90gmcsierraL59
I'm Awesome
I have been on the hunt for a topper for my stepside truck for years and could never find one as apparently they are hard to find. I am not really a fan of FB but I do peruse Marketplace. And Marketplace is what finally sold my hay bus, and I digress.
I found a topper for my stepside initially listed for $125. Then marked down to $25. It was located 126 miles away in Rosedale, MD. I looked at the pictures and decided to go for it. I prepped my bike trailer and loaded up a tote with a blanket and straps and got on the road.
The trip up was going well until I was 20 miles out when the truck died like you turned the switch off on 1-95 about 8 miles from the tunnel. I looked for obvious causes and finding none I called AAA and requested a roll- back and while I was waiting for the 100 mile ride of shame I messaged the seller and told them I needed to reschedule.
I raised the hood again and started looking. There is 8 lanes of traffic running 70 plus, 4 on each side and I was on the shoulder so I couldn't hear if the fuel pump was cycling. I was thinking fuel pump or crank sensor or PCM failure.
I called Adam my friend who did the conversion and he said check all the fuses and see if you can hear the fuel pump. Did that no dice. I called my friend Frank who helped me wire up the fans and he said turn the switch on and hit the over-ride switch and see if the fans come on. Did that no dice.
Now we are getting somewhere. We used the fuel pump relay circuit under the cover on the RH firewall to pick up switched 12 volt control power for the over-ride switch and the constant duty solenoid to power up the fans. A close inspection revealed the wire pulled out of a solder seal connector we used to join the wires together.
Of course I didn't have much in the way of electrical stuff in my toolbox so I carefully cut out the connector and stripped back all 4 wires and just twisted them together. I hit the key, and it fired right up. I called AAA and canceled the tow. Then I messaged the seller and told them I was on the way.
The owner was waiting in the yard when I pulled up. We loaded it on the trailer. I gave him $30 and put my blanket and straps on and got back on the road 15 minutes after I arrived. I survived the death defying trip back down 95 through the tunnel and the Beltway to I-66 and made it home safely. The topper is in good shape. It needs a back glass ( which I will likely use lexan) and a new lock for the back as the seller didn't have a key. And of course paint to match the truck. He also included the weather strip that holds the window on the channel which should simplify the replacement process. All in all a great little road trip despite the breakdown which as it turns out was self induced. I did a proper repair on the wiring this morning and got on the road to work. Thanks to Adam and Frank for the help and getting me going.
I found a topper for my stepside initially listed for $125. Then marked down to $25. It was located 126 miles away in Rosedale, MD. I looked at the pictures and decided to go for it. I prepped my bike trailer and loaded up a tote with a blanket and straps and got on the road.
The trip up was going well until I was 20 miles out when the truck died like you turned the switch off on 1-95 about 8 miles from the tunnel. I looked for obvious causes and finding none I called AAA and requested a roll- back and while I was waiting for the 100 mile ride of shame I messaged the seller and told them I needed to reschedule.
I raised the hood again and started looking. There is 8 lanes of traffic running 70 plus, 4 on each side and I was on the shoulder so I couldn't hear if the fuel pump was cycling. I was thinking fuel pump or crank sensor or PCM failure.
I called Adam my friend who did the conversion and he said check all the fuses and see if you can hear the fuel pump. Did that no dice. I called my friend Frank who helped me wire up the fans and he said turn the switch on and hit the over-ride switch and see if the fans come on. Did that no dice.
Now we are getting somewhere. We used the fuel pump relay circuit under the cover on the RH firewall to pick up switched 12 volt control power for the over-ride switch and the constant duty solenoid to power up the fans. A close inspection revealed the wire pulled out of a solder seal connector we used to join the wires together.
Of course I didn't have much in the way of electrical stuff in my toolbox so I carefully cut out the connector and stripped back all 4 wires and just twisted them together. I hit the key, and it fired right up. I called AAA and canceled the tow. Then I messaged the seller and told them I was on the way.
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The owner was waiting in the yard when I pulled up. We loaded it on the trailer. I gave him $30 and put my blanket and straps on and got back on the road 15 minutes after I arrived. I survived the death defying trip back down 95 through the tunnel and the Beltway to I-66 and made it home safely. The topper is in good shape. It needs a back glass ( which I will likely use lexan) and a new lock for the back as the seller didn't have a key. And of course paint to match the truck. He also included the weather strip that holds the window on the channel which should simplify the replacement process. All in all a great little road trip despite the breakdown which as it turns out was self induced. I did a proper repair on the wiring this morning and got on the road to work. Thanks to Adam and Frank for the help and getting me going.
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