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Old 05-28-2007, 04:23 PM   #1
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Aux Idle Control

When I ordered my '05 6.0 from SMB on the advise of a fellow SMB owner I added the Aux Idle Control option. My van came equiped with a toggle switch on the dash that I was told turns this feature on and off. I really have no idea what this does. ANybody know? I've heard that if the switch is left on with the trans in park and the parking brake on then the van will start itself up and run for a while in the event that the battery runs low. Is this true? I can't seem to find any info on this anywhere. TIA

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Old 05-28-2007, 04:53 PM   #2
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AIC

My impression was that if you are in Park or Neutral with the Parking Brake on and the engine idling, the AIC will raise the idle speed to about 1200 rpm. Mostly used on ambulances and such that have to idle for an extended time or need extra alternator power.

It seems extended idling at 600 rpm is hard on the engine. Extended idling may cause 'wet-stacking'. I'm not sure what that is, but it is supposed to be bad.

I just don't let mine idle for more that a couple of minutes. And having a good solar panel means I don't need more alternator power. Maybe if I was running a winch for a long pull, or using an air compressor to refill tires.

Mike
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Old 05-28-2007, 06:21 PM   #3
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Idling

Jammy;
Fuel stacking is equivelant to flooding.
In diesel, particulaly the 6.0L PSTD it'll damage the EGR.
Thisbased on my surfing various Ford, anddiesel forums and contact with several Ford Master Diesel Service Technicians.
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Old 05-28-2007, 06:55 PM   #4
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The aux idle switch will not start the engine on its own. All it does is raise the idle RPM so that the engine alternator will put out more and will charge your batteries faster. Also good for winching or anytime your using something that draws a lot of current. Air compressor while airing up, etc. The prevention of wet stacking is also a plus. Handy item to have.
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Old 05-28-2007, 08:43 PM   #5
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Aux idle controller

As scatter mentioned, the AIC will not start the engine, it adjusts the idle speed depending on the option selected by the keypad. The auto starting feature, at least on our van, is an addition the John Kalmbach calls "Chilly Dog". It was installed by California Car Stereo, and will start the engine if certain conditions are met that are preset via a black box velcro'd to the dash. It can be set to start the diesel at a preset interior temperature and run it for a similarly preset duration to prevent cooking pets left in the van while parked. If the A/C is set on, it will also come on when the engine starts and cool the interior before the engine is shut off. It can also be set to start the motor at preset times. Ours has a small toggle switch mounted under the dash near the steering column which turns the feature on and off, in addition to arming the integrated vehicle security system.

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Old 06-01-2007, 11:16 PM   #6
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Aux Idle Control

The AIC will raise your idle to 1200+ RPM when the following conditions are present:

Vehicle in PARK
Emergency Brake ON
Vehicle speed = ZERO (extra safety I guess...?)

Actual idle speed will vary from 1200 - 2400 RPM, depending on the needs of the electrical system.

This is a factory up-fitter option from Ford. All SMB had to do was connect 2 wires with a switch. I understand that there is an alternate method that can be used to raise the idle to a fixed point (using a resister) instead of the variable RPM.

In practice, I have found that my RPM's will steadily climb from 1200 to 2400 RPM over about a 10 minute period. I'm guessing this is due to the transfer of power to the house batteries for charging them. If I want the RPM's to drop back to 1200, all I have to do is touch the brake pedal or turn the switch off for a second and it starts all over again.

The only time I use this feature is when I'm using the microwave, to help lessen the hit on the house batteries. If I were to jump start another vehicle, I would also this feature. (Note to self: install one of those quick connect jumper cable thingies.)

On pre 2005 vehicles, the idle could be controlled via a separate idle controller black box. On 2005 and later vehicles, the AIC strategy is built in.

The AIC strategy I'm talking about is for Ford trucks and vans -- I don't know if GM or Sprinter has a similar option.


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in New "Yawk" City

http://www.joeynick.net/
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Old 06-02-2007, 08:27 AM   #7
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Joey and others, Thanks for clearing this up for me.
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Old 06-04-2007, 06:22 PM   #8
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Re: Aux Idle Control

Quote:
Originally Posted by JoeyNick
The AIC will raise your idle to 1200+ RPM when the following conditions are present:

Vehicle in PARK
Emergency Brake ON
Vehicle speed = ZERO (extra safety I guess...?)
The parking brake on mine has to be ALL the way down to actually hold the van but the AIC will register it as on with the pedal only 3/4 of the way down. Still if it's in PARK it's redundant...
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Old 05-18-2011, 08:09 PM   #9
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Re: Aux Idle Control

The AIC on my 2005 SMB 6.0 has decided not to work when the switch is activated. I put a voltmeter on the switch to check if electricity is getting there (it is). I seem to recall the AIC not working after the rear brakes were replaced and parking brake adjusted although I don't know if there's an actual connection here- just wanna add a little more mystery to the puzzle. Does anyone know how the AIC is wired into the cpu (or wherever it goes) and how I can troubleshoot this? My vehicle doesn't have the pre-05 remote AIC. It's the SMB hard-wired gizmo with the switch over by the driver's right knee.

Thanks in advance for the help.
Jay
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Old 05-18-2011, 09:16 PM   #10
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Re: Aux Idle Control

In the engine compartment, there is a set of loose wires kind-a above the PS fluid reservoir, they come out of the loom the runs across the entire engine compartment. SMB would have connected 2 of these wires together through the idle switch. So that's where the are, how SMB run them into the dash area is unknown, but there are also 2 spare wires in the same loom but different bundle that are there for your own use and run into the dash area. These are called "blunt cut" or something. So SMB may have connected the 2 from the upfitter harness to those two spare wires, or just run their own.
If you go to the WiKi link above, I uploaded some links to Ford wiring documentation that explains the above and gives actual locations. PTO wiring is the stuff to look for, for the first bundle.

Note, when I say 2 wires from the first bundle, that's not actually right, you just need to supply power to 1 wire to get the idle stuff working. You can pull power form any source you want. BUT it's best to pull power from a source with a short run as the ECU uses the voltage to determine hi high the RPM's need to be. So, SMB may have used some other power source and just run 1 wire to the PTO bundle. So, first I would check fuses and try to run you own power to the switch, since you already know the power feed is the problem and not necessarily the wire running to the PTO bundle.
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