tripminder

Topic: tripminder (Read 2647 times) previous topic - next topic

tripminder

July 17, 2010, 12:33:42 AM

OK, I've searched and searched; thought I'd seen it before but can't find it. I got a tripminder from a Grand Marquis. I wired it outside of the car for testing and none of the buttons work when you press them. Saw a post from TC to clean the contacts inside with emory cloth. I opened it up and found simply bimetal switches that pushed down for contact. Emory cloth on the top of these surfaces wouldn't do anything that I can see; I would need to separate the contacts to clean them in between, yes? Is this what I was supposed to do? Not sure if I can separate the contacts. Anyone have input?

tripminder

Reply #1 – July 17, 2010, 10:00:49 AM

http://foxtbirdcougarforums.com/showthread.php?t=2638&highlight=tripminder+install

and there is also a good writeup on coolcats...

http://www.coolcats.net/tech/advanced/tripminder.html

tripminder

Reply #2 – July 17, 2010, 10:35:48 AM

There it is , thanks 88. Forgot to check the cool cats website. Time to take it apart again!

tripminder

Reply #3 – July 18, 2010, 03:51:32 AM

Cool Cats is a wealth of info that seems to get overlooked or undiscovered until one of us directs someone to it. There are a lot of things that I would have been lost trying to do without the site.

tripminder

Reply #4 – July 18, 2010, 09:30:30 AM

no problem 85, hope you can get it working :)

tripminder

Reply #5 – July 18, 2010, 02:59:10 PM

Got the brackets changed over and wired to original digital clock harness. Lucky me, the LS had all of the wiring to the original clock jumper. Added two wires for vss and fuel flow; trip works fine but I'm not showing any fuel used. Ohmed wire to pcm and have continuity to pin 34. Now I only drove a half mile, but should I expect to see fuel usage on such a short trip or should I wait until I get a chance to drive it some more?

tripminder

Reply #6 – July 18, 2010, 03:01:42 PM

Does fuel flow need any other pcm inputs or how is it calculated? I don't really use much of the EEC system.

tripminder

Reply #7 – July 18, 2010, 03:18:28 PM

you might not have the right wire. are you showing instant mpg? I think the wire I tapped was light blue pink stripe but I cant remember right off hand

tripminder

Reply #8 – July 18, 2010, 03:34:06 PM

Oh yes, I have instant MPG. Way more than actual - I expect the number to be < or closer to 10MPG. shows I think over 60MPG right now

tripminder

Reply #9 – July 18, 2010, 04:04:56 PM

sounds like you dont have the right wire for fuel flow making it read higher than normal.

try this for location

tripminder

Reply #10 – July 18, 2010, 04:15:50 PM

Nope. Got it pinned to 34. Less than 1 ohm resistance from pcm to tripminder terminal. Maybe it just needs some more driving time?

tripminder

Reply #11 – July 18, 2010, 04:37:40 PM

I may be missing inputs that the pcm is looking for. I didn't mention it but the car is originally a 3.8L with that harness installed still. It now has a 5.0L that is carburated but running the stock in-tank fuel pump. The pcm is used primarily to turn the pump on and off with key input, I can't think of any other functions being used right now.

tripminder

Reply #12 – July 18, 2010, 10:57:55 PM

are you saying that you are running a 5.0 on a 3.8 computer?

tripminder

Reply #13 – July 19, 2010, 07:24:39 PM

Yes, but I suspect that I don't have enough input the pcm for it to figure out the fuel useage. I found a test in the shop manual for the tripminder functions that I will try when I get a little bit more time. Or maybe I've got a bad pcm, that could be a possibility. Wish I saved the 5.0 one to try it.

tripminder

Reply #14 – July 27, 2010, 07:41:22 PM

OK. Finally ran through the fuel flow test and I feel convinced that I will probably need a fuel flow sensor to make that portion work. Does anyone know if somebody still sells them aftermarket or from Ford? How about the pigtail? Any leads would be welcome.