 mile round trip which I need to get some runtime on the Thermocure.

Scott - I see what you are planning on the anode, and that should work - assuming there is enough room for it to hang there. But you might need to bend it to get it in, and that won't cause a problem as it is the surface area that does the trick.

And I see no problem at all placing a connector in that circuit. I'd sure do it as getting it out of there can't be fun.

I'm in full agreement on the scotch-locs. If I don't make it to heaven (but I will) I'm going to look the guy that invented them up and hit him really hard. Dad used those things everywhere and I had to take them off and repair things.

Glad you got the trailer done. I'll bet those lights make a huge difference.

Jim - On tapping the sprue, I have a wide range of taps, including #14-20, and will see what would go in there w/o too much deformation. If we could get some decent threads we could run something in and epoxy it. (Yes, 14-20, not 1/4-20, which I also have.)

[ArdWrknTrk]

Scott - I see what you are planning on the anode, and that should work - assuming there is enough room for it to hang there. But you might need to bend it to get it in, and that won't cause a problem as it is the surface area that does the trick.

And I see no problem at all placing a connector in that circuit. I'd sure do it as getting it out of there can't be fun.

I'm in full agreement on the scotch-locs. If I don't make it to heaven (but I will) I'm going to look the guy that invented them up and hit him really hard. Dad used those things everywhere and I had to take them off and repair things.

Glad you got the trailer done. I'll bet those lights make a huge difference.

Jim - On tapping the sprue, I have a wide range of taps, including #14-20, and will see what would go in there w/o too much deformation. If we could get some decent threads we could run something in and epoxy it. (Yes, 14-20, not 1/4-20, which I also have.)

I don't care about a screw or bolt.

I just don't want the plastic to swell with heat and let it loose.

[Gary Lewis]

I don't care about a screw or bolt.

I just don't want the plastic to swell with heat and let it loose.

The sprue on my Champion radiator measures .304" ID and .383" OD. The only tap that seems to work with those dimensions is an 8 x 1.25mm. It measures .282 & .321". So I ran it in the sprue, and it cut threads. Then I ran this bolt in. Went in easily and obviously doesn't have the depth of thread needed for strength, but if it was put in with epoxy would it hold?

Obviously that's not very pretty, and looking online there are some options of 8 x 1.25mm plugs. But most of those are steel. I suppose they'd be fine since the block is cast iron.