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got a used Banks Six-Gun...

Detroit Dan

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Location
Epping NH
and it doesnt work. I'm getting all kinds of codes from the little LED diagnostics lights, mostly relating to connections of the main harness. I went over all the connections repeatedly, can't find anything wrong. It came off an 01 LB7, and it came with a Speed Loader. I installed it without the Speed Loader because that requires the thermocoupler probe installed in the exhaust manifold, and I wasn't going to be able to do that today, so I left it out. Ran the truck around a little bit and I thought maybe at first I had some more power in higher gears, but doggy down low. Really poor from a standing start. But with it switched to stock mode it feels the same, even at higher speeds, so I think my seat-of-the-pants was probably imagined, I dont think its working at all. Then, after shutting it off and restarting it, the SES light is on.
Any Banks people got any ideas? I know I need a new switch, the one it came with was missing a piece but I made a piece to get it to work. At different times I'm getting codes for check TCC connections, also sometimes EGT connection, which I don't have connected because I'm not running the Speed Loader. So it shouldn't need to be hooked up. There is a short wire with a 4 pin connector on it that apparently goes nowhere, it wasn't hooked to anything, there is nothing to hook it to, and I can't see it in any of the diagrams. (I do have the owners manual/instructions)
Any reason to think it would have to have the Speed Loader hooked up? I'm not even sure I want to tackle drilling and tapping the manifold unless I know the Six-Gun is working.
 
You can always hook up the speed loader and just leave the EGT probe hanging and see if that takes care of it. Your not going to see any huge gains with a 6 gun as it is a glorified pressure box for the most part.
 
Ok I'll trY that first. I was wasn't really looking for huge gains, I want to ease into this slowly without destroying the weak link Allison, but I'd at least expect some improvement
 
found something in a Cummins forum that said pretty much the same thing, if you dont hook up the speed loader thermocouple, you need to use a jumper wire. One guy said to take the two wires off the probe and hook them together, effectively jumping it. Nowhere in my manual does it say you cant run it without the speed loader, I thought the speed loader was an add-on that you could install after the fact, which makes it seem like the Six-Gun would work independently.

They also mentioned something about it learning the transmission, and driving in each gear for 30 seconds, I don't know what that's about, maybe different because it's a Dodge they were talking about? IDK, it didn't say anything in my manual about learning the trans. All you are supposed to do is turn the key to ON, turn switch to 1 for 5 seconds, then 6 for 5 seconds, then 1 for 5 seconds. Course it doesn't say what to do next, shut it off, or start the truck, or what.

Right now I'm going to disconnect the batteries again, pull the module out and look at the connections, add the thermocouple and try again. If it works at all then I'll attempt the drill and tap of the exhaust manifold and add the Speed Loader.
 
got it working. jumped the egt probe wires and plugged the other end in, also added the speed loader, so I guess now I need to drill and tap that manifold. no way am I taking it off to do it, either. I'm from New England where exhaust manifolds don't come out, they break. Just rusty and old enough to scare me off. I'm going to shop vac the shavings out and I bought a little magnet on a stick. Going to have to be good enough.

Had a heck of a time clearing the TCC code I was getting. Took me a few times of checking the connections and re-reading the instructions before I figured out that I had tapped the wrong wire on the TCM. Put the Banks Ram Air on too.
 
There was a thread on here a long time ago that said the best way to drill and tap the manifold was while the motor was running. Be careful and good luck. Glad to hear that you got it working.
 
Just get the drill and tap ready, then start the engine letting it idle while you drill. Next run in the tep. The exhaust will push the metal shavings outward so nothing gets into your turbo. Safety glasses are always a good idea. And no you wont have big chunks flying at your face, it's no biggie. Someone else mentioned putting grease on the drill bit to capture the shavings. I didn't try the grease, just the exhaust gasses worked perfectly for me.
A big thanks to whoevers idea that was btw.
 
