2001 ALH into 2001 Ford Ranger Edge

evguy1 said:

It's nice to see you offer a drop in harness for the Ranger.
The harness is the hard/scary part for a lot of people and the reason they don't do a swap.
The Ranger harness you built for our Ranger worked great and cut our conversion time by many hrs.
I'm curious what the brake input does?
I did not connect it on our Ranger and the truck runs perfectly.
I just assumed it was for cruise control which our Ranger does not have.

Click to expand...

The brake / clutch input is a safety thing as well as a cruise control thing.

When connected, if you press the brake it will automatically reduce fueling - hence the "no fun when left foot braking" - this can be disabled in software so that you can have cruise control and left foot braking while applying the fuel (when the CCS is off). The clutch is also used so that when you shift it reduces engine power / shudder. Neither is 100% critical to have but I recommend using them. Also, in some ECUs, if the measuring blocks for F / F36 / F47 are not all "0" then the ECU will reduce power. If F and F47 do not switch at the same time you will get an "implausible" DTC and the ECU will go into safe mode - hence the use of the relay for this.

Rockwell said:

Where does the main power tap into for the glow plug relay? Is it part of that harness?

Click to expand...

In the photo, next to the grey OBD and Accelerator pedal cables you will see a heavy black wire with a ring terminal on it - this attaches to the battery.

Looks great! I wish my harness looked that neat! I got everything working and then never tidied it up so there's wires everywhere! For the glow plugs did you just use a heavy duty relay and use pin 40 to control it? I take it you're not using the (smart) relay?

joewrench said:

Looks great! I wish my harness looked that neat! I got everything working and then never tidied it up so there's wires everywhere! For the glow plugs did you just use a heavy duty relay and use pin 40 to control it? I take it you're not using the (smart) relay?

Click to expand...

The harness is from a 2002/2003 ALH that has the multi-pin and expensive smart relay, or shall I say originally had. The ECU now has custom software to control a "regular" relay.

Mid September update

The truck made some noise last night! I let it run for only 5 seconds. The issue is that the coolant flange that I modified leaks like a sieve - pour coolant into the engine, it comes out of the engine. So, factory part is coming.

I have to say . . . this has been the most frustrating swap I have ever done and I would like to thank the wizards at Ford for that. WHY WHY WHY did you mix metric and imperial fasteners and use an elephant to tighten them all? Your electrical system is in my books non-standard and you would get much further in manufacturing if you stayed with the same design of something for more than one model year. No wonder Volkswagen is the #1 car producer in the world now... rant off... but jeeeze!!!! Now that everything is together it is no different than doing one in say a Volkswagen Vanagon mechanically. I just don't know the Ranger all that well and I am sure if I did, I would have found it easier.




Very polite 2.5" exhaust system - all welded mandrel bends. The clamps are there only to attach the exhaust to the hangers. The 5 second startup wasn't too loud. Muffler... we don't need no stinkin' muffler!



Accelerator pedal fits like a glove!

Maiden test drive!

It was a busy week last week - finally got a coolant leak resolved, filled with fluids and did a test start - vroom - not a hint of problems with engine running and no more coolant leaks! A 5 minute drive down the road resulted in all coolant staying in the truck so that's a good thing.

However, there are still some issues:
- That fancy pulley system I made doesn't work - the belt just flies right off. The idler pulley I added needs to have some "ears" on it so the belt doesn't come off - anyone have some suggestions?

- Power steering pump is leaking ATF around the pulley shaft. Replace pump I guess. It was looped back on itself in the donor vehicle so go figure.

- The switched power circuit I used is noisy or something - the power supply relay buzzes slightly when the battery is connected and the key is off so it's obviously feeding the ECU noise.

- Clutch measuring block always shows "1" so need to see what's up with the Ford switch. Then I full power will be realized - or I code it to 00001 for automatic... we'll see.

- Speedometer doesn't work. I think Ford does this "backwards" as opposed to what VW does. On my transmission there were two, two pin plugs. One for the reverse lights (they work) and the other went to the ECU, which currently isn't used. I was told the rear diff has the speed sensor and this feeds the speedometer and the speedometer feeds the ECU like it does in Volkswagen world, however there is no wires coming out of my diff, so I think it happens the other way around. So the question I have for the Ford people out there is how does that VSS work in the Ranger? I am used to three wires on a VSS - one for 12V, one ground and one signal. Does Ford use the transmission case as a ground? Is pin 1 or 2 the VSS?

- Tachometer reads too low. This is because there was a V6 in there and now there is a I4. Is there is setting in the speedometer for 4 cylinder or did Ford use a different pod?

- Small hiss from the intercooler area - so max boost isn't being achieved.

- Vibration city! The solid mounts enable loose change to vibrate at idle. Will have to investigate using hydraulic mounts in the future.

Hopefully by this weekend it will be plated and a good road report can be given.

Some rangers use the rear diff signal for the speedo, some use the transmission sender so if you dont have a diff sender it has to be the trans one.

This info is thanks to RonD on the Ranger forum who was a big help when I was dealing with these problems on my Ranger swap.

Starting in 2001, the Ranger gets its raw speed signal from the OSS (Output Shaft Speed) sensor on the transmission/transfer case. The OSS sensor is a magnetic pickup that provides transmission output shaft rotation speed information to the PCM (Powertrain Control Module) where it is corrected for tire diameter and axle ratio.

The PCM uses the OSS sensor signal to help determine EPC (Electronic Pressure Control) pressure, shift scheduling and TCC (Torque Converter Clutch) operation. The PCM outputs the corrected VSS pulse to the speed control and the cluster. In this system the PCM is the correction and distribution point for the VSS signal.

I used a Digital Dakota box to change the output to run my speedo.
I tried one of your Speedpuls Tachotronic units for this but could not get it to work at all.
You may be able to just run direct from the VSS through a DD box to the speedo.

There was a ground jumper used on some older Ranger tachs that you can just change to set it to 4cldr but yours like mine may be too new.
Another DD box would be needed to tune the tach signal.

Hasenwerk said:

Accelerator pedal fits like a glove!

Click to expand...

It will be interesting to see how you like the pedal placement.
I tried a few locations on both my Dakota swap and the Ranger swap and found that the throttle pedal needs to be even or set back a bit from the brake pedal in order to feel natural and not keep hitting the side of the throttle pedal each time you move your foot off the brake but then I have BIG feet. ;>)

evguy1 said:

It will be interesting to see how you like the pedal placement.
I tried a few locations on both my Dakota swap and the Ranger swap and found that the throttle pedal needs to be even or set back a bit from the brake pedal in order to feel natural and not keep hitting the side of the throttle pedal each time you move your foot off the brake but then I have BIG feet. ;>)

Click to expand...

That photo shows it all a bit weird. Every car that i have measured has the distance between the brake and accelerator 6 to 6.5cm and the "ball of the foot" area of the accelerator more or less level with the brake pedal, which is how the Ranger is. Again the angle of the photo is weird.

Bought a Haynes manual

Man to I feel burned - the Haynes manual totally SUCKS for wiring information. No where does it say what terminal anything goes to and it is missing a lot of stuff too - like the instrument pod for example. I guess you can't get all that detailed when you wiring diagram for 95-11 is only three pages in total.

I guess I did learn one thing that the starter was blocked by the immobilizer unit on me. Seems that the 85 pin of the starter relay goes to the immobilizer - what / where the immo is I have no idea and it's simple to defeat - just run a ground to pin 85. Anyone know how to correctly open the fuse box in the engine by so I can hard wire the relay correctly to ground?

Again... spend $40 on beer and not a Haynes manual! I am so spoiled by Robert Bentley!

I have the Ford wiring manual for 1999, and it shows a ground on the cluster for the 6 Cylinder tach. Remove the ground, and you will have a 4 Cylinder tach. It is a Black/Yellow wire on Pin 8 of the 10 pin connector. On the 99 there are three connectors which are 8, 12 and 16 pins.

HTH

Alchemist said:

I have the Ford wiring manual for 1999, and it shows a ground on the cluster for the 6 Cylinder tach. Remove the ground, and you will have a 4 Cylinder tach. It is a Black/Yellow wire on Pin 8 of the 10 pin connector. On the 99 there are three connectors which are 8, 12 and 16 pins.

HTH

Click to expand...

Cool - thanks for the info, I will have to take a look this weekend.

I guess the best thing to do is go on fleabay and but a genuine Ford wiring diagram for the 2001 seeing how "we are our own warranty" with stuff like this.

What a great project, I enjoy looking at all the photos. It's amazing and unfortunate that a small pickup with 4 cyl diesel is not offered by any manufacturer in North America.

Running... running good!

This afternoon I fixed a few bugs in the system.

- Fed T121/37 with pin 1 of the Ranger engine harness terminal and not pin 9 which was "noisy" - no more buzzing J317 relay when the engine was off.

- Fixed the leaking turbo to intercooler line

- Put pin 28 of the Ranger Engine Harness terminal to ground so that the starter relay has ground - it is SO easy to defeat the Ford IMMO!

- Small tweak on the engine management software (Malone Tuning - stage 3+)

My son and I took the truck for another spin and all I have to say is this truck kicks ass compared to my 4.0L V6! The only complaint I have now is that my 2.5" straight thru exhaust with no cat, no muffler - straight thru - is has too many hissy high notes for my liking. Turbo whistle is there, dragon snoring or what ever you call that noise when you take the your foot off the go pedal is there - just a bit too loud for my 43 year old bones. Now I am happy I did this project - Volkswagen heated seats are next.

My son did a quick Snap Chat (what ever that is) of the drive - I agree with my statement made in the video - more than acceptable!
https://youtu.be/R6yz3vdR4dY

Yeah, I ran a straight pipe for a very short time. It was fun for 5 minutes but after that just was obnoxious. Glad to hear you're up and running.

Filling station chaos!

Went to fill up for the first time yesterday and INSTANT FOAM UP! I removed the anti-syphon bit at the end of the pipe at the tank and it should be a straight shot into the tank but no way could I fill it up faster than say 25% of regular pump speed or else it would just over flow. The pump read 30L yesterday (I gave up in embarrassment) and 1L of that was on the ground for sure.

On other news:
My stock VNT 15 turbo is about to go as I am leaking oil a bit at the turbo and the input line at the oil filter is leaking a tad. So I am about to fix this problem with a 1749VB turbo with a braided input line and new output line along with a Stage 4 Malone Tune - should be fun as the Stage 3+ is pretty darn nice!

This was my posting on the slow fill problem:
Solved the slow fill problem.
I had just been using a 3/8 vent line off the back of the tank (blue).



I have now added a 1/2 line and increased the fill tube size from about 3/4 (stock) to about 1 1/2".
Fills quite well now.

Update

The original VNT-15 turbo was a little wobbly and the return line to the block was interfering with the starter and "making it fit" I put a small hole into it so it was marking my spot when I parked.... not good.

So, now there is a 1749VB in there with a BEW return line and a nice stainless input line and updates Stage 4 Malone Tuning to match. Yes, it's fast now! Now to get the VSS working so that I can have a speedometer and be able to use the launch control software.

I did a non-engine upgrade this weekend and that was replace the worn out Ford seats for the MK4 seats instead. Again, I will b!tch about Ford and how they make things, the Ford seats are a nightmare to disassemble as everything has hardened steal rivets that take for ever to drill out. The Volkswagen seat comes apart quiet easily - only had to use a grinder on the metal bracket that the forward and back seat adjust leaver attaches too - use you loose height adjustment installing these seat (kept the handle there to make it look decent) and the bum area of the seat is about 1" too high (will rework the brackets this weekend) - forward edge of the seat is spot on perfect. 10x more comfy than the Ford seats and I gain seat heating too - wiring that in is the next step. I retained the explosive Ford seat-belt receptacle to make the air-bag computer happy and drilled out some extra rivets on the Ford seats in the track so that the seat can slide forward more. Getting behind the seat requires using the spinney thing to adjust the back of the seat forward - GTI seats would have been better but really how often do you need to move the seat forward. No more center seat, but that's a bonus as it was useless and now I have lots of space between the seats to put stuff and easy access behind the seats this way too.

Looking great!

I have a question for you regarding your use of a 5 pin relay for the 2 brake position connections to the ecm. Have you got your cruise up and working? I understand that one of these connections is normally closed and the other normally open and a relay sounds like a far simpler solution than trying to mod the vw switch to work. I have read in various places that the signal from the brake lights also provides a ground through the bulbs when the brake isn't engaged which a relay wouldn't do? Hope to hear it's all working so i can just use a relay!

Sorry.. brainfart. Assuming it was an issue the signal from the brake pedal which triggers the relay could just be connected to the normally open output anyway..

nztdi1 said:

Sorry.. brainfart. Assuming it was an issue the signal from the brake pedal which triggers the relay could just be connected to the normally open output anyway..

Click to expand...

I use the bake light signal to trigger the realy. "F" should result in Pedal at Rest = GND, Pedal Pressed = 12V

That's great news on http://gastodiesel.tdconversions.com/ I plan on moving back to Vancouver Island sometime in the next year, most likely between Campbell River and Nanaimo.

I just added 2 door heated seats to my '92 B2600i, they were too high as well and I did pretty much the same as you!
Converted them to heated and lowered them at the same time. Not wired in yet though...

That's WAY more welding than I did. I should have taken some photos. There is a C channel of sorts at the front of the underside of the seat - I welded two studs on this that go to the original bolt holes on the front of Ford slider thing. Then at the back I used a 2"x3/16" angle piece to grab the rear bolt holes and a convent existing hole on the VW seat.

I was replacing the burnt out bulbs in my instrument pod and while it was out I decided to try an B5 (Audi A4) instrument pod in there for size - I think this would be an easy fit! This spring perhaps!

Charging issues

I've had two no starts due to a dead battery now. I am finding with my Ranger conversion that I have to rev the engine to about 3000 rpm before the alternator starts charging as indicated by the low voltage on the idiot gauge. Anyone else have this issue with their swap? It has to be a bad alternator or the fact that there is no "charge light" circuit like the Volkswagen has.

I'm thinking that if I put a resistive load on that D+ terminal to simulate the load of a small light bulb that should take care of that . . . or swap out the alternator?

You know what they say, used stuff is used problems, or is it?

My first though is the alt.
Both my Ranger and Jeep conversions would self energize by about 1500 RPM.
Once I connected the 12V ig lead they both power up right away.
Both swaps are using the stock TDI alt.

I would look at bench testing the alternator first and looking at where I was sensing voltage for the regulator second.

I have done the resistive load deal on a tractor and if wired wrong, will give a parasitic drain on the battery. Otherwise I was pulling the throttle rod to over run the governor until it energized.

In the end I swapped alternators to an external regulator. It would energize at idle.

Turns out, what I am dealing with is a lazy alternator pulley - hopefully this weekend will warm up enough for me to install a different one.

HAH! "warm up" don't make me laugh! I was working on my truck last weekend and it was -3*C, today it was -11 and there's still that temp to come when both F and C are the same

I have a spare alternator kicking around that I could send to you if needed. I wont be home until Dec 1st though...

Mykl8 said:

HAH! "warm up" don't make me laugh! I was working on my truck last weekend and it was -3*C, today it was -11 and there's still that temp to come when both F and C are the same

I have a spare alternator kicking around that I could send to you if needed. I wont be home until Dec 1st though...

Click to expand...

-11C here this morning in Quesnel too, got up to -2 today so that wasn't too bad. I have a few alternators, so no worries in that department. -2 is the forecast high for Saturday - that's OK for me just go in for warm ups. 43 year old arthritic fingers don't like cold all that much - getting older sucks.

Pardon me! I was thinking you were on Vancouver Island but that was http://gastodiesel.tdconversions.com/

You must get similar weather to Slave Lake.

I got a parts car for my swap, can you reprogram the ECU to remove the key chip etc for the swap?

Mike