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What does IIRC mean? I've seen this before and have always been puzzled. I did the harness last night and there is, indeed, a brown wire with red tracer in a place where my aftermarket (to fit Isuzu Trooper/Rodeo, etc.) plug doesn't have a spade. My hunch is that this wire is only in the harness of models with diversity in-glass antennas. So, following a post I found in the list archives, I hooked the blue (power antenna) lead from my HU up to this (brown with red tracer) wire and then plugged the larger of the two coaxial antenna plugs into the jack on my HU. Based on the radio reception I'm getting right now (which is pretty good), I'm betting that was the right wire to power the antenna amp (don't know where that actual signal amp unit is located, sorry cwm).
I think that right now I'm hooked into the antenna in one window of the vehicle and am powering the antenna amp. I'm thinking that if I can get a "Y adapter" to bring the two antenna jacks (one normal size, one smaller) into one normal coax jack then I should be able to pull signals through both in-window antennas.
Does that make sense? The only wrinkle in this that gives me pause is that supposedly there's a device somewhere that chooses between the two in-glass antennas to get the strongest signal. That might be in the signal booster amp or it might be part of the stock HU itself. If the latter, I'm not sure how well it would work to bring in both amp leads in a Y as one signal. I'm going to ask an installer how this kind of system works in other vehicles that have them, like Audis.
Ideas and suggestions welcome.
Cheers,
Sean
If I Recall Correctly.
I am not positive, but that power wire to the wire on the harness of the car is all we did on mine. No Y-splitter was put in place and I get the same reception I did with the stock unit.
-mike
Also...I had forgotten how much difference a head unit swap (even before the power amp and speakers are done) can make. The Eclipse sounds *much* better than my stock tuner/cassette/CD changer combo. I've found a place for the power amp to mount and should probably be able to finish up the installation this weekend.
I just checked mileage again and I got 16.75 with mostly local in town driving (small towns, dirt roads, rural roads, etc.). That includes extensive A/C usage and some time parked and idling with the A/C on. So, I'm pretty happy with that. The Avalanche got 16 MPG on the highway and 13 mpg around town. This Trooper seems to get 16+ around town and 19+ on the highway. I don't have a lead foot though - I save that fun for the motorcycles.
I'm diggin' this Trooper, have been driving around constantly with the moonroof open and windows down.
PS: Thanks for the IIRC def.
Cheers,
Sean
-mike
-mike
What's the difference between the heavy duty and Expedition?
-mike
"It seems that if you drain and fill the trans when its cold, you'll be underfilling. Is that correct?"
I think the colder tranny get the more ATF you can put in.
Since you put last 2q of ATF with engine
running and it take me about at least 10 min with hand pump, even if you start with overnite cold
engine(what I usually do) by the time ATF reach the full level and start dripping out, it is already pretty warm. I try to do this service when outside temp still cold to have more time to fill.
On another note, I read somethere on Audi forum,
they have similar no-dipstick tranny, and at 80k mi guy was changing factory fill, it was 1q overfill from the factory and no problem for 80k.
ean,
It should act like a one way check valve if you try to blow air through it. Easy one way, not at all the other way.
It was Creech Imports who told me that the tranny fluid level should be checked with the transmission running and I figure they're a trustworthy source. So this morning we ended up filling the transmission first with the truck not running then started it and added fluid. I'm not sure but I'm guessing it took in about an extra quart once the tranny pump was circulating fluid. So this does mean that I will be checking tranny fluid levels while my truck is running from now on. Naturally the tranny needs to be filled with a pump through that very weird upside-down (so to speak) fill hole.
I've learned a good amount about Troopers this past two weeks thanks to this list, Creech and my own experience. All worth knowing for a truck I plan to own a long time and work on more and more myself.
Cheers,
Sean
We made a trip to Manteo, N.C., then went south down the outer banks to Ocracoke. Then we took a ferry ride back to the mainland at Swan Quarter. Great trip!
-mike
I'll begin with a disclaimer, which is that I enjoy car audio as a way of relaxing and getting away from work. As such, I probably get more into this stuff than most people would care to. I just finished a great phone conversation with Jim Wilder who is my local signal-in-the-air expert. This guy has worked all over the world in radio, satellite, etc., with the military and the in the private sector, and so on. He installed our satellite Internet system (no DSL out here) and has tweaked the radio systems in our chase vehicles and motorcycles.
So, for anyone who's interested, here's the deal with the Trooper diversity antennas (as I understand it). As a class, they're called called slot antennas and they're very sensitive to signal direction. They're more prone than other types of antennas to suffer from multipath interference (where the radio signals are coming to the antenna both directly from the transmitter and as reflected signals (reflected from trees, buildings, mountains, etc). Since these signals come in at varying strengths (and with time lags between one and the next) they can cause distortion, signal dropout, etc. The idea with having the two antennas in the opposing rear windows is that at any given time its unlikely that both of them will suffer from the same amount of multipath problems. So the stock radio monitors both antennas' signals and switches to the strongest antenna's signal in milliseconds. The standard Motorola jack in the Trooper goes to the antenna on one side and the smaller jack goes to the other one. The brown wire with red tracer (in the stock harness) goes to a signal amplifier (as mentioned before on this list).
So when I swapped the stock head unit for my Eclipse head unit (which is not designed for diversity antennas) I had three choices for radio reception.
A. Pull the signal from just the one slot antenna connected with the standard Motorola jack
B. Pull the signal from just the other slot antenna connected with the miniature plug (via an adapter I modified).
C. Connect both antennas in parallel (with a "Y adapter) and pull the signal from both of them simulataneously.
First off, I did some informal tests and found that both "A" and "B" give about the same signal strength and quality so one could use either one with similar success. Since "A" has a standard jack, one might as well use that instead of "B" if just one antenna will be used.
"C", though, was interesting to me. First off, these are probably 75 ohm antennas so hooking them up in parallel brings their effective impedance down to 37.5 ohms. Jim tells me that shouldn't be a problem in and of itself for a radio that only receives signals. Using both of them could actually cause a decrease in signal quality if the tuner being used doesn't have a high rejection rate (tendency to reject weak or distorted signals). But, it could also work better than one antenna alone. The Eclipse has a high rejection rate so it should be a good candidate for using the combo.
So...I've got the head unit set up on the passenger seat and when I get a chance I'm going to drive around comparing signal quality of option A to option C.
Why bother with all this? 1) It doesn't really take much time (I already have the dash apart for the audio install). 2) I'm curious. 3) I live in the boonies and signals can be hard to get and hold.
Cheers,
Sean
My friend had this matched at www.eTouchup.com buying option #1, an aerosol can of the matched color and a can of clearcoat, plus something else for a pricey $29 plus shipping. He claims it looks great. The bottle from the dealer did not really match, showed much darker and too thick. I am really not sure what code he used when ordering from eTouchup.com (the code 753-2 or another code he found on the vehicle itself) - but the eTouchup site shows you where to look on the vehicle for the paint codes, maybe you'll find a different code - but be careful maybe the code you find will be for the basic vehicle color (that is the problem I had when trying to get the same trim color matched for my 1998 Troop). I just gave up and bought an off-the shelf product in the parts store that somewhat matches (sorry I lost that little tube).
Hope this helps.
Thanks! Rick
I checked the PCV valve on my 99' Trooper which has 62K miles on it and it was starting to plug. It was full of carbon deposits and allowing little air flow thru. I washed it out real good with carb cleaner and blew it out real good. Significant air flow improvement. We'll see if anything changes on Oil Consumption due to this.
OK the resistor in place of the IAT sensor is a work in progress. I took the 4700 ohm resistor out and replaced it with a 3900 ohm. Stopped all pre-ignition under heavy load conditions, but the pep isn't what it was. Mileage seemed to revert back to about what it was with the IAT sensor installed. I took the 3900 ohm resistor out now and put a 4200 ohm in its place. Seems the pep has come back somewhat, and so far NO pre-ignition under load. Will continue to monitor and see if MPG is affected.
FWIW, my '00 developed a minor ping last summer that has been resolved. My wife usually drives the truck & rarely, if ever, gets the secondaries to open. I started driving it more to exercise the engine above 3500 rpms which almost eliminated the ping entirely. However, as the load ping was clearing up, my battery was starting to fail causing the ping to redevelop. No ping whatsoever now since the battery was replaced last winter. So far, my oil consumption remains at about 1/2 quart every 2500 / 3000 miles. I keep reminding my wife to get on the throttle once in awhile (my procedure for DOHC engines w/ secondary / 2-stage intake butterflies).
TIA,
Jim
http://www.mobil.com/USA-English/Lubes/PDS/GLXXENPVLMOMobil1_Synt- hetic_Gear_Lubricant_LS_75W-140.asp
http://www.mobil.com/USA-English/Lubes/PDS/GLXXENPVLMOMobil1_Synt- hetic_Gear_Lubricant_LS_75W-90.asp
They both say they include the limited slip already, so no additive should be needed, but don't take my word for it read the above or call Mobil1:
http://www.mobil1.com/index.jsp at the bottom of the page there is a "Contact Us" link
RB
Jim
Still, it might be interesting to look at the EGR valve like bsmart1 mentioned in his post to see how much buildup is there.
They are positively the best springs and shocks for the Trooper. I just towed the race car on the trailer totalling about 4500lbs behind the trooper that was loaded with stuff for the lakehouse up the NYS Thruway. It was almost as if the trailer wasn't there. Totally amazed at how stable it was and how it kept it level. The expedition springs were great.
I set the cruise on 77mph and left it there the entire trip. The motor worked hard but handling was great.
Still in awe of it.
-mike
I have an anoying daily set of speed bumps that I cannot avoid. Right outside of where I work there are three "speed bumps" or "judder bars" whatever they are called. All of them are about 8" (20cm) high and 16" (40cm) wide. They are at different angles. The first is perpendicular so it hits both front wheel at once. The second is angled enough that each wheel hits it one at a time. The third is more angled so that one rear wheel hits it before the opposite corner front wheel is off of it.
..
These give a very bouncy ride one after another all three within 100 yards (100m).
..
I wonder how does your OME / Swayaway suspension handle such a set of bumps? Would I be best to get the same that you have or softer to limit the bouncing?
..
Would the setup you have be to stiff when the wife rides along?
Thank You
..
I visited a truck proving grounds recently. There is a track that is sort of like two sets of stairs, one for each side of the truck, that are out of sync. This would be a fun test for Troopers as well, I think my stock Trooper would probably make it across, but drag bottom in a few places.
For those of you that have had Troopers for awhile- what other message boards and websites have you found useful to learn more about the Trooper? Thanks!
Being in the midst of an extensive audio install right now (which has involved disassembling doors, parts of the interior, etc.) I can say with confidence that the build quality on my 1999 is tight - everything fits exactly, everything has a cover, sound damping is all over the place, etc. The plastics and connectors are much like the ones I've found on the Toyotas I've owned.
Frankly, this makes an audio installation much more difficult than it was on my GM trucks and SUVs. The GMs have looser fitting panels, more uncovered areas, etc. - routing wiring, etc. is a cinch. The Trooper, however, requires time and planning. At the same time that I'm grumbling to myself as I fuss with the Trooper pieces I'm also quietly admiring how well made the whole thing is, including parts in places that most owners will never see.
Knock wood, but for the first 1000 miles since my oil change (Mobil 1 10-30) I've had no measureable oil usage. Last fillup (local driving - backroads and dirt roads mostly) showed 17.2 mpg.
Cheers,
Sean
Troopers have a special character that most people are quite unaware of. Too bad Isuzu-America could not recognize that and do a better job of marketing.
I tow a 18ft car-trailer with my '96 Impreza race car on it, 1900lbs for the trailer, 2700lbs for the car and then add gear etc. Easily up at the 5000lbs limit.
I tow it with the Hidden Hitch and 2" ball. Single Axle electric brakes (that aren't currently working
Controlling the trailer is not bad at all, with campter trailer you'll probably have to go slightly slower than my 75-80mph pace if you have crosswinds.
-mike