You can drill and tap the passenger side manifold just in front of the flange with it running is the prefferred method. As for letting the trans learn, any time you change power settings you need to let the trans learn. If you go from 1 to 5 and hammer it, you can easily limp the trans. This is why I do not reccomend anymore than a 2 stage tune for LB7's as changing power settings on the fly isn't a good idea. I run a daily driver tune, and a tow tune on mine.
 
great idea on letting the engine run to blow the shavings back. how hard is the exhaust to drill? I bought a good drill bit that says it's for cast iron and harder metals.

What exactly does transmission learning mean? Do I have to do anything? I wasn't planning on switching it around a lot, I thought I'd leave it on 6 unless I noticed lower fuel mileage, then go to 4 when I tow.
 
Trans learning means you need to drive it easy and work your way up slowly in the power after you go up in the power settings. The ALLISON is an adaptive trans where it learns each shift, when the power is changed it has to relearn each shift again. This is how most trans get limped is people go from stock to kill for a race without letting it adapt, and the trans doesn't know the extra power is there until it slips and it's to late. I run on one setting for everything without a trailer, and then run a different setting while in tow haul mode. This way it always knows the power setting for each shift pattern, and no worries of limping it. And yes even a fully built trans can be slipped by changing power levels without letting it learn the power change, it's just the natiure of the beast so to say.
 
So I left it set on six for everyday driving, not beating on it at all, can't tell too much difference, maybe a little quicker through the midrange. After a week or so, suddenly I'm getting a skip or shudder in the mornings, not sure if it's trying to hit a shift or if it's the motor sucking air, it happens at 35-45mph, it's kind of a random little buck. Two mornings in a row, but at lunch time and after work it seems fine. Not real cold temps, and I warm it up first. Today I cut it back to 1 which didn't make a difference. Idk if it's the six gun or something else altogether. Debating on pulling the six gun out next weekend. Need to pull the camper memorial day weekend. What should I do? No check engine light, so I haven't scanned it.
 
just changed the fuel filter with an AC Delco a couple weeks ago. I'm wondering if it's maybe got a slight air leak somewhere and it's bleeding down overnight. Why else would it not do it at lunch or on the way home? I don't get it. I'm seriously thinking about pulling the Banks out this weekend. I did a bunch of reading about it, and checked out their own comparison on their website, where they tested all the major brands of tuners against theirs. Made it sound like a nice safe unit. I'm just not crazy about it, the power is pretty nice but the truck was pretty quick to begin with, so I don't really believe I'm getting all they advertise. And it sort of feels like it's not a steady building of power, it kind of fluctuates. Idk, I just dont want to hurt anything.
I never did hook up the egt probe for the speed loader, so idk if that might make a difference, but I'm not really interested in doing all that work if it's not going to make it work right.
 
First thing in the morning, prior to starting, open the hood and check the fuel prime pump. If it starts right away, I doubt it is a fuel issue. I'd pull out the 6 gun and go back to stock for a little while and see if that makes any difference.
 
Just talked to a guy with a pretty hot 06 Duramax and explained my problem, he seemed to think having the egt probe not hooked up could cause confusion in the computer. So now I'm thinking I should bite the bullet and drill and tap the manifold.
 
Drill and tap the manifold. Even if you take the six gun off, you have a spot to put an EGT probe into for gauges.
 
First thing in the morning, prior to starting, open the hood and check the fuel prime pump. If it starts right away, I doubt it is a fuel issue. I'd pull out the 6 gun and go back to stock for a little while and see if that makes any difference.

What exactly do you mean by check? Pump it or what?

Just check and be sure that the fuel primer pump is firm. That will tell you whether or not you have any loss of prime. Once you have the system primed, it should remain primed (Plunger on top of fuel filter should remain firm) throughout the entire life of the filter. If not, then you haver an issue of loss of prime. It makes for hard starting conditions.
 
ok, Ill check it that way tomorrow morning. its been sitting for a couple days. I havent experienced any hard starting though. Planning on getting my courage up and doing the egt this weekend. Im going to have to drill and weld the bung on the exhaust for the egt gauge, too. Not too enthused about that, my welding skills are pretty rusty.
 
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