New rig - '05 Yukon XL

[evldave]

This should be fun! Finally, after many years of waffling about which body style, year, options, and even looking at some Excursion 7.3s I pulled the trigger on a 2005 XL. Specs:

220k miles
SLT w/Autoride
8.1L
Captain's chairs

The exterior and interior are 10/10 for quality and mechanically the drivetrain seems to be in great shape. I don't know if I've ever seen a NBS Yukon with leather in this good of shape - definitely not a family rig

Has a few issues I'll be tackling and my current thinking on resolution

• Airbag light on (disconnected connector under the front seat and the front sensors are really gummed up)
• Rear heat not working (likely an actuator/door issue, the system will switch from floor to ceiling, so I'm assuming the controller is still working)
• Heated seats controls blink and won't turn on, front seat won't move for more than 1 second at a time (I'm assuming a torn heating element in the driver's seat, but might be a connector under the seat)
• Intermittent misfire Cylinder 1 (I'm replacing coils, plugs, wires with MSD products anyways hopefully that will fix things)

This will replace my 2006 H3 as camping rig, and will be a tow rig once we get a travel trailer. It's also replacing my 2004 Range Rover as an occasional daily driver (I work from home). I've put 200 miles on it so far documenting all the little things I'll fix/update. Absolutely loving the 10.6 mpg so far

My near-term mods list after I tackle the issues list above:

• Upgraded coils, plugs, wires (MSD)
• Custom roof rack (taken from my H3 w/mounts changed to fit the Yukon)
• Rear interior platform (recovery parts, emergency supplies, etc)
• Trailer brake controller
• 750W inverter + 200W inverter + Various extra power ports, etc
• Dual battery setup (either new or cannibalized from the H3 before I sell it)
• Solar panel quick disconnect
• Scan XL + OBD reader + permanent tablet mount (either from the H3 or new)

Still searching for an electronic FSM until I can track down a paper copy (greasy fingers + tablet = not a great idea). Anyone have a source for either electronic or paper copies? Helminc doesn't seem to carry the FSM for order and that's my usual go-to for that sort of thing. If anyone has an electronic copy of the FSM I can download, I'll gladly buy you a beer if we ever meet

These forums are great resource, glad to be a part of the community!

 

[Fosscore]

Welcome. Looking forward to pics. That 8.1L..what a sweet score!!

 

[evldave]

So made some good progress over the past week...

REAR HEAT

I was able to troubleshoot the rear heat issue. I swapped the Floor/Ceiling actuator with the heat/cold actuator. I was able to get warm air, so ordered a new actuator from Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004AIHNM6/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The dealer wanted $150 and the local Oreilly auto parts wanted $120, so I decided to go with Amazone. The actuator works just fine...

In case you are wondering where the actuators are located

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MISFIRE

I also replaced all the ignition parts, coils/plugs/wires from Summit Racing

Coils were MSD Streetfire coils

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/msd-55108

Plug wires were Taylor Thundervolts

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/tay-82225

Plugs were NGK V power

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/ngk-3951

My intent wasn't to create a rocket, but I wanted good quality parts. It was good that I replaced the plugs There was only a single plug that actually had an electrode still intact and it was gapped at 0.030



The misfire is gone and I'm seeing about 1-2 mpg improvement. I gapped the plugs at 0.045...there are some folks who say an 8.1L should be 0.060, I'll run the lower gap for now and pull a couple plugs after 1-2k miles and see where we are at...

AIRBAG LIGHT

I also ran through the AirBag system and it's turning into a larger job than I originally thought. The seat appears to be a junkyard seat...there are a couple connectors that aren't connected...one of which is supposed to connect to the Seat Position Sensor, which doesn't exist! So, I'll be digging through some local junkyards for a complete seat mount.

I also started looking under the dash and it appears the previous owner (hereafter known as Mr Hackjob) tapped into one of the airbag wires for powering something? It's been cut and spliced back poorly, so I fixed that and taped it back up. Hopefully the only part to repair is the seat position sensor



HEATED SEATS

It looks like there is also a missing connector for the drivers side heated seat. Looks like it could be either a broken heating element, the missing connector or (who knows). I found a couple other power taps under the drivers seat that Mr Hackjob must have used for something.

OTHER STUFF

Since I already have the side panels out in the back, I've started wiring up a couple backup cameras. One will be at the top of the rear gate (for overall view) and the other will be on the rear license plate pointed directly at the hitch, I'll use it for backing up to a trailer.

I'm also repurposing the cubby under the dash vent to mount the backup screen. I ordered a cheapo small screen that fits nicely off Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0045IIZKU/ref=od_aui_detailpages00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The two cameras I am using

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005Q65ZIK/ref=od_aui_detailpages00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00WFRKGSC/ref=od_aui_detailpages00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The 2nd camera is what I ordered, and I didn't realize that it uses active lighting instead of IR, so I might use that for something else and get something similar.

So how will 2 cameras and the screen work? Good you asked!

The screen senses the 'most recent' camera with power, which means it is off unless there is a feed from one of the cameras, and then it automatically turns on and switches to the correct input.

Rather than try and get too complicated, I just simply used a small double-throw toggle switch from Radio Shack. Something like this

https://www.amazon.com/Heavy-Duty-H...0_5?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=750JPGV2DX1746QG0ZNS

I have power coming into the center connector, and power running out to each camera (it's a long wire, but it's all pretty low power so no big deal).

When I flip the switch 'up' the top camera gets power, the screen recognizes it and turns on showing the upper camera view
When I flip the switch 'center' there is no power to the cameras, the screen gets no signal and turns off
When I flip the switch 'down' the license camera gets power, the screen recognizes that input and turns on showing the lower camera view


I've wired everything up in the garage and triple-checked the connections, just waiting for the rain to stop to get everything run into the truck. I'll use 25' trailer wire (4 conductor, 16 ga) to power the cameras, this will run from the dash to the rear of the truck, and will give me 2 extra power wires for anything else I might need later (without having to pull off side panels again).

Fun stuff!

 

[Slckls1]

since I'm late to the party, congrats!

Thanks for the links to your backup cam stuff, by the way. I was planning on mounting a screen in the same location just for a hitch camera.

I can't wait to read more about your progress!

 

[TheAutumnWind]

looking forward to seeing your work! I keep planning to do a camera install as well.

 

[Tonyrodz]

I like where this is going ! MOD THREAD !

 

[evldave]

Realized I never posted a picture...

 

[#1taho]

Welcome. I see I am late to the party also. Sweet looking and 8.1 too.

 

[mattbta]

Keep posting the progress. Good stuff!

 

[treehan77]

How did you/are you found to mount the screen?