Turbo Cool-down Timer Throws Error Codes

[Russ Weaver]

Anybody out there with a diesel and using a cool down timer? Great idea in theory at least. I had one installed in my '06 Silverado diesel last year 'cause I got tired of waiting 5 minutes for the pyro to drop to an acceptable level (about 260-280 degrees) before I could shut down. If you shut down before the pyro drops below this temp you can "coke" the oil (turn it into carbon), and drastically shorten the life of the turbo bearings. Anyway, I had a B-D turbo cool down timer installed and now I can turn off and remove the key ,lock and leave the vehicle and it will run until it reaches the preset temp. From day one, however, within 10 seconds of turning it off, I get 2 error codes: "Service 4WD" and "ABS" .Has anyone else experienced this problem? To top it off, I had the truck in for service and was told the device burned the ignition switch out due to the extra current passing through it (this is within 6 mos of installation) $150 non-warranty! Really don't believe their story, but I'm sorta stuck with it...Now I don't know whether to re-install this gizmo or not. I called the dealer that installed it a month ago to contact B-D for feedback, but they, (B-D)seem to be either reluctant to call back or are doing more R & D on it. I dunno....anyone share my experience?

[mrjohnwayne]

hmm... something has to be wrong with it... have you tried to remove the turbo timer and see if it still sets the codes? If so I would remove it before it kills something else since they seem to think it fried the ignition switch..

In all honesty as long as the egt's are down to around 300-350 you will be fine shutting it off.

Have over 200K miles on my motor (7.3 Powerstroke) and the stock turbo had 190ish thousand miles with little to no cool down time and it never had a problem.

I'm not saying that you should just kill it, but mostly what I do is when I'm about a mile from the house I just take it nice and easy. 90 percent of the time once pulled into my driveway my egt's are at or below 350 and I'll idle for a minute and shut it off..

[Russ Weaver]

Hmmmm. Maybe I got sold a bill of goods. They told me at an RV show that this was almost a necessity...gonna burn out that turbo....expensive repair,yadyadyada. I dunno, I live on a short, not too steep hill (about a block from bottom to my house and by the time I reach the top, even taking it easy, my pyro's up to 400-500-- degrees and it takes a good 3-5 minutes of idling to get it below 300. Kind of a pain in the butt to sit that long every time...They did pull the timer out at the dealership once they found it (tried to stick me with 3 hours of diagnostic time too) and that stopped the codes from popping up. Handy little toy and it cost me over $200 to have it installed, so I'd really like to have it in there, but not if its going to fry the ign switch once or twice a year. I'm wondering if these new switches are substandard (made in Mexico) and a cost cutter for GM...

[mrjohnwayne]

you might just have a defective unit... If and when you can get back in touch with B-D I would ask them if this has been a common occurence.

as far as the actual shut down temp goes 350 or lower is perfectly acceptable... It does not have to be under 300..

[jdfenske]

to make a note of this thread

it's amazing how many people with diesels pull in from a long drive and kill the engine...

[72'CaminoKid]

thats interesting bud. let me know what you figure out with this. i've been telling my boss about it. he does everything he can to help the longevity of his diesel. so we're both interested in what you find about this.



as far as people just killing them. whats even worse is some of the pilots my dad knows at work who have turbos on their planes. some of them just pull in and kill it.