Instrument Cluster Needles Stuck?

[I Love Grits]

Hey guys, been browsing around and must say I am impressed with what yall know. Very good stuff here :) . Here is my dilema: I am currently looking to do the not so impossible anymore, swap a Duramax into a 1/2 ton OBS frame.

My plan is to find a donor truck, and swap everything over (wiring harness and everything, and to use the book yall have as a guide). I have access to an auction site where I can find damaged vehicles and buy them for low cost. Which brings me to my next question.

On a 2004 Chevrolet K2500 HD Silverado, with the 6.6L Duramax Diesel, what exactly has happened when the gauges are stuck? The tach is beyond the "5", the odometer at 111 mph, the oil pressure slightly below 60, and the fuel gauge is 3/4 full. I cant see the tranny or eng temp in the pics provided. But what exactly has happened???

The car has Certification of Destruction Title type, due to Hurricane Katrina. According to the latest Legislative Act in Louisiana,

" A 'Certificate of Destruction' is a type of Louisiana title issued for a water-damaged vehicle, other than an antique or a vehicle in excess of twenty thousand pounds gross weight, whose powertrain, computer, or electrical system has been damaged by flooding in a gubernatorial declared disaster or emergency area and has been declared a "total loss" by insurance companies."

So, I know what you are thinking : What an idiot do it right, dont even risk it!!! But, the body of this truck is in OUTSTANDING shape. No type of surface damage, and if i can get the truck for a couple hundred (which i think i can) I can always sell the body off right?

So what exactly does the gauge malfunction mean? Was the engine running at WOT when it hydrolocked, or is it simply some faulty readings. This isnt the only truck i can score, but I was curious to know what exaclty happens- ive never seen that before.

One last thing, the company who gets all of these cars lists the VIN, photos , whether the truck will run/drive under its own power etc. The truck does not have the keys with it, so they cannot turn the ignition over at all- would all it need would be a cycling to reset everything? That caught my eye a second ago as well.

Let me know if yall want to see pictures of the truck- its in great shape!

Thanks for reading, and I probably will not go with this truck. Curiousity got me more than anything. Thanks again!

Jake

[More Power]

The gauge needles being in some weird position might mean something - or it might not. You won't know for sure till you apply power to the gauge cluster. If I had to guess, I'd say the needles are where they are because the cluster was turned upside down without power. Gravity....

Good luck on your project. :)

Jim

[I Love Grits]

MaxPower,

Thanks for the input. A member on another site suggested it might be the BCM- what are your thoughts on this? Actually, your project is what made me decide to shoot for the Duramax vs the 6.5L TD for the swap, so thanks for the inspiration.

Here are some attached photos of the cluster and truck, I am not to sure how the needles would have moved with gravity, since the truck has no structural damage- but mabye the water got inside the cluster and moved them?

Thanks again MaxPower, let me know what you think about the BCM.

[More Power]

BCM... Don't think it's at issue here... Many of the instrument cluster gauges are driven by data signals coming from the ECM.

The images you attached are a little small, but am I seeing water lines on the gauge cluster face?.... :(

I'd not trust to hope for many of the electrical system components being OK after being submerged. The ECM & TCM might be OK, but the BCM, IP cluster, TCCM, FICM, fuse panels, electrical distribution panels, all interior electrical connectors and others are not water proof. In addition, the water that flooded New Orleans contained salt and other contaminates.

Back in the early 90's, when I worked for the UM, we had an electron beam analyzer (EMX). The spectrometers and amplifiers operated inside a large vacuum tank, and the electron gun was water cooled. One night, a water cooling line sprung a leak, and half filled the vacuum tank before we caught it. Over the course of a few hours all of the electronics were ruined. Circuits that had standby power (DC voltages) all suffered severe galvanic corrosion. The $50K instrument was toast.

Unless someone thought to disconnect the batteries before the water hit, your truck systems were also operating with standby power applied to many of its individual electrical systems. If they were submerged, I'd not hold much hope of their surviving. :(

Jim

[I Love Grits]

Yea sorry, the pic is a little small, i need to resize it though (its to large when the thumbnail is clicked on at the original site).

The truck is actually from Gulfport Mississippi, but was hit by Hurricane Katrina (even though both areas would be exposed to the same salty conditions :D ). It is because of this that I thought it woudl be better.

I really need to look up the reports on water height, and duration of it, because there are some spots in NO that have had water at heights of 25 ft for weeks, but im really not to sure about the Mississippi region that got hit.

As far as the electrical is concerned, is it not something that the end connections can be dried/replaced as needed? I understand that electronics and water do not mix at all especially in a salty environment, but I would not expect dry rotting of the electrical system to have occured that quickly. Then again, I am sure I am wrong.

But, since you have stripped a D-Max of its wiring harness, how practical do you think it would be to check every connector for corrosion or insulation that has been eaten through etc?. I would be willing to disassemble things like the cluster etc, dry them out with low low heat and wind (blow dryer on lowest setting) and reassemble them. To me that is interesting and fun cause i get to fix it, and learn how it works at the same time!

I hope to tear down the engine, check for damage and wear, and rebuild it. Ill also do this to the NVG transfer case, and see what all I could safely do to the allision tranny. My goal here is to know that these parts are properly maintained for. I can't wait, lol i have issues or something.

And lastly, if worst came to worst, i figure i coudl sell the body/frame/axles and make my money back- i dont think I can find a cheaper truck with everything in tack (physically that is). Hell, a 14 bolt with disc brakes would easily go for 500 around these parts. Not to mention the 9.25 diff, larger 1/2 shafts- everything that comes with these HD trucks.

Thanks again, Maxpower, you seem to be the one who really knows his stuff;)

Here is a pic of the engine compartment, the only thing that worries me right off the bat is the color of the coolant- im suspecting it got some nasty water into it prob through the vent hose.

http://chevytruckworld.tenmagazines.com/gallery/ILoveGrits/231902.jpg