Useless Information

[HiHoeSilver]

On Sunday my youngest ran the battery dead and had to get jumped. This somehow caused my engine hour meter to reset to zero! Didn't discover that that had happened until today while refueling. It'll be a pain to reprogram and cost $55 at Tis2Web to boot.

Last tank just finished up, 13.2 mpg on E85, $.17 cents a mile! Woohoo!

Changed the oil @ 5200 miles, the DIC said 33% oil life remaining.

Waiting for the ground to dry before attempting to fix that bolt, my buddy's barn has mud all around it now from these storms.

Alternator kept up a full charge the whole time I was in the truck tonight even though the Tech2 said it met the charging requirements of being only 75% charged. I'll have to keep an eye on it now. Have a long run coming up in a few days and will see if the battery gets back to normal or if its time to order another. It's still within the 30 month warranty though.

With gasoline going up it sure is nice to pay only $2.29 for E85!

1. How do you know what to put the engine hours at? Have you been writing it down? Is it stored somewhere else like the ABS module?

2. Do you know what all factors the dic looks at for oil life? Mine has been increasing since I bought it, but still only gives me about 4500 miles or so.

3. Does my 06 have a variable charging circuit? I have noticed lately that my needle likes to sit at 12.5 instead of 14.5. Then next time I look it's back. Haven't been able to catch it in the act.

 

[swathdiver]

1. How do you know what to put the engine hours at? Have you been writing it down? Is it stored somewhere else like the ABS module?

2. Do you know what all factors the dic looks at for oil life? Mine has been increasing since I bought it, but still only gives me about 4500 miles or so.

3. Does my 06 have a variable charging circuit? I have noticed lately that my needle likes to sit at 12.5 instead of 14.5. Then next time I look it's back. Haven't been able to catch it in the act.

1. I believe it's been reset before as it only showed 1687 hours with 126k miles. If it were accurate that would mean the average speed of the truck was 74 mph! It's loss complicates recording the data on my spreadsheet, added a couple of extra steps. Such is life.

2. It's based on engine temperature and how many rpms the engine has turned, must be a counter in the computer somewhere.

3. I don't think so Nate.

 

[swathdiver]

Unplug sensor on neg battery to make alternator full out put to battery for a few days... unless youve done it already...

Thanks Pete! I can also use the Tech2 to command it to full power!

 

[swathdiver]

Unplug sensor on neg battery to make alternator full out put to battery for a few days... unless youve done it already...

Hey Pete, does your truck have the steering wheel lock? Mine doesn't have it and I read that because the Escalade's were so easy to steal, that GM put the steering wheel lock back in them around 2010 and used a different type of glass as well.

My older Montana's both had the traditional steering wheel lock but my '06 did not. It had the advanced architecture like our GMT900s. The dealer once did some work on my column and I noticed that the lock wasn't working, sent it back to them and they were working on it for hours before they too learned that GM dropped that feature! I think I'm used to it being there but didn't realize the truck didn't have it until reading the articles about the Escalades.

 

[PG01]

Hey Pete, does your truck have the steering wheel lock? Mine doesn't have it and I read that because the Escalade's were so easy to steal, that GM put the steering wheel lock back in them around 2010 and used a different type of glass as well.

My older Montana's both had the traditional steering wheel lock but my '06 did not. It had the advanced architecture like our GMT900s. The dealer once did some work on my column and I noticed that the lock wasn't working, sent it back to them and they were working on it for hours before they too learned that GM dropped that feature! I think I'm used to it being there but didn't realize the truck didn't have it until reading the articles about the Escalades.

No mine doesn’t either....lol...answered a post once about someone not being able to turn the key so i mentioned about how when we used to have to yank on the wheel to be able to turn the ignition switch because when you shut it off with wheel completely turned it locked hard...lol and actually @iamdub corrected me. Gmt 9’s don’t have it and the I remembered when i put my level kit in i never turned the key on and was able to turn the front wheels while i was under the truck....i wonder if they swapped back on the denali’s also?h

 

[Jason_S]

3. Does my 06 have a variable charging circuit? I have noticed lately that my needle likes to sit at 12.5 instead of 14.5. Then next time I look it's back. Haven't been able to catch it in the act.

GM has been using RVC since at least 2004, but do not know off the top of my head if that includes any portion of the GMT-8000 chassis run. If your battery is warmer, it takes less current to charge it. So in warmer months you should see lower amps, and and in colder months you should see higher amps. Warmer and colder months is actually referring directly to battery temp, so you could see both high and low amps in colder months as the engine bay warms up.

Swathdiver, I've seen some funky things happen when someone who isn't familiar with jumping a vehicle starts connecting the jumper cables in the engine bay. It's pretty straight forward, but sometimes has expensive results. When I had my '07 I had to jump it a couple of times before I finally replaced the battery, and it kept the correct engine hours.

 

[swathdiver]

No mine doesn’t either...

I'll do some more poking around.

GM has been using RVC since at least 2004...

I've seen some funky things happen when someone who isn't familiar with jumping a vehicle starts connecting the jumper cables in the engine bay.

That's right. Our '06 Pontiac Montana had RVC and it drove me nuts until I understood what it was saying in the owner's manual. When doing the jump the other night, I put the negative on the frame like I had to do with the Montana but wasn't getting anywhere. My buddy suggested we switch to the negative terminal which the cables could access and voila! she started right up! LOL All that monkeying around on my part probably helped reset it. But all other stored information is fine, seats, radio, etc.

 

[swathdiver]

Another round of tests completed on E85 @ 73% alcohol content; some speeds checked up to four times and final results averaged.

35 mph = 15 mpg = 1091 rpms in 5th gear
40 mph = 18 mpg = 976 rpms in 6th gear
45 mph = 16 mpg = 1098 rpms
50 mph = 17.2 mpg = 1220 rpms
55 mph = 16.4 mpg = 1342 rpms
60 mph = 17.3 mpg = 1464 rpms
65 mph = 16 mpg = 1586 rpms
70 mph = 15.2 mpg = 1708 rpms
75 mph = 13.1 mpg = 1830 rpms
80 mph = 12 mpg = 1952 rpms

Unusual to me that 45 and 55 are less efficient than 50 and 60 and that there's essentially no difference in mileage whether you drive this thing at 45, 55 or 65 mph. RPMs calculated with consideration given to current tread depth. Fun with Excel!

Had the Tech2 query all modules for codes and found a number of them, all related to the battery discharge last Sunday. Took 3 hours of driving for the battery to reach a full charge that the ECM/BCM were happy with.

I like that this truck can drive through a puddle that's on the right side tires and not pull the steering wheel out of your hands. Today on the highway we hit a lot of torrential rain. So much the shoulder was full of snowflakes for miles and miles who were too terrified to drive. The rain was so heavy that there was over an inch of water on the road, it could not drain fast enough, plus the deeper tire ruts worn into the road and the truck handled it like a Sunday drive through the country. She didn't budge, was unfazed by the weather. I slowed when necessary because of traffic and my own sense of caution, put the transfer case in Auto, but never needed it. Thank you Lord for giving me this truck!

 

[swathdiver]

Filled up yesterday with E85 again and it settled down to 76% alcohol content. Price went down to $2.239 a gallon! I've related before that only so much fuel can be pumped into this truck, never more than 28 gallons and usually 26. With the Tech2 running, when the pump shuts off it says 98% full. Pull out of the station and hit the highway and it says 85-88%. With the nose down the tank will take less fuel before clicking off, with the nose up, she shows less fuel in the tank. Anyone else experienced this?

Got about 1 mpg less than those numbers in #288. 14.5 mpg @ 70 and a little over 15 @ 65. Didn't reset the DIC, just watched it and left it. A temptest hit us after dinner last night. My truck was parked in the swale and the neighbors 50 foot tall ficus tree was "de-masted" and a large portion came crashing down next to the truck. Not sure if it was the 60-knot wind gusts or lightning that did it in; by the time we could pull up the weather on our stupid phones it was over. The drive home was uneventful.

Heard a squeak that was in synch with the motion of the wheels the other day. Turned out one of my wheels was loose. Retorqued and all good. But last night, after that storm it came back. Have to check the wheel before the next run. I hope it's easy and not something with the differential or time for another hub. Too hot for that right now.

Here's another bit of useless information: 70 mph with the temp 92 degrees outside the transmission temp was 156. Climbed to 172 after pulling off the highway and hitting a long light where it was then 93 degrees outside. K5L HD Cooling System, stock.

 

[swathdiver]

With the weather warming up there's been talk of transmission temperatures and some fellas have been adding and or upgrading external coolers to keep the temperatures in line.

The 6L80s normal operating temperature is between 160 and 200 degrees. This corresponds with the HOT check on the dipstick when checking the fluid level. Cold check temperatures are between 80 and 90 degrees and also have a corresponding mark on the dipstick; mine anyway.

The temperature range for the Service Fast Learn Adapts procedure is 158-212 degrees.

If the transmission's temperature reaches 266 degrees for 5 seconds the "Transmission Hot Idle Engine" warning will display on the DIC.

Code P0218 (Transmission Fluid Overtemperature) will set if the fluid is greater than 270 degrees for one minute. On a side note, the shop manual says trailer towing should occur in D4 to ensure the cooling system functions normally.

The Flash Point for AC Delco's Dexron VI fluid is 401 degrees.

There is a transmission oil life monitor within the Transmission Control Module and is visible and able to be reset with the Tech2. I reckon that it is also based on engine revolutions and transmission temperature, similar to the Engine Oil Life System.

Here are two photos from yesterday, truck about 6,400 pounds, K5L (Enhanced Cooling Package) and not towing. Wind kept clocking in circles and was about 3 knots in the first and behaved similarly after dark but was mostly from behind